In reasonable taste
IN REASONABLE TASTE
David Biggs worked for many years as a journalist on the Cape Argus newspaper and has contributed to numerous magazines. A veteran of the South African wine scene, he is known and loved for his gently irreverent take on wine and all things alcoholic. He has written a number of books over the years, including Whisky Cocktails, Mocktails and Karoo Ramblings – Short Stories and Tall Tales.
Although he is regularly invited to serve on wine-judging panels, Biggs refuses to take the subject of wine – or life – seriously. He abandoned his Plonk Buyer’s Guide series when people started taking him seriously. He orginally drew the illustrations in In Reasonable Taste on the backs of wine scoresheets and unpaid bar bills.
This book – a compilation of columns that have been published in Good Taste magazine over the past 10 years – aims to “prick the bubble of pretentiousness” that so often surrounds wine and wine connoisseurs.
With his characteristically wry humour, Biggs speculates how Homo erectus may have accidentally drunk fermented berry juice and developed a taste for it (“The rest, as they say, is history.”); he waxes nostalgic about Lieberstein wine, fondly remembering the radio jingle, “Get together with Lieberstein, anywhere, any time.” (“Even today you can whistle the first eight simple notes and you’ll get smiles of recognition from older wine lovers. ‘Ah yes! Lieberstein!’”); he examines the concept of terroir and decides that, for the wine consumer, it’s about being in the right company and the right place at the right time (“Open a bottle of Old Brown Sherry at a formal dinner party and it will probably be received with scorn. Wrong terroir! But bring out that same bottle when you’re fishing from the rocks at Jongensfontein and sheltering from the icy southeaster, pour it into a plastic coffee mug and offer it to your angling pal and it will be greeted with joy and appreciation. See what a difference the terroir has made?”); he likens the “purple prose” concocted by wine-label writers to Barbara Cartland characters (“‘A shy, rather timid wine’. The heroine, of course; demure and virtuous.”).
This book is an easy read, a light-hearted romp through the world of wine, taking pokes at many sacred cows along the way.
In Reasonable Taste is available at www.publisher.co.za for R180.
