Tasting Victory

by Gérard Basset

A school dropout, Gerard had to come to England to discover his passion. He threw himself into learning everything he could about wine, immersing himself in the world of Michelin star restaurants and beginning the steep climb to the top of the career ladder. Tasting Victory charts his business co-founding and selling the innovative Hotel du Vin chain and founding, with his wife Nina, the much-loved Hotel TerraVina. It recounts in detail just how he managed to earn his unprecedented sequence of qualifications; Gerard is the first and only individual to hold the famously difficult Master of Wine qualification simultaneously with that of Master Sommelier and MBA in Wine Business. But it is his pursuit of the most important award of all that forms the core of this book – how, at his seventh attempt, and after a training regime that would shame most Olympic athletes, the fifty-three-year-old Gerard Basset was finally crowned the Best Sommelier of the World, and acknowledged as the greatest sommelier of his generation. Gerard's memoir is not only the story of how a champion is made, but also a record of how fine dining and hospitality changed in England, going from stale and unexciting to the world-leading sector it is today. Above all, it’s a book about succeeding against great in typical fashion it was when he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus that Gerard responded by deciding to write Tasting Victory, which he completed shortly before his death in January 2019.

246 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Rowen Johnson]

3.5*
This was an interesting life story, with more focus around the hotelier business and also on the arduous process of becoming a renowned sommelier. It was however lacking on details of specific wines. I would have liked some more coverage over the wines he especially loved and also some info about certain chateaus/houses he liked.

Overall, this book was really interesting and an amazing insight in how someone could come from nothing to the top of their field. I was engrossed in its content from the first page. It was one of the few books over which I have shed a tear.

This would be a 4.5 if there were some details about wines. If you are just looking for an interesting biography about someone who has excelled within this field, then I am sure you would love this.

[sean murray]

How amazing, so inspirational

It's such a wonderful book to read as one of the hotelier who currently work in the hotel du vin.

[Jorge Guitián Castromil]

Leído en la edición española de la editorial Culturaliquida, sin ficha aquí. Interesante, aunque un poco lineal.

[Liam Mycroft]

From cover to cover, a wonderful story of determination and taking each opportunity and difficulty with a passion to succeed. His sad falling to cancer took away a beacon of light in his, and our, world long before it should.

This book is not only for those who love wine tales, but a story of achievement and should be a go to book for all who aim to be successful in their chosen path.

Highly recommended...

[Elizabeth Kelly]

An absolutely brilliant read about a really lovely and humble man, who shows what you can achieve in life through hard work and determination.