£350 raised. Eight wines sampled and winning table guessed six correctly. Many thanks to our main sponsors, Poole Sailing, and also to Tescos, Waitrose and Sainsburys in Poole. Meet the panel:
Marcus Mainwaring is an English author and fine wine journalist. He is considered a pioneer presence on the Internet of the British wine writing establishment, having run the website Vine2Wine since 1995. Yes, he was a precocious child. Marcus has published the book ‘Wine: Where Would The WorldWideWeb Be Without It?’ and contributes regularly to publications such as Wines of the Punjab, The Dandy, Wigan Evening Post, Women’s Suffrage Journal and Make Your Own Wine. Last year, Marcus won International Online Writer of the Year at the Dorset IT for the Elderly Awards for his website. Upon accepting the award Marcus is said to have joked, “I deserve it, I am the greatest” – he wasn’t joking. Marcus is resident wine expert on the Hospital Radio Bedside show ‘That’s The Spirit’ hosted by Gary Plummer. He also provides advice for the wine cellar of the young Prince George.
Barry Hogan is an Australian promoter, maker, judge, taster, teacher and drinker of wine. The Alice Springs Companion to Wine writes that he is doing “… more to advance the amount of wine drunk in Australia than any other individual.” Others have referred to him as ‘the godfather of the Australian wine industry’ and ‘Australia’s leading ambassador of wine’. From his vineyard on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Barry has reached the pinnacle of his chosen profession, holding such positions as President of the Chapman River Wine Industry Association; Vice President of the Winemakers’ Federation of Tasmania; member of the strategic Dudley Peninsula Wine Advisory Council, and President of the Down Under Grape Growers Association. He has recently decided to devote his full attention to fulfilling his ambition to get in the Guinness Books of Records for tasting the greatest number of wines in the world. Hence his agreement to join us this evening.
Frau Doktor Magda Burg is a renowned authority on wine tasting and old wines. In 1966 she started her own wine auctions in a Munich beerhouse cellar, which would eventually lead her to trade in and taste a greater number of fine and rare wines than anyone else in the world. Unlike Barry, quality and not quantity is her watchword! Her tasting notes are estimated to number over 90,000 in more than 140 notebooks. As opposed to American wine critic Robert Parker, Magda does not give wines a numerical score, but employs a system that awards a wine up to five grape pips. For 18 years Magda has presented the popular Bremen Broadcasting Ich Liebe Liebfraumilch (I Love Liebfraumilch) television series. The Blue Nun of the German Wine World, as she is sometimes known, is famous for her outrageously abstract descriptions of wine tasting appreciation, often referring to certain wines as reminiscent of pear drops, liquorice and even rubber.
