This award is by no means the first during Anne’s career at Berrys and probably not the last. Asked to write an opening chapter to an imaginary book Anne penned the piece below and we wanted to share it as we think it’s great…

I live and breathe the world of wine.  I am surrounded by it at work, in my study time and in my free time.  Along with my wine-loving friends and colleagues, I drink it, talk about it and think about it endlessly in all its guises – how much it costs, what it tastes like, who made it and how.  My non wine-loving friends have no idea of the true extent to which this mere ‘beverage’ has become an intrinsic part of my daily existence.  Yet I am desperate to show them, to help them to see the light and to incorporate this marvellous drink into their own daily lives.  I think to myself: how can they not see how relevant wine is to nearly every passionate pursuit in which humans have engaged over the course of history?  Wine is so much more than just a beverage – it is fascinatingly complex, bewilderingly diverse and marvellously paradoxical. So with this in mind I have a mission: to demonstrate in this book the conflicts and the harmonies embodied by wine, to explore its relationship with some of the deepest-rooted elements of human pleasure and culture, and essentially to indulge my own passion for the subject through the beauty of language!

The most straightforward definition of wine is, very simply, ‘fermented grape juice’.  Yet within this plain definition lies a breathtaking diversity.  From the lightest, frothiest Moscato d’Asti and the most delicately floral Mosel Riesling, via the steely elegance and concentration of a Puligny-Montrachet and the majestic restraint of a top Pauillac, right through to the fiery yet mellow complexity of an old Port or Madeira, how could one fail to be excited?  Geographical diversity plays a part here too, since as a wine lover it is impossible to separate a wine from its origins. Think about how a wine, once it has been experienced as part of an unforgettable trip to the region, takes on a new meaning and becomes forever associated in the mind with those memories and places.  Whether it be the noble Châteaux of Bordeaux with their meticulously trimmed topiary, the medieval picture-perfect wine villages of Alsace, the stunning scenery of the Douro’s vertiginous slopes, the crisply sun-baked albariza soils of the Jerez region or the wild, bare beauty of Central Otago (the list could go on forever), the place springs to life as soon as the glass is poured. The people come to life too: the contrast between the (often somewhat jaded) French grower who makes wine because that is what his family has been doing for hundreds of years, and who shrugs his shoulders with a Gallic ‘ppphhhhh’ when asked why he chooses to do it a certain way, but yet produces exquisite wines of subtlety and class, and the more demonstratively energetic passion of winemakers in countries like Australia, with their intense reverence for and desire to emulate the great wines of Europe but also their ambitions to push the boundaries, exploring new ways of doing things and always asking ‘why’?

This diversity of philosophies and views on wine adds further to its interest and complexity.  On the one hand the traditional views of terroir and its necessity for greatness and uniqueness in a wine (such as in the most celebrated wines of Burgundy); on the other the idea that a great wine does not need the imprint of a specific site to make it great, Penfolds Grange being perhaps the most frequently cited example of the latter.  This is a fascinating debate which can hold the attention of wine-lovers for many a post-prandial vin de méditation moment.  Likewise the debate on whether winemaking is an art or a science, and the extent to which wine should be ‘manipulated’.  Many hold that the idea of the non-interventionist winemaker, who trusts in terroir and lets the natural yeasts do their work in whatever ambient conditions the cellar happens to provide, is a nonsensical oxymoron and the only reason we have such high quality wines today is that we now exercise a certain level of scientific control.  Yet on the other hand, as Dr Steve Charters MW points out in his book Wine and Society, this has led to a schism in the world of wine, with some wines viewed still as agricultural ‘produce’, but others viewed more as ‘product’, i.e. made to a formula to suit a certain market, with added tannins and acidity, adjusted alcohol levels, squeaky-clean filtration and identikit packaging.  There is no answer which is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in the opinion of this particular wine lover: as already mentioned, wine in its simplest guise is fermented grape juice, so who is to say that one type of wine is superior to another? It is precisely this diversity which makes the whole thing so fascinating.

