Fiona Coyne was once The Weakest Link
Fiona Coyne is best known as the stringent quiz mistress in TV's The Weakest Link, but she is also a writer and onstage actor - most recently seen as Katarina the Cat in Janice Honeyman's pantomime, Pinocchio. A-self professed perfectionist, Coyne makes sure there are no weak links in her wine selection.
What was the first bottle of wine that all made sense and why?
I suppose my most pivotal moment involving the fruit of the vine was not actually about wine. It entailed a bottle of Dom Perignon. I was 17, he was 38, and, well...the great rite of passage began with that bottle of Dom. He read me well!
What was your most memorable wine experience?
An apartment in Copenhagen on a bitterly cold evening. Sleet. Swans waddling along on the pavement below. I was tired and homesick and suddenly my host produced a bottle of Springfield Life from Stone. He had it flown in especially because he had heard it was my favourite wine at the time. One glass and suddenly it felt like summer in Cape Town.
What wine that you have not yet tasted do you most want to?
Chateau Petrus 1957.
What was the last wine that you bought?
Ataraxia Chardonnay 2008.
How big is your wine collection and where do you store it?
It's tiny. I buy wine for the enjoyment of drinking it, not collecting it. But the 50 or so bottles I do have at the moment are stored in a makeshift cellar under the stairs.
Which are your favourite South African wine producers?
Ataraxia, Kanonkop, Thelema, Cape Point, Constantia Uitsig, Graham Beck and, yes, Springfield (still).
What was your most embarrassing moment to do with wine?
Knocking over a glass of red onto the hostess's white velvet ottoman. She said not to worry, but she never invited me back.
What do you like least about wine?
The schlep of recycling all these bottles.
What is your favourite meal?
Homemade tomato soup.
What are your favourite restaurants in South Africa?
The Food Barn in Noordhoek; Reuben's in Franschoek; George's on 4th in Parkhurst.
Which three people would you invite to your fantasy dinner party?
Sigmund Freud, Dorothy Parker and John Malkovich.
What is your current state of mind?
Bemused.
What is your most treasured possession?
My newly won freedom.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Shoes.
How do you relax?
I don't.
Who are your favourite writers?
JM Coetzee, Marlene van Niekerk, John Fowles and Augusten Burroughs.
Who are your favourite musicians?
Leonard Cohen, John Mayer and Fiona Apple.
Where did you spend your last holiday?
The Karoo.
What is your favourite city in the world and why?
Cape Town. What do you mean "why"? Just look at it!
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
If I knew the answer to that, I'd write the book and be rich.
