▻ Remembering Steven Spurrier
▴ Steven Spurrier and Sarah Kemp, photo by Cath Lowe/Decanter
On 19th January at St James Garlickhythe, the church known as “Wren’s lantern” in the Vintry ward of the City of London, some of the wine world’s most well-known names gathered to celebrate the life of Steven Spurrier, who died in March 2021 (the memorial service was delayed due to the pandemic, as there were so many people from around the world who wanted to pay tribute) The church was packed and Father Tim Handley, welcoming everyone, urged the crowd to join with the choir joyfully. Steven’s son Christian read a poem, Farewell My Friends by Rabindranath Tagore, and Sarah Kemp and Mark Williamson gave the eulogies, which are reproduced below.
““Steven was always open to discovering new wines, and judging them on their quality alone, he was a quality purist””
Steven will forever be associated with the “Judgement of Paris” tasting, a pivotal moment for the wine industry, when California wine trumped some of France’s finest in a blind tasting, The fact that the tasters were some of France’s most well-known names gave legitimacy to the results, and the chance attendance of George Taber, the journalist who wrote up the competition in Time magazine, started a new era for wine--one where it was acknowledged that there were wines outside of Europe that could compete with the best. Steven’s legacy, though, was more than the Paris tasting; he was an award-winning writer, a ground-breaking merchant, wine-education pioneer, restauranteur, chair of the world’s largest wine competition, vigneron, and publisher – over the years, Steven occupied about every role the wine world offered. Andrew Caillard MW wrote, “Few people have so profoundly informed, guided and inspired generations through their journey in wine. Steven Spurrier is one of England’s great modern renaissance figures and a colossus in the world of wine.”
In this special episode of our Great Wine Lives, John Stimpfig interviews Sarah Kemp, who as Publisher and Managing Director of Decanter worked with Steven for nearly 30 years. The interview took place shortly after Steven died, but was never broadcast. Sarah and John look back on his extraordinary life and remember him fondly. They discuss the impact the Paris tasting had on the wine world; it didn’t just benefit the Californians, they agree: “It gave the French a kick up the bottom!” Sarah describes how Steven was a quiet rebel from an early age, choosing to study at the London School of Economics rather than Cambridge: “He always took the more curious route,” she says.
Sarah talks about his early life, and how he joined Christopher’s, the wine merchant, and as a young man became a stagaire in some of France’s best vineyards. He moved to Paris, where he and his wife Bella lived on a barge with their young children, and started the wine shop Cave de la Madelaine which championed French country wines; he was one of the first to stock Chave and Guigal. He also launched the Academie du Vin, his blueprint for wine-education courses, and became a mentor to many who became well-known names, such as leading French wine writer Michel Bettane, Tim Johnston of Juveniles, Mark Williamson of Willi’s Wine Bar, authors James Lawther MW and David Cobbold, and Paul Bowker of Wilkinson Vintners, to name just a few. The Paris tasting became the subject of a film, “Bottleshock.” Sarah reminisces about Steven’s reaction to the film: “More bullshit than bottleshock,” and reveals he thought Alan Rickman was far too old to play him – he would have chosen Hugh Grant instead.
Sarah discusses his influence on Decanter magazine, where she had appointed him as Consultant Editor: “Steven for me was the soul of Decanter, he embodied what Decanter stood for, which was an openness to quality.” She describes how his openness to new wine regions took Decanter into a new era of coverage, and how, as Chairman of the Decanter World Wine Awards – the world’s largest wine competition – he attracted the world’s best wine experts to judge under his aegis. She and John also look back on his writing career, and how he didn’t believe in wine and food matching, but would rather “match wine with mood, not food.” John relates how he was a huge influence on many young wine writers, including himself. Spurrier was always happy to talk to anybody about wine, and Sarah declares, summing up another aspect of him, “He was never looking over his shoulder, you were the only person who was important” in those conversations.
