| Thursday, August 17th, 2006 at 5:06 pm | ||
| Author: Hugo | ||
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The Doyen is Gone
It is a sad day for wine lovers not just in Australia, but around the world. This morning, Len Evans died of a heart attack at the age of 75.
I, like many, only knew of Len by his larger than life reputation. He was known globally for his passion, enthusiasm and knowledge and was Australian wine's greatest exponent;
“We can become the third-biggest wine producer in the world and even in time the greatest, but every hatchet has to be buried. We have to pull together.”
Well known UK wine journo Matthew Jukes revealed at the Sydney Royal Wine Show earlier this year that sitting next to Len at a function was 'a mind blowing moment" in his career. Campbell Mattinson has some insightful and heartfelt words at WineFront here. For a list of reasons why Len was, and always will be, the doyen of Australian wine - click here.
Our heartfelt condolences to Len's family and friends.
Addon:
The Len Evans Principle, better known as his Theory of Capacity, paraphrased and abridged (source: freerangegourmet.com):
- There is an awful lot of wine in the world, but there is also a lot of awful wine in the world.
One person can only drink a certain amount in a lifetime.- There are countless flavors, nuances, shades of wine; endless varieties, regions, styles. You have neither the time nor the capacity to try them all.
- To make the most of the time left to you, you must start by calculating your total future capacity….there are only so many bottles ahead of you.
- People who say: 'You can't drink the good stuff all the time' are talking rubbish. You must drink good stuff all the time. Every time you drink a bottle of inferior wine, it's like smashing a superior bottle against the wall. The pleasure is lost forever - you can't get that bottle back.
- There are people who don't want to drink good wine, and are happy with the cheapies. I forgive them. There are others who are content with beer and spirits; I can't worry about everybody.
- Wine is not meant to be enjoyed for its own sake; it is the key to love and laughter with friends, to the enjoyment of food, beauty and humor and art and music. Its rewards are far beyond its cost.
- What part is wine of your life? Ten percentum: Ergo, 10 per cent of your income should be spent on wine.
- The principle should be applied to other phases of life. A disciple kissed a beautiful young lady and she demurred. He was aghast, and said: "Don't get the wrong idea. I've worked out I can only make love another 1343 times. I'm bloody sure I'm not wasting one on you!"
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