My Life in Wine
Koko, a bruschetta and a sauvignon I've never been much of a drinker and indeed was teetotal until I was about 25 and drank mainly coke. I never acquired a taste for beer, probably because my father hardly drank it, and didn't like the effects of alcohol - and still don't. But after I was given champagne at Annie Ommanney's wedding and became laughing drunk, I took up drinking wine which I came to love. My friend Charlie Skipwith went into the wine trade at the end of the 60s and studied with the Ginestet's at Chateau Margaux and I visited him and became interested in its production. By the 70's I was spending quite bit of time reading about wine and visiting wine regions in France. My bible was a book by Alexis Lichine called 'An Encyclopaedia of Wines and Spirits'. He endeared himself to me by writing: 'How does one drink a Chateau d'Yquem? On one's knees with one's head bared'. Hugh Johnson on Wine was another regular source...