Another of Steven’s qualities was his endless energy and optimism: “There wasn’t a cynical bone in his body,” Sarah says. His optimism led him, in his late 60s, to launch two new projects, Bride Valley Vineyards in Dorset, and the Academie du Vin Library. Sarah and John discuss the success of both, and agree that his really was, truly, a great wine life.
Running Order:-
-
0.00 – 17.59
“He always took the more curious route, he was a slight rebel from an early age.” – Sarah Kemp
– Steven’s memorial on 19th January at St James Garlickhythe.
– The Paris Tasting.
– Steven’s early years and first wine trade role at the merchant Christopher’s. -
18.00 – 38.44
“Steven for me was the soul of Decanter, he embodied what Decanter stood for, which was an openness to quality!”
– Meeting his wife Bella and her role in his life.
– Launching Bride Valley Vineyards.
– The 1970s in Paris: Caves de la Madelaine and Académie du Vin. -
38.45 – 59.46
“There wasn’t a cynical bone in his body.”
– Steven’s favourite wines.
– Steven as a writer.
– Sarah and Steven’s trip to Argentina.
– Steven and the Decanter World Wine Awards.
– Launching the Académie du Vin Library.
Eulogy: Mark Williamson
It is a true honour to have been asked by Bella to say a few more words about Steven’s remarkable life. My remit is to take you back in time – to the Paris years.
I first met Steven towards the end of 1976. I had been cooking in restaurants in Provence & Paris for two years & had just returned to Paris from Bordeaux where I had participated in the year’s harvest in the Médoc.
Steven was about to launch his Beaujolais primeur campaign. I enquired about a position at the Caves de la Madeleine, Steven’s Wine Shop in the Cité Berryer. We agreed that I would become a cellar rat & that I would attend the excellent and, at that time, unique evening classes at his recently created Académie du Vin next door. Steven generously agreed to let me accompany him on his wine-buying trips to the vineyards.
I arrived at a place that had recently become the centre of attention in the wine world. Months previously, on the 24th of May, Steven and his American-born partner at the Académie du Vin, Patricia Gallagher, had hosted a comparative blind tasting in Paris that was loosely conceived as a bicentennial celebration of the American Revolution. The line-up consisted of some of the finest classed Bordeaux & grandest Burgundies of the time being compared with a range of excellent but unknown boutique wineries from California… the judges were some of the finest palates of the day.
The results of this tasting were mildly surprising - the equivalent of the Chelsea A team being roundly beaten by Haywards Heath Junior School – and the outpourings & recriminations on the losing side as well as the glee & noisy celebrations of the victors were to echo around the wine world for more than 2 decades.
I quote from Steven’s Memoirs ‘A Life in Wine’ - “After the initial shock, intelligent wine producers went to California to see what all the fuss was about. What they found was a vibrant wine region committed to investment in quality and determined to prove themselves…” He added “Within a year or two this first chink in France’s dominance of the wine world began to promote an outward rather than an inward-looking mindset, particularly amongst the younger generation…”
He went on to say “France’s first reaction was to blame the judges. I became person non-grata in certain circles but since the shop & the Académie continued to do well, paid no attention.”
Steven did pay attention however. He loved France, he promoted a French & European life style & held the rich diversity of French wine in high esteem. The treatment he received affected him greatly and definitely had an influence on the way his life was to develop in the coming decades. French sensitivity on matters concerning wine is well documented…
This tasting was not about dented French pride nor about making California Sunny Again. It was quite simply an inadvertent opening of Pandora’s Box – from which there was to be no going back & with retrospect it is evident that wine, Steven’s lifelong love, be it French or otherwise has benefited immeasurably from his inspirational spirit & his fearless belief.
I was to work with Steven at the Caves de la Madeleine over 3 years, getting to see Christian & Kate growing up, learning to read the signs of imminent danger when Digby, Steven’s large dog with an unpredictable humour, lay in wait in the passage outside the wine shop, ready to launch himself at the rear end of any unsuspecting individual that he identified as being ‘too up themselves’. I witnessed a seemingly limitless international fan club of well-wishers arrive daily in the hope of catching Steven, and I met and befriended a good number of his dear friends. Steven had acquired guru status.