Closely related to this diversity of philosophical views on wine is the way in which it covers the entire spectrum from the back-breakingly mundane right through to the sublime.  Ask any cellar rat during vintage time to comment on the spirituality and divine qualities of wine, and you will probably get back a tired-sounding retort complaining about the long hours and mind-numbing tedium of scraping lees out of large stainless steel tanks.  Likewise go into your average supermarket on a Saturday morning and try to feel moved by the stacks of large-volume commodity wine on special offer which are being flung into shoppers’ trolleys with no more ceremony than that granted to toilet roll and baked beans.  Yet every wine lover will have had at least one ‘moment’ (possibly inspired by the beautiful surroundings of a wine region, as above, or possibly simply by the mind-altering properties of the alcohol in wine combined with its great taste and the company of a special loved one) when they have felt that wine has the ability to transcend its mere physical components and bestow upon the drinker an almost spiritual pleasure, in a similar way to the shivers down the spine triggered by a beautiful piece of music. Wine somehow has the power to transform a mundane occasion into a euphoric one; a bottle of 1961 Château Cheval Blanc in a fast food joint perhaps?

So, as I have illustrated, wine encapsulates a wide range of conflicts and paradoxes.  It also has great relevance to many of our drives and pursuits as human beings.  Part of the nature of humanity, and part of what many would say sets us apart from animals, is our continual drive to explore and discover, to be creative and to seek pleasure. Wine fits at every point.  It has been depicted throughout history in fine art, and continues to be depicted in art and photography today.  It can move us in a similar way to a wonderful musical experience.  It is deeply entwined with language, most notably in our continual struggle to convert our sensory impressions of wines into words so that we can describe our experiences to others, whether that be for commercial purposes or simply for enjoyment.  There is also a wealth of references to wine throughout the great body of Western literature, its pleasurable effects granting it a delightful synergy with the stirring effects of poetry in particular.  Wine has played a part in social and religious rituals in many cultures over thousands of years, and its perceived role in our health has also fluctuated from one extreme to the other over time, from being the oldest documented man-made medicine to being frowned upon as a social evil leading to long-term health problems and crime.  Wine and love also enjoy many common threads: whilst both have the potential to lead to the deepest despair, both can also excite that glorious feeling of hedonistic elation, the sense that anything is possible.  In short, this simple beverage of mere fermented grape juice is in reality part of a richly textured tapestry of human experience and endeavour, and it deserves to be contemplated in much more detail.  The subsequent chapters of this book aim to do just that.

Monday dawned a little clearer and the Vosges loomed large as we set off to meet Olivier Humbrecht MW at his winery in the Heerenweg vineyard just outside Turckheim. Lest we were in any doubt about the weather, Olivier explained that this year’s May was more like an average March, but that the rain was more welcome viticulturally than the dry conditions which have recently strained vines in the region, last year particularly.

A detailed summary of Alsace’s unique and variegated terroirs followed, with Olivier keen to dispel the generalisation that the fertile vineyards on the Alsatian river plain necessarily produce the region’s least interesting wines. The varied topography here means that gravel and loess outcrops can produce compelling wines, even if the lack of the rich mineral deposits found elsewhere (and above all in Alsace’s Grand Cru vineyards) means that grapes do not reach their zenith at these lower altitudes.

Zind-Humbrecht’s wines (from a fluctuating body of 40 to 50 ha of vineyards) undergo gentle pressing over 18 to 24 hours, and natural sedimentation of the must followed by fermentation after about 10-15 days. This can last anything up to a year. The wines are kept on gross lees to build character until the April following the vintage. Tasting-wise, we found ourselves spoilt for choice but most memorable were a captivating 1990 Gewürztraminer Grand Cru Rangen with a nose of beeswax and saffron followed by crème brûlée on the palate and a 1988 Pinot Gris from magnum, with hay giving way to notes apricot and truffle. That most of the wines we tasted had been open for a few days was testament to their concentration and staying power. Fantastic.

