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RIP Steven Spurrier: Losing a Gentleman of the Wine World
This morning the Academie du Vin Library issued a press release announcing the death of an icon in the wine world:
Steven Spurrier died, earlier today. He was at home, at Bride Valley, surrounded by family. Steven was a pioneer in wine – a visionary who never lost his passion for new projects, new discoveries and the world of wine. He will always be remembered for founding the Académie du Vin, the celebrated Judgement of Paris and in recent years, the Académie du Vin Library and, together with his wife Bella, the Bride Valley Vineyard in Dorset, England – as well as much else besides. He was also a hugely loved husband, father and grandfather. He will be sorely missed, not just by his immediate family and friends, but by people right across the world of wine. His enthusiasm and love of wine will live on through Bride Valley, the Académie du Vin Library, the relaunched Académie du Vin in Canada and through the work of
Wine trade pays tribute to Steven Spurrier 10th March, 2021 by Lucy Shaw
Tributes have been pouring in from around the world for wine trade luminary Steven Spurrier, who died at his home in Dorset yesterday aged 79.
Steven Spurrier photographed at his Bride Valley vineyard in Dorset
A much admired and hugely liked figure in the wine trade, Spurrier began his career as a wine merchant in Paris, and went on to become a successful wine writer, educator, and most recently winemaker at Bride Valley in Dorset.
Spurrier famously organised The Judgment of Paris tasting 1976, when California wines unexpectedly trumped top French labels in a now legendary blind tasting that helped to put wines from the Golden State on the map.
To start a heated debate with a whisky fan, take a murkily-defined whisky concept, issue a strong statement on the matter, and the fireworks will kick off. These days, ‘terroir’ is one of those words going around that divides opinion.
Drawn from the French and mostly applied to wine, terroir refers to environmental conditions for growing grapes that affect what that wine tastes like. Often, the idea of terroir incorporates a wider element. In the whisky world, the term emerged a few years ago, and it won’t go away any time soon. However, identifying what it means in a whisky context is tricky, with producers applying differing and sometimes contradictory definitions.
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Williams Selyem will change hands for a second time.Peter DaSilva / The Chronicle 2006
We’re two weeks into the new year, and already there’s been a lot of merger-acquisition news in the California wine industry. Following O’Neill Vintners’ purchase of Rabble Wines and an $810 million handoff of value-price wine brands from Constellation to Gallo, we learned yesterday of a big change at one of America’s most beloved and prestigious wineries: Williams Selyem, of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir fame, has sold a minority stake to Burgundy’s Faiveley family.