Q&A with… James Flewellen

James Flewellen, of Lincoln College, Oxford, scored the highest mark for the past two years at the Pol Roger-sponsored Varsity blind tasting match and last week captained the Oxford team to victory in the University Wine Champions 2012 competition, organised by Wine Australia.

What attracted you to joining the Oxford blind tasting team? Growing up in New Zealand, my parents and some of their friends were into good wine. They encouraged me to try different wines from a fairly young age. However, when I arrived in Oxford, I was blown away by the huge variety of wines available in the UK from all around the world. I saw the Blind Tasting Society as a cost-effective way of experiencing and learning a lot about all these different wines. I had been along to tastings regularly for about two months when I was asked to be in the team for the Varsity match. It was quite a surprise!

What sort of wines were in the line-up at this year’s Varsity match? Fairly difficult wines! Especially in the white flight, there were many varieties that I had not heard of, let alone tasted; varieties that I dare say would be hard to find on the shelves of many a wine merchant, let alone supermarkets. Aligoté, Clairette, Sauvignon Gris spring to mind in that category. There was also a Roussanne from South Africa.

What advice would you give to someone looking to hone their blind tasting skills? To begin with you simply need to think about what you drink. You need to observe what is in your glass and pay attention to how the wine interacts with your senses – aromas, flavours, tannins, acidity and alcohol levels, etc. This will give you the basic tools for analysing a wine. Then it is a matter of tasting a lot of wine, keeping accurate notes and learning to draw parallels with your previous wine-tasting experiences. And above all, have fun!