Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure

*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

On Tuesday the 16th of October 2007, the first programme of the second series was broadcast on BBC2. In this series, Clarke and May travel through California, starting at Venice Beach and going north all the way to Napa Valley, this time in a Monaco recreational vehicle.

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)

[1] 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)

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