Oz & James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure was a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It was presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May, with Clarke aiming to educate May about wine while undertaking a road trip. The first season focused on France and the second on California. The sequel series Oz and James Drink to Britain, broadcast in 2009, made the change to a focus on the variety of beverages available in the United Kingdom.
Seasons
1. Bordeaux and Languedoc-Roussillon
Air Date: 2006-11-22
Oz Clarke attempts to educate Top Gear presenter James May about the pleasures of drinking wine. The first episode begins in the Bordeaux region, where the skeptical student learns to appreciate the nose on individual bottles, and tries to talk his way through a tasting session at ultra-posh Château Pichon Longueville-Baron. After Oz witnesses James embarrass himself, his next lesson takes them back to the basics of the winemaking process, from harvesting to crushing to bottling. James creates his own wine along the way and inflicts it upon an unsuspecting public with a blind taste test.
2. Provence
Air Date: 2006-11-29
Provence provides an opportunity to learn to match wine with various foods. Jean-Claude Mas, a young winemaker who uses New World techniques to improve the wine, coupled the local speciality, oysters, with his Arrogant Frog Sauvignon Blanc; Béziers, a French town with a great Spanish influence, offers steak with various red wines. And finally, there's a dessert course at Ousteau de Baumanière, courtesy of France’s champion dessert chef.
3. Rhône Valley
Air Date: 2006-12-06
The Rhône Valley provided ample opportunity to learn about lots of different grape varieties. However, the world-renowned winemaker Michel Chapoutier provides an obvious distraction for James with his classic car collection. The father and son team of Domaine Viret, Alain and Philippe Viret, managed to extol the benefits of embracing ‘cosmoculture’, a mystical approach to grape growing involving the harnessing of the cosmic energy of the sky. And Former French rugby international and winemaker, Gérard Bertrand, challenged James to blend his very own wine using a variety of grape extracts.
4. Alsace and Burgundy
Air Date: 2006-12-13
The duo headed to Alsace and Burgundy for a lesson on barrel making, and ‘terroir’ - a catch-all way of describing the many factors that can influence the quality of a vineyard. Oz then took a sceptical James to meet one of Burgundy’s most celebrated winemakers, Thierry Beaumont, to sample Burgundies from Thierry’s three separate terroirs.
5. Champagne
Air Date: 2006-12-20
On arriving in the north-eastern corner of France, in Champagne, James and Oz were shown how to blend wines in the headquarters of the House of Krug, by Rémi Krug himself. Next, they’re off to meet an independent champagne producer, the Compte Audoin de Dampierre. And of course James is more interested in looking at the Count’s vintage Aston Martin than tasting the vintage champagne!
1. Santa Barbara County
Air Date: 2007-10-16
The odd couple are reunited on Muscle Beach where Oz won the World Wine Tasting Championships in the 1980s. His bubble is soon burst when James reveals his vehicle of choice for their road trip, a 42ft monster motorhome which they will share for four hot, cramped and sweaty weeks.
2. Paso Robles
Air Date: 2007-10-23
Oz Clarke's attempts to educate James May about the pleasures of wine take them to California's outlaw country, where Jesse James hid and James Dean died. The Top Gear presenter is impressed by the wine and its rebellious makers, but most excited by the Harley he uses to tour the second vineyard
3. Monterey County
Air Date: 2007-10-30
Oenophile Oz Clarke takes novice James May on a month-long trip around California's wineries. In this third episode, Oz and James are on the coastline of Monterey County. All manner of non-wine tasting related activities ensue, including muscle car racing and rifle shooting with an eccentric millionaire.
4. Santa Cruz County
Air Date: 2007-11-15
Oenophile Oz Clarke takes novice James May around California's wineries. They have arrived in the Santa Cruz area. Tension mounts between the odd couple when James crashes the RV. The bickering continues at Randall Grahm's New World vinery, which produces what James sees as yet more over-priced, inaccessible wine. James gets his revenge when they go to meet 'two-buck-Chuck', whose wine factory churns out bottles for only two dollars.
5. San Francisco Bay Area
Air Date: 2007-11-27
The duo tour the San Francisco Bay area in a classic British Mini and receive a history lesson as they visit vineyards more than 100 years old. They learn about the impact of Prohibition, and James is impressed when Oz finally finds a notable American wine that is both affordable and accessible.
6. North Coast and Sparkling Wine
Air Date: 2007-12-04
Arriving at the glamorous Napa Valley, they are dismayed to discover that they're staying in the car park. The pair argue about who will empty the RV's waste tank, then sample Californian champagne at the Tattinger estate. Next, the Schramsberg estate, where the quarreling continues with a heated debate about what bubbles taste like. Frustrated, James rents a Mustang Shelby to get them out of the hated RV.
7. Sonoma Valley
Air Date: 2007-12-11
They meet Mike Benziger, owner of an organic estate. He maintains an insectry, where he breeds insects to eat the lesser bugs that damage his vines, and a sceptical James is silenced when he tastes the wine. Next, they visit the Gallo estate, a producer of affordable wines that flood the international market. Their hostess, Gina Gallo, is charming, but Oz and James sour her hospitality by having another argument.
8. Napa Valley
Air Date: 2007-12-18
Oz and James return to the opulent Napa Valley. James is dismayed that Cabernet is a trophy to be paraded here, rather than a wine to be drunk and enjoyed. But at Bill Harlan's estate, a vinery making fine wines that regularly get ratings of 100/100, he concedes that he may have become a wine snob. As they drive home in the now-battered RV, they discuss where their next adventure will take them.
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Rating
8.0/10
Release Date
2006-11-22
Episodes
13 (2 seasons)
Status
Ended
Cast
Production Companies
RDF Television