Awards Ceremony and Food Symposium in Umeå
posted 6th June 2022
I was delighted to receive an award and make two presentations at the International Food Symposium and Gourmand Awards Ceremony held in Umeå in the north of Sweden from June 1st to 5th. Umeå lies within the Article Circle, and has just 4 hours of darkness in early June - I usually sleep with the curtains open but the experience here was very different. Typical February temperatures here are a maximum of minus 2˚C, down to minus 13˚C or even lower. Spiked snow boots are a necessity in winter, so I was perhaps glad that the event was taking place in June!
The event comprised mini round-table conferences, presentations of food and drink books and research, and the 2022 Gourmand Awards. In my first presentation I discussed some common wine faults, particularly those that are on the rise. One of the most important of these is Lightstrike, which may result when white or rosé wines (including sparkling) if in clear glass bottles are exposed to UV light. My advice is never to buy such a a wine in clear glass unless it has been stored in the dark (this precludes the supermarket shelves)! My book 'Wine Faults and Flaws: A Practical Guide, which is published by Wiley. had already won a Gourmand Award. Following my presentation I also received a 'Best of the Best' award for 'Wine Production and Quality' (co-author Hazel Tattersall), the Best Wine Book for Professionals. I was particularly pleased to receive this in Umeå - the book is mandatory reading for the oenology course at the University!
My second presentation was 'The Changing Face of Wine Writing'. One of the books that inspired me to begin a voyage of discovery in the wine world was the first edition of The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson, which was published in 1971. My early forays into wine merchants and off-licences were certainly like a tour of Europe - there were so many different bottle shapes and types, and I wanted to touch, smell and taste each one. Writers such a Hugh, Edmund Penning-Rowsell, André Simon and Cyril Ray explained all I could wish to know. Many wines were not great in those days, but they certainly had character, as did the writers, and the content was insightful and inspirational.
Today, many writers are more interested in giving critical scores to wines they have tasted, such scores are rarely less than 90 out of 100. 'Shopping lists' are commonplace, and fill many pages of wine magazines such as Decanter. However, there are some exciting young writers. Amanda Barnes book The South America Wine Guide is a beautiful work that is highly informative, entertaining, and a joy to hold. Amanda received the award for 'Best World Wine Book', which I was delighted to accept on her behalf.
The award for Best Wine Books Publisher was won by Académie du Vin Library.. Founded by the late Steven Spurrier, the company publishes both newly commissioned titles, and new editions of classic works. There used to be several UK based wine book publishers, but most of these have withdrawn from the market, so it is great that Académie du Vin Library are working so effectively and enthusiastically.
In his presentation, Edouard Cointreau lamented the decline in wine book publishing. However, there are publishers of wine books whose readership is largely professionals, including researchers and academia. My own such books are published by Wiley. Some of their classic wine works include the 2 volume Handbook of Enology by Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon et al (third edition just published), Wine Flavour Chemistry by Jokie Bakker and Ronald Clarke and Understanding Wine Chemistry by Andrew Waterhouse et al. For those who think that such publishers are perhaps elitist, Wiley also publish the 'For Dummies' series of books, which include several Wine for Dummies titles.