Life at the Cave de la Madeleine was never dull. At the heart of it was Maricette, Steven’s loyal and ever-joyful shop assistant, who kept all of us focused in a good-humoured way and frequently invited us back for dinner at the flat she shared at Republic with the previous owner of the Caves, Madame Fougeres.
One winter’s day, not long after my debut at the caves, Steven instructed me to drive down to Saint Tropez to recuperate some of his stock that he had graciously placed on a sale or return basis at the famous Papagallo nightclub.
My contact in the South was Tim Johnston who was stationed in Aix en Provence and who was to become my longtime friend & a business partner of many years.
This mission successfully completed, I found myself being adopted as a junior member of what was to become known as the Mafia Anglais du Vin. John Livingston Learmonth – ‘the Gull’ – busy writing his ground-breaking book the “Wines of the Rhone”, was to become a dear friend.
Others were soon to find themselves enrolled, invariably young “Spurrierites” like myself, all predestined to “lives in Wine”. James Lawther, Drew Harré, Ivan Paul & Charles Lee were all members of this band. No one ever questioned the fact that Steven was ‘le Parrin’ and true to form he remained in close contact with all of us throughout his life - as much through friendship as for professional reasons.
Besides seamlessly managing this vinous collectivity, Steven had many other friends & acquaintances who were regular visitors to the wine shop & the academy – the artist Anthony Palliser, a close friend & Parisian entertainer with frequent needs of Champagne – cold of course. Michael Goldman, a serial cellar raider with the best private cellar in Paris at that time – in which the most extraordinary parties took place. David Fromkin, lawyer & history professor with a passion for DRC… Robert Baker, banker, Bobbie Ho, adventurer, Rick Herland, filmmaker, David Bamford, head of IDV…
Steven connected all the dots. It was through his spirited networking that so many lifelong friendships were to develop. He was a very gifted PR person, ceaselessly introducing people to each other. It worked, of course, the starting point being their friendships with Steven. The man was endlessly generous with his friends, with his wines & with the consideration he showed to others.
With his wine shop & at the académie Steven demonstrated his freedom of spirit & agility of mind. The wine selections were dominated, but not dogmatically, by wines from smaller producers to whom he showed great loyalty while at the same time being open to discovery, to novelty & as you have guessed, spontaneity. The Judgement of Paris tasting had given this Parisian Wine Merchant an exposure & visibility that was global and the solicitation on Steven’s time & his shop’s wine selections was relentless.
By his own admission, the Académie du Vin was the Parisian creation that Steven was by far the proudest. The Académie encapsulated just how much he loved to teach and how important the sharing of this fascination and love of wine was for him. Steven was instrumental in creating an educational wine phenomenon that transformed the enthusiast’s approach to wine; harmonizing wine enjoyment with un je ne sais quoi of technical expertise.
As he & Patricia were to develop their range of wine courses, a loyal band of academiciens were gathered in and a pioneering energy permeated the Cité Berryer. Everything worked. Steven & Patricia taught the English courses along with co-founder Jon Winroth. The young Michel Betanne, Michel Dovaz, Bernard Borquin & Isabelle Bachlard led the French courses.
The Académie du Vin will celebrate its half-century this year, a wonderfully fitting testament to Steven’s firmly held convictions, and outliving his Paris years to be with him in the second half of his ‘life in wine’ in the form of Christies Wine courses in London, with outposts of the académie in Japan, Canada & elsewhere.
Stevens open-minded approach could be found in the joy he would get from an excellent ham sandwich or pâté en croute, set to the music of a glorious but unheard-of French Country Wine – as against an elaborate meal in a Michelin-approved grand establishment.
He rather pragmatically enjoyed both.