Next on the itinerary was Hugel et Fils, where we met export manager David King. One of the region’s most highly-regarded family businesses, Hugel is keenly positioned to build on its export heritage in Asia and the Middle East where its wines were known before the Second World War.  Alsatian white wines have a distinct advantage over some in this regard: they are varietal wines easily spotted on wine lists and seem to complement Asian cuisines particularly well.

China and Japan are prime markets for the 100,000 cases or so produced by Hugel each year, from a typically-parcellated 180ha of vineyards split between some 350 growers. Vinification of Hugel’s three ranges ‘Classic’, ‘Tradition’ and ‘Jubilee’ (the latter being produced from hand-picked grapes from vineyards owned exclusively by the family) still takes place on-site at the company’s ancient premises in the centre of Riquewihr, with élevage split 50:50 between tartrate-encrusted oak and stainless steel. This despite constraints of space and increasingly onerous health and safety regulations which now classify wine production as an industrial rather than agricultural enterprise… no mean feat. Tasting highlights included a fine 2003 Pinot Noir Les Neveux – one of the more creditable reds we sampled during our stay – rich with soft ripe tannins (very of its vintage) and vibrant raspberry pip fruit.

After an excellent lunch at Restaurant Taverne Alsacienne in Ingersheim (cabillaud sauvage with new season asperges blanches), we made our way to Domaine Josmeyer in Wintzheim. Founded in 1854, this estate produces some 200,000 bottles from 26ha of vines, 5ha of which are classified as Grand Cru. 70% of their production is exported with just 25% retailed in France. These were without doubt some of the most impressive wines we tasted, with intense varietal expression across the range. The highlight was a 2000 Riesling Grand Cru Hengst with archetypal minerality, concentration and poise. True to the house style, their 2000 Gewürztraminer Archenets was particularly noteworthy for its emphasis on spice, with notes of clove and mace framing the pungent rose and lychee fruit character with aplomb.

Our visit to Domaine Rieffel the following day saw our first trip out to the vineyards and a chance to put the familiar names of Zotzenberg, Brandluft, Gesetz and Wiebelsburg into context. After the chocolate-box frippery of Kaysersberg and Riquewihr, Mittelbergheim and its spectacular setting in the lee of the Vosges was a taste of the real Alsace, an impression no doubt bolstered by the first sunshine of our stay. The gently sloping, south-east facing Zotzenburg vineyard was a lesson in the importance of aspect in this part of the world, with Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Sylvaner all doing well here on mixed soils of calcaire jaune and clay. Madame Rieffel encouraged us to engage in some ébourgeonnage – stripping growth away from the trunks of the vines – before taking us to see Wiebelsberg where the characteristic pink sandy soils on a steeply-pitched slope give leaner Rieslings.  Their 2007 Riesling Zotzenberg Vendage Tardive was a memorable example of the late-harvest style with tarte tatin fruit balanced by liminal acidity.

After another helping of new season asperges blanches (paired with Muscat of course) our final trip of the stay was to Domaine Ostertag in Epfig. André Ostertag’s 14.5 ha split between over 100 parcels produce some of the most sought after wines in Alsace and a trip to his 2.3ha holding in Muenchberg (‘monks’ mountain’) certainly endorsed his philosophy that behind great wines are great places.  The Ungelsberg summit casts a long rain shadow over this south-facing, natural amphitheatre where mixed soils of red sandstone and volcanic sediment produce richly-textured wines from 75 year-old vines. Just as in the Haut-Rhin, the cold winter and spring has retarded growth by up to a fortnight this year and André explained that the heavy rain of the last few days was welcome given the lack of moisture-retaining clay in these parts.

