Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
| Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Oz Clarke James May |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 14 (at end of series two) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Nick Shearman Simon Kerfoot |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 2006 – present |
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is a BBC television programme of which, thus far, there have been two series. It is presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May (of Top Gear fame), the former taking it upon himself to educate the latter about wine.
First series
The first series focuses on French wine and was first broadcast in the autumn of 2006. It is accompanied by a book. (See below.) For several weeks, Clarke and May travel around France's wine regions in an 1989 Jaguar XJ-S convertible that has been modernized by Knowles-Wilkins Engineering[1]
Although at times it gets quite technical, the programme is light in tone, much of its entertainment value deriving from the personality clashes between the refined gourmet Clarke and May, whom the former at one point describes as "an utter scruff". (This is ironic given that on Top Gear May has a habit of positioning himself as the gentleman of the three presenters.)
May is a far from ideal student and often behaves rather rudely and grumpily, being more interested in drinking wine than in talking about it. When he thinks Oz starts rambling too much, May blows on a whistle, dubbed the "Ozillator" (a pun on oscillator).
At the beginning of their journey, May is someone who likes to drink wine, but knows next to nothing about it. Clarke teaches him the basics about smells and texture and about grape varieties, shows him how wine is made, what wine goes with what food and also focuses on the culture surrounding wine. The two visit wine makers of all kinds, from ones in small sheds to prestigious operations like Champagne Krug. Clarke quizzes May a few times, often with embarrassing results, but ultimately May does pick up certain things.
Second series
As an anthithesis to the first, this series, Clarke and May travel through California sampling new world wines, starting at Venice Beach and going north all the way to the Napa Valley. The mode of tranpost this time is a Monaco motorhome.
Original Air Dates[2]
- 16 Oct 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 1 - Santa Barbara County and Pinot Noir.
- 23 Oct 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 2 - Paso Robles and terroir.
- 30 Oct 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 3 - Monterey County, Chardonnay and the world's largest vineyard owned by Delicato Family Vineyards.
- 20 Nov 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 4 - Santa Cruz County, artisan vs. corporate wineries (Bronco Wine Company's Two Buck Chuck).
- 27 Nov 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 5 - San Francisco Bay Area and Zinfandel
- 4 Dec 2007 (20:00-20:30) BBC Two Episode 6 - Napa Valley and sparkling wine.
DVD release
- Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is now available on DVD in the UK.
Book
- Clarke, Oz and James May. Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. London: BBC, 2006. ISBN 978-0563539001
References
- ^
May, James (2006-12-08). "A postcard from France". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
To that end, I bought a 17-year-old Jaguar XJ-S V12 convertible, partly in the hope that it would do the decent old-Jag thing and leave me stranded in Kent, where I could just have a nice pint instead. Sadly, no. It has so far brought us all the way to Bordeaux. This is in part the fault of Knowles-Wilkins Engineering, purveyor of subtly refettled XJ-S and Series III Jaguars, which worked continuously on the car from the day I bought it to the evening of the day before I left.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007tvz9/episodes/2007