This was a recipe that he applied to his love of art, acquiring works throughout his life in a personal manner for what they and the artist meant to him – to be treasured thereafter – rather than held as investments.
I have rarely encountered anyone as positive as Steven. He was skilled at promoting himself & his businesses, maintaining enviable relationships with the press, but equally invested himself unselfishly & believingly in others and in their projects too. My own project, started upon leaving the Caves in 1980, was to benefit from Steven’s infectious enthusiasm. For over a year he promoted my little bar at every possible occasion all over the world.
Not being an investor at the time he naturally recovered himself and before too long opened The Blue Fox in the Cité Berryer.
Adventure, by its very nature, does not always work out as planned & in some quarters Steven’s infinite thirst for new & exciting projects would provoke a nit-picking recollection of some small Spurrier setback.
But as the French love to remind us “en ne fais pas un omlette sans casser des oeufs”.
No matter how the undertaking evolved, Steven would take stock candidly before bouncing back with something new to excite himself & of course inspire others.
The expression “you can’t keep a good man down” resonates pleasingly.
Steven’s lifelong achievements are there to be celebrated.
For one thing, there are few terroirs left in the wine-producing world today not excelling in the production of increasingly diverse & exciting wines. #that tasting proved to be a liberating moment for so many previously overlooked winemakers & producers, awoken to their own potential.
(Recall for a moment the state of the wine world’s offerings in the late 1970’s…distillation, arrachage des vignes, desperate measures in places that now have bright futures – as much in France as anywhere else).
Steven’s Académie du Vin was to be & is today an incubator for a great number of people who have gone on to actively participate in ‘a life in wine’. Incalculable numbers of graduates from the academy stand in testament to Steven’s ability to convey his lifelong passion for wine.
I would venture that there are few people in the wine world who can claim to have enjoyed anything like Steven’s transformative influence & reach.
WITHOUT PEOPLE WHO SOW DREAMS, there would be no dreams to harvest.
Chapeau, Monsieur Spurrier !
No mention of Steven would be complete without the recognition of Bella’s tireless contribution to his remarkable life.
Chapeau Madame Spurrier !
Eulogy: Sarah Kemp
It is a great honour to have been asked by Bella and the family to talk about Steven. As the publisher and Managing Director of Decanter I worked with Steven for over a quarter of a century, but as my friend and colleague John Stimpfig says “Sarah, it was work, but not as most people would know it”. How could it have been work with Steven? It was just living, the best way you could, with optimism, energy and a great deal of fun.
My introduction to him was through my husband, Brian St Pierre, who happened to be in charge of Public Relations at the Wine Institute of California at the time of the Judgement of Paris. He had become a friend, and he was handed the greatest PR coup the California wine industry could have wished for. I remember discussing with him who on earth could eventually take over from Michael Broadbent, our star columnist, who was then in his 70s. Brian suggested Steven, and I admitted I didn’t know him well, except by reputation. I put the idea to the back of my mind until I bumped into him at the Wine Trade Benevolent Ball, where ironically, I was being accompanied by Michael’s son Bartholomew. It was the night the stars aligned.
Steven had been employed by Al Fayed to manage the Harrod’s wine department. Steven’s arrival, unsurprisingly, caused a great deal of interest from the press. One of Steven’s great qualities was his openness, but when he told the journalist that one of the improvements he would make was to ensure the wines in future would be in perfect condition and not cooked under Harrod’s glaring hot lights, his disarming honesty brought him into conflict with Fayed. Steven told me how he had been summoned to his office and was told in no uncertain words that he, Al Fayed, wanted publicity for Harrods, not Spurrier. “Think, you are the nanny pushing the pram” he said, to which Steven replied, “Well, you shouldn’t have employed such an attractive nanny”. End of Harrods career.
It was shortly after this when I saw Steven at the ball I asked him how things were going. “I’ve been fired” shot back the reply, I found myself saying “Well you better come and work with us”, and so started a great partnership, a platform for Steven’s many talents, and the beginning of a new era for Decanter. Steven joined his hero Michael Broadbent as a columnist but he also became Consultant Editor, where I as a young publisher who hadn’t come from a wine background found his advice invaluable.
