Steven Spurrier (5 October 1941 – 9 March 2021) was a British wine expert and merchant who was described as a champion of

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...

. Spurrier organised the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, which unexpectedly elevated the status of

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...

and promoted the expansion of wine production in the New World. He was the founder of the '' Academie du Vin'' and

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

Wine Course, in addition to authoring and co-authoring several wine books.

Early life

Spurrier was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

on 5 October 1941 to John and Pamela Spurrier. His father joined his family sand-and-gravel business in Derbyshire after the Second World War. Spurrier was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, before studying at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. His interest in wine was first piqued after drinking 1908 Cockburn's Port when he was 13 years old.

Career

Spurrier entered the wine trade in 1964 as a trainee with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's oldest wine merchant Christopher and Co. In 1970 he moved to Paris where he persuaded an elderly lady to sell him her small wine store, in the Cité Berryer, a passageway off the

rue Royale Rue Royale (French for "Royal Street") may refer to several streets: *Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium * Rue Royale, Lyon, France *Rue Royale, Paris, France See also *Royal Street, New Orleans Royal Street (french: Rue Royale; es, Calle Real) is a ...

, From 1971 he ran the wine shop, ''Les Caves de la Madeleine'' where clients were encouraged to taste wines before they bought them, which achieved recognition as a highly regarded specialist wine shop. With partners Jon Winroth and Patricia Gallgher in 1973 he started '' L’Academie du Vin'', France's first private wine school, which was central to the wine education of several wine personalities such as French wine writer

Michel Bettane Michel Bettane is a leading French wine critic, and for twenty years, a writer for the French consumer wine publication '' La Revue du vin de France''. He left ''La Revue'' in 2004 to work for the rivaling wine publication ''Le Classement des Meill ...

, and Charles F. Shaw, namesake of "Two Buck Chuck". Spurrier went on to stage the influential "Judgment of Paris" Tasting of 1976, when a

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

were ranked above some of the most prestigious wines of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. Spurrier sold his wine interests in France and returned to the UK in 1988, becoming a wine consultant and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He was director of The Christie’s Wine Course, which he founded with

Christie's Education Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, ...

in 1982. He was also a wine consultant to

Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...

, and consultant editor to ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equ ...

''. In 2018, he starred in the documentary

SOMM 3 ''Somm 3'' is the third film in the SOMM documentary series, following 2013's '' SOMM'' and 2015's '' SOMM: Into the Bottle''. Directed by Jason Wise and distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films, SOMM 3 centers on two tastings reminiscent of the 1976 Ju ...

alongside

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

where he discussed the Judgement of Paris while tasting some of the world's finest wines. In 2019, he founded the Academie du Vin Library with Simon McMurtrie to publish wine writing. The Library published the latest edition of his memoir in 2020.

Awards

Spurrier received several international awards for wine writing including Le Prix de Champagne Lanson and the Bunch Prize, both for articles published in ''Decanter''. In 2001 he was awarded Le Grand Prix de l’Academie Internationale du Vin and The Maestro Award in honor of Andre Tchelistcheff. In 1988 he was made ''Le Personalite de l’Annee'' (Oenology) for his services to French wine. He has also received the Ritz Carlton Millennia Singapore Lifetime Achievement Award and the ''Prix Louis Marinier''. He was a regular judge on the international

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

circuit and the chairman of the Japan Wine Challenge and the ''Decanter'' World Wine Awards.

Portrayal

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...

portrayed Steven Spurrier in the 2008 film ''

Bottle Shock ''Bottle Shock'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film based on the 1976 wine competition termed the "Judgment of Paris", when California wine defeated French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman and is ...

''. During its production, Spurrier warned of taking legal action in the event of misrepresentation. Having read the script, Spurrier stated, "There is hardly a word that is true in the script and many, many pure inventions as far as I am concerned". A documentary by

Jason Wise Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

about the 1976 tasting is planned for release in summer 2022.

Personal life

Spurrier was married to the former Bella Lawson from 1968 until his death. Together, they had two children: Christian and Kate. Spurrier died from cancer on 9 March 2021, at his home in the Bride Valley English Wine Estate, in

Litton Cheney Litton Cheney is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited beneath chalk hills in the valley of the small River Bride. In the 2011 census the parish had a ...

, Dorset. He was 79.

Bibliography

*''The Academie du Vin Concise Guide to French Country Wines'' (1984) *''How to Buy Fine Wines'' (1986) *''Academie du Vin Wine Course'' (1991) with Michel Dovaz *''Clarke & Spurrier's Fine Wine Guide'' (1998) with

Oz Clarke Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster. Early life Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Roman ...

*''Wine—A Way of Life'' (2018) *''Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine'' (2020)

Notes

References

External links

Steven Spurrier's blog
at the Wine Society of India {{DEFAULTSORT:Spurrier, Steven 1941 births 2021 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British male writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers Alumni of the London School of Economics British male bloggers British memoirists Deaths from cancer in England People educated at Rugby School People from Dorset Wine critics Wine merchants