Weâve all had these moments: A novel inspires a lifelong love of literature. A recording drives us to explore a new genre of music. A painting captivates you to linger until the museum closes, to see it in different light and without crowds blocking your view. A bite of food in a cafe during an overseas vacation ignites your curiosity about a new world of flavors. A sip of wine seems to magically combine sun and earth in an elixir that opens a portal to new sensations and emotions.
For British wine writer Steven Spurrier, the epiphany came on Christmas Eve 1954, when he was 13. Spurrier, who died in March at age 79, organized the Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976 that showed California wines could stand proud among the best of France. As he recounted in his memoir, âA Life in Wine,â his grandfather gave him a glass of Cockburnâs Port, vintage 1908. The wine was âquite extraordinary, and the impression it left has lasted a lifetime.â He doesnât otherwise describe that impression, which was obviously quite personal â no need for fanciful descriptions of fruit and spice flavors.