I don’t think looking back Steven ever realised how brilliant he was. He was a modest man who saw endless opportunities where others only saw endless problems or obstacles. I think why it is so hard to believe he isn’t with us is he was always perpetually young, perpetually optimistic, fired up by ideas and new endeavours. Michael Broadent had nicknamed him Peter Pan, it stuck, highly appropriate. Steven will quite rightly be remembered for changing the wine world with the Judgement of Paris, but his influence went way, way beyond that event. Steven’s background was in the classics, and for most of his time at Decanter he was the lead Bordeaux reviewer, so when he reviewed a wine from an unknown or upcoming region, he was looking for the classical European elements of finesse, elegance, balance. At a time when Robert Parker was at the height of his influence , Steven provided a counter balance, and an alternative direction for many wines.
One of his major contributions to the world of wine was his belief that fine wine was not confined to the classical regions, and so he championed new wines and regions, but never at the expense of putting down the classics. An early indication of Steven’s attitude to hierarchy was when he chose studying at the London School of Economics over Cambridge, he was not for the route well-trodden. Steven could be as excited about a new wine from Uruquay as a great Bordeaux, he was label agnostic, what mattered to him was quality. He was one of the greatest tasters of the past century, a fact that even Robert Parker acknowledged. But what made Steven so special was not just his ability to taste and assess wine, but his ability to communicate. Steven was the beacon for anyone and everyone who wanted to learn about wine.
He was passionate about wine education and he believed his greatest achievement was the Academie du Vin, which laid the foundation for the Christie’s wine course. His curiosity about wine meant that he was seen at the most obscure wine tastings, crossing London on his bicycle, always immaculately turned out. He was the gentleman explorer of wine.
When not in London he was on a plane, Canada, India, Bordeaux, California, Chile, he crossed the globe like a modern-day Phineas Fogg. I remember once we were both in Argentina to promote the Decanter World Wine Awards. I had arrived early with a couple of colleagues, Christelle Guibert and Christabel Cairns, and we were all fighting jet lag, Steven arrived straight off the plane, went to the dinner with no sign of tiredness, he appeared the next morning raring to go, jet lag what was that? He was extraordinary, we secretly believed he was powered by a Duracell battery.
Steven’s openness, his zest for life made him friends all over the world. He was not just highly respected for his knowledge; he was universally liked. When we decided to launch the Decanter World Wine Awards Steven’s address book was a huge advantage, but what was invaluable was the desire for the wine world’s most highly qualified judges to judge under him. Such was Steven’s standing that the wine world came to him, Mike Hill Smith flew in from Australia, Poh Tiong from Singapore, Bob Campbell from New Zealand, Andres Rosenberg Argentina, and of course the Mafia Anglais, John Livingstone Learmonth, Mark Williamson, Tim Johnston and James Lawther.
Restaurants were emptied of their star sommeliers and the Institute of Masters of Wine started throwing a party to coincide as there were so many of their alumni in town. Everybody in the wine world wanted to picked as a judge such was his reputation.
Steven as Chairman was in his element. His main role was to step in if there were disputes between the judges. Now if you have 75 Masters of Wine, authors of wine encyclopedias, sommeliers from 3-star restaurants, award-winning journalists not to mention the national newspaper wine columnists you have not a considerable amount of opinion to deal with, about what is, essentially a subjective subject, taste. When loggerheads came the call would come for Spurrier. Over the walkie-talkies I’d hear “get Spurrier to table 8, Spurrier to table 8. now” Steven would walk, he never ran, and would appear to taste the wine in question. He would quietly listen to both judges, who had opposing views on the wine and its potential medal, before sipping it. Nose down, Head back, eyes to the ceiling, then head to the side, before describing “What I find in this wine is”. There was always silence at the table and after he had given his verdict, total acceptance. He had a Gandalf-like quality – what he said was never ever questioned.