André’s aim is to go beyond the relatively simple exercise of balancing acidity and sweetness which can preoccupy Alsatian winemakers and make wines of real character. For his Pinot Gris, this translates into barrel fermentation in 228 litre barriques coopered, in Burgundy, from 100% Vosges oak. His 2007 Zellberg Pinot Gris was a case in point, with perfectly balanced fruit and sinew. The focus on terroir at Domain Ostertag extends beyond Riesling (a variety much lauded for its ability to express minerality) to inform all that they do, with André’s Gewürztraminer vinified ‘through Riesling eyes’ to produce a taut, concentrated style quite distinct from the heady and sometimes overblown wines produced from this grape. Excellent.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to taste some German wine, we topped off our stay with a quick hop over the border, where lunch was accompanied by a fantastic local Grauburgunder from the volcanic soils east of Freiburg. A fitting end to four superb days in France which left us with an enhanced understanding of the importance of terroir and a lasting impression of Alsace’s unique ability to produce such a diverse range of wines in so many different styles.

“Jasper Morris, as master of wine and a buyer for the merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd, is as keen on tea as he is on Bordeaux and Burgundy. He keeps his wine in a cellar, but his tea is stashed in his wardrobe behind his winter jumpers where it remains warm and dry. He particularly enjoys Pu Erh, which is sold in dried-out cakes; a good vintage can, much like wine, can be aged for over a decade, becoming increasingly complex in flavour the longer it is kept. Such fine tea does not come cheap. Jasper once spent HK$3,800 on a small amount of Pu Erh. How much, I asked him, would that be in Sterling? ‘About the same price as a case of Chasse-Spleen’*, he explained breezily, leaving me not very much the wiser. ‘There are twelve bottles in a case and I have about enough tea to make twelve pots, so that seemed about right’. This is probably not the sort of thing you would neck with fried eggs and bacon at breakfast; Jasper drinks his fine tea with his wife in the afternoon when they want to reward themselves and have time to appreciate it…”

*Or about £320 at current exchange rates at the time of writing

We spoke to Jasper in a bit more detail about his love of tea and here’s what he had to say:

Victoria was disappointed when I said that I did not actually keep my cakes of tea in the cellar alongside my bottles of wine, but unfortunately the humidity which is desirable for the wine would soon turn the tea mouldy. Instead the young teas are living in a cupboard at room temperature.

I have a few packets of older vintage dated teas, including some 1953 of Vietnamese provenance and an amazing 1975 Pu Erh kept for very special occasions. The extraordinary thing about these teas is that you can infuse the same leaves up to a dozen times, being careful to pour off all the water each time, and every infusion gives you a different range of aromas and flavours. Early infusions are tarry and with quite a rough texture but then more fruit appears, with sweeter notes, then they might become more flowery and deliciously subtle – and so it continues until eventually the first signs of dilution appear and it is time to move on.

Click here to buy How To Drink and here to learn more.

My love of food was really the thing that opened my eyes to wine. I used to work in marketing and I’d be entertained in very good restaurants and put in front of really good wines – it was during this time that I realised that wine takes food to the next level. Then I started to take advice from wine merchants and I began to understand what I actually like, rather than what I thought I should like, which was quite a surprise! I realised that these were things like Rhône wines, which are affordable and go far better with everyday food than some blockbuster Bordeauxs, which you’ve really got to be pretty careful what you eat with them.

My first memories of wine were from when we used to go on holiday to France.  I remember visiting Ch. Monbazillac one year, on the way back from a family camping holiday – the car was already bulging under the strain of all our camping stuff, but Dad was determined to take a case of it home. Five or six years later he gave me a glass of the same wine at the end of a Sunday dinner. That was when I began to understand why Dad (in the picture above with me) was so interested in wine.

Despite having a passion for matching food and wine, I also buy to drink and to invest. About four years ago I put a nominal sum into a Cellar Plan and I’ve done very well out of it. I’ve been buying ever since, building an investment portfolio on one side and what I intend to drink on the other. Now that my Dad’s finally set up a Cellar Plan too, after me nagging him for years, we go to the tastings and go round together marking the wines – I personally get a lot of satisfaction in finding wines that are brilliant value and stand up to what are deemed the numero uno of that region. And then I keep it to myself!

