Brett, The Wine Maestro

Thank you very much for your interest and support for my hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square on 14^th September 2009.

I was delighted when I learnt that I had won a place in the ballot for an hour on the Fourth Plinth as it would give me an opportunity to talk about two things close to my heart: raising awareness of prostate cancer and the enjoyment of wine. I was even more excited when the Prostate UK charity suggested I wear gold pants and gold cape – just the garb to brighten up an early autumn evening up high in the heart of London…

As well as the encouragement of Prostate UK I was generously given the wines to taste by the excellent wine importer Caves de Pyrène and by Ridgeview, producer of top quality English sparkling wines, to whom I am very grateful.

Fortunately it didn’t rain during my stint and, once I’d ditched the Prostate UK banner, the wind didn’t cause too many problems, as long as I clutched my flipchart tightly and held on to my (plastic) glass! My hour passed very quickly but I managed to say all I wanted to before the green tumbrel appeared with the next plinther.

Many people turned out on the blustery evening to gaze up at me and vicariously enjoy the wines I was tasting, as well as cheering me on with the occasional pithy comment. And many people sent me messages of support and compliments through the main One and Other site, emails and social media. All of you put a spring in my step and gave me the confidence to ‘get up there and do my stuff’.

I am very grateful too for the support that Wink gave me in preparing for this exciting adventure, especially in writing the press release.

Thank you all very much indeed, and for your support of Prostate UK.

Here is a list of the wines I tasted:

From Caves de Pyrène:

1 Con Class, Rueda Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Rueda, Spain

2 Domaine Bruno Lupin, Roussette de Savoie Cru Frangy 2008 Savoie, France

3 Wakefield, Promised Land Shiraz-Cabernet 2006 Clare Valley, Australia

4 Terra Organica, Zuccardi, Terra Organica Malbec 2008 Mendoza, Argentina

From Ridgeview:

5 Ridgeview Cuvée Merret Grosvenor 2006 Sussex, England

Blog links:

Jim Budd’s Blog 13 Sep 09

Jim Budd’s Blog 14 Sep 09

Newspaper links:

Southend Echo

Billericay Gazette

Link to One and Other video:

My hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square