On wine and the common cold ...

When I did my wine course at Bordeaux University, one of the Professor's little gems of advice was that, if you think a wine is off, it is more likely – statistically – that it’s you who is off, not the wine!

Human taste buds and olfactory nerves being what they are (poor things, really) are easily upset. Indigestion, fatigue … worst of all, a common cold, play merry hell with them!

I was reminded of this yesterday at my company's annual get together. With key people from around the world watching, I got every single wine choice wrong in the game of Wine Options put on by my buyers!

Guessing a wine isn't normally too hard. You start northern or southern hemisphere? Then, maybe America or Europe? Then, maybe France or Italy? Then, north or south Italy? Then, maybe Nebbiolo or Sangiovese? And so on … always a choice of two. So always a good 50% chance …

I think I set a record for getting every option wrong for every wine. But … I had a cold! Phew! Lucky! I've a reputation to protect, you know.

Reminds me of what the ninety year-old Harry Waugh – a great wine merchant – is supposed to have said when asked if he'd ever mistaken a claret for a Burgundy. "No …" he replied, "... not since lunchtime"!