Whether you are investing in wine for pleasure or for investment purposes it remains one of the most interesting commodities around.  I set about looking for an investment some years ago…wine investment seemed to offer “all” the personal benefits from consumption and intellectual stimulation in terms of reading up on what you have purchased and keeping abreast of the vintages and their offerings; and last but not least financial gain. I still believe that you can invest in the “blue chip” wines -Latour, Margaux, Lafite, or even secondary houses such as Lynch Bages, Cos d’Estournel or Palmer, and benefit in such a way that would enable you to sell some wine off through the years to support your own personal drinking of cheaper, but excellent, wines for now or years to come…your personal cellar!
 
Risk is the same for any investment – the bigger the risk the higher the potential return, and with wine the journey and education is certainly worth it. It’s not wrong to say that wine, since the Second World War, has performed up amongst the best investment vehicles out there (property, FTSE – Top 500). From as little as £200 per month you can achieve good growth if you buy the right wines or if you have a lump sum to invest you can have fun building up the cellar that suits you.
 
I am certainly pleased that I took the jump of faith into wine investment and that I have been well advised and guided by BBR’s investment team. I am looking forward to drinking fine wine in the future and the occasional special bottle!!!

If you have any questions or comments for Nick or our team, then let us know.

This time last year was about the time that fear hit the fine wine market.  We had seemed immune from the wider travails of the economy – 10 cases of 2000 Ch. Lafite-Rothschild selling at Christie’s for a shade under £11,000 per case just days after Lehmans filed for bankruptcy protection – but in October and November prices, notably those of the top 2005s, dropped off.  2005 Lafite, which was touching the £10,000 per case mark in the summer of 2008, could be picked up for £6,000 per case in November of that year.  This was clearly an opportunity for the brave – Lafite 2005 is now selling for £7,500 per case and more.
A year on, and things are much brighter for those whose interest is in the price of wines going up.  The supply of the best wines is limited and this fundamental is now kicking in.

So what does next year hold for us?  Investing in wine has become increasingly popular: despite the falls of last year (and the big ones were restricted to a few wines) wine, on reflection, has performed well and is increasingly attractive to those with the long-term view and those who want to put their money into something tangible.  The increased investment in wines is not without its effect: more buyers push prices up in the same way that sellers pull them down and we may well see more ups and downs than we have seen in the past.  The wine market is relatively illiquid when compared to stocks and shares, though it is more tradeable than ever before.

The key driver of all the prices isn’t the investors, though: ask anyone in the Far East.  This relatively new market for fine wine is booming and this is just the beginning.  We may well have customers in the UK whose cellars are full but the cellars in Hong Kong and mainland China need filling and, sadly, one just can’t make any more Mouton, Lafite et al.

Wine investment is the topic on everyone’s lips, just last week we saw a boom in sales of Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, particularly the seemingly undervalued 2008 vintage – this is identical to what we have seen with Ch. Lafite-Rothschild over recent years.

So, please join our discussions as we move on to this exciting topic – share your thoughts, experiences and questions with us and we’ll endeavour to bring you up-to-date information and opinions from those in the know.

The first will be 2007 Mâcon, Les Héretieres du Comte Lafon, Burgundy and in the video below Simon Field MW, buyer at Berrys, takes a moment to talk about how the biodynamic principles used have made this wine so special.

The second wine of the evening will be 2006 Vacqueyras, Garrigues, Domaine Montirius, Rhône. This is a hugely popular red from Montirius, who Wine Matters interviewed recently. In this video Simon talks about why he fell in love with their wines and how the contrast between the wine’s characteristics and the personalities of the producers make for an interesting comparison.

The final wine in the Twitter Taste Live event will be 2006 L’As, Coteaux du Languedoc, Mas Conscience. Be warned, this is a wine which should really be decanted an hour or two beforehand! In the final video Simon tells us about the couple who produce this wine and the area that they call home.