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MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Tasting terms make it easier to appreciate wine
Antony Beck has broadened the vision and narrowed the focus of the eponymous wine business
Among the most overworked words in wine presentations in the postmodern world are "terroir" and "sustainability". Add to these "passion", "family" and "custodianship" and you have most of the descriptors that require special filtering if you are to distinguish marketing hype from a speaker’s sincere intentions. The terminology is important because, correctly applied, the concepts are meaningful. Site matters if you aim to distinguish between wines produced to an industrial formula and those that express authenticity of place. Where the vineyards really do contribute to the product, their continued existence means more than the anodyne hope that the earth will provide sustenance to future generations (sustainability). By the same token, the concept of custodianship is only useful if you recognise the importance of authenticity, which brings with it a duty to preserve those elements that contribute to the uniqueness of the site. People who are in this line of business can defend the u...
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