Introduction
This book is a story of talented people and their remarkable dedication over a sustained period of time. Over the last 14 years, individual members of the 300-person Vintners Club have carefully selected 9,180 different wines, purchased 18,360 bottles, opened and decanted them, bagged and lettered them so that they could not be prematurely identified, set out 12 glasses for each place, lettered and poured a measured amount into 275,400 separate glasses. They never missed presenting a tasting,. they have, with rare planned exceptions, always tasted 12 wines and written out tasting notes,. and their scores have always been tabulated with integrity. That is an amazing record.
The challenge of sustaining the regular tastings over 14 years has been mixed
with the fun and camaraderie, not to mention the education, gained from dinners, picnics, and outings to wineries. For both professionals and amateurs, the Club has provided access to the enormous and seemingly geometrically increasing information that is the wine industry. Attendance at the weekly tastings varied greatly. Gewürztraminers and green Hungarians drew just a few tables, and tastings with Harry Waugh and Frank Schoonmaker pushed us to our limit. The great Spurrier tastings, with Steven himself in charge, were full to capacity. The Vintners Club had sent him California wines for the historic Paris tasting, and this duplicated that tasting to the last bottle. [
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ED: Vintners Club (1988), 20x26 cm, 1154 pages, relié
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