Oxford and Cambridge wine merchants in taste-off
Historic rivals Oxford and Cambridge went head to head in a blind tasting challenge, with Oxford Wine Company emerging as the victors last night.
Historic rivals Oxford and Cambridge went head to head in a blind tasting challenge, with Oxford Wine Company emerging as the victors last night.
Ted Sandbach, managing director of The Oxford Wine Company challenged Hal Wilson, his counterpart at Cambridge Wine Merchants, to a blind tasting match earlier this year.
Each retailer presented a five-aside team for the tasting match, which was refereed by Oxford University Varsity team blind tasting coach Hanneke Wilson, who provided the wines. The event took place in Portobello restaurant last night in Oxford's Summertown area.
The teams tasted five white and five red wines, under exam conditions, to identify grape variety, country, region, sub-region and vintage.
The results were close: the Oxford Wine Company pipped Cambridge to the post with a 40-point lead. The top individual score of the match went to Oxford's John Chapman with 110 points, closely followed by team mate Theo Sloot on 99 points. Cambridge's Hal Wilson scored 96 points.
Sandbach said the occasion offered a chance for both companies to "learn more about each other's businesses and build a stronger bond".
Hal Wilson said the concept had proved "really enjoyable" and plans are already afoot to host the next one in Cambridge next year.
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