Steven loved to travel, and he loved people. He lived the modern life of a young man on the Grand tour, because Steven didn’t just love wine, he loved books and of course, art, which he once said was more important to him than wine. He was a delightful travelling companion, and I had the good fortune to share many journeys with him. One which particularly stood out was our trip to Argentina where we were promoting the Decanter World Wine Awards. The lovely Sophie Jump had organised for us to visit some wineries and one producer decided rather than visiting his vineyards we should visit his farm on the pampas where he bred prize bulls. A private plane was organised, and Steven and I arrived to a royal reception. After visiting the bulls, which Steven politely made appropriate comments about, we tasted the wine and then enjoyed a fantastic asado. The owner, who was rightly proud of his wines, wanted to show them off in the company of some of the world’s most renown wines, so corks flew, and more and more great bottles were opened. By mid-afternoon it was time to return to Mendoza and we climbed back into the private plane. Steven sat down and started reading the International Herald Tribune, he was rarely without it.
It was to my horror that I saw our host telling the pilot to move over as he was going to fly the plane back. “Steven, look” I said horrified pointing at our new inebriated pilot, “What can we do?” Steven, lowered his newspaper and said reassuringly “Don’t worry Sarah, we are flying on very good Malbec”. He was the coolest, coolest cat.
Most people in their late 60s start thinking about simplifying their lives, relaxing, retiring, not Steven. Despite a full life travelling, writing for Decanter, consulting for Singapore Airlines, where he enjoyed hanging out with his great friends, Michael Hill Smith and Jeannie Cho Lee, Steven decided to turn poacher turn gamekeeper. He tells in his autobiography that when Bella bought the farm in Dorset he noticed the soil was full of chalk. He showed the rock samples to Michel Bettane and asked where he thought they came from. The reply “Champagne of course”. A seed was planted. So just before turning 70 Steven turned vigneron, or maybe more accurately, Steven and Bella became vignerons. Steven was hugely excited about Bride Valley Vineyards, and he would bubble with enthusiasm as he told me about the vines he was sourcing from France’s best nursery, how Bella was heading off to Plumpton on a week’s course. His friends the Boisset family were instrumental in helping him on his new venture, and of course, when it came to selling the wine, there wasn’t a decent retailer in the world who didn’t know the Spurrier name.
His last great venture was the establishment of the Académie du Vin library. Patricia Gallagher, his long-time partner in Paris had discovered that the mark was available again to be registered, he was overjoyed. He teamed up with Marc Nadeau to re-register the brand around the world and then with Simon McMurtrie, whose huge publishing experience gave reality to Steven’s vision. The very first book published was a reprint of his hero Michael Broadbent’s Wine Tasting which was launched at memorable party at Vintner’s Hall when Michael turned 92. How thrilled Steven would be to see today the plaudits and awards the books are receiving – a new era in fine wine publishing.
Steven entitled his autobiography “Wine, a way of life”, and so it was but what I believe Steven did was put wine in its true context. Steven saw wine as an element of a cultured life, a tool to aid friendship, a reason to bring people together. And maybe that was Steven’s greatest gift of all, uniting people and sharing with them the great joy and fascination wine brings. I don’t remember one score Steven gave, I do remember endless wisdom, his extraordinary vitality and his great gift for friendship. And of course, conversations, which were usually only partially about wine. They were about friends, books, art, news, new ideas – and always his family.
Wherever we were in the world, whatever event we’d been at the conversation would return to Lily, Constance, Seamus, Otis, Christian and Christine, Kate and of course his beloved Bella. Litton Cheney was his north star. The Friday train back to Dorset could not be missed, no matter how good a tasting there was on. He once said that Decanter felt like a family, well Steven made the wine world feel like a big family, and his loss is immeasurable. The mark of a great man is the memories he leaves, and Steven has left all of us with a treasure trove. How lucky we all are to have known him.
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