Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure 2007

[Shazzybabes]

I think dark blue really suits him, looks totally georgeous.

[Wyvern]

Dark colours look really good on him full stop

I'm going to the Major Morgan Purple Shirt Happy Place now...

[Deleted]

Episode 4 pictures

[dutchdiva]

ah I'm just watching this episode and making caps for the fan site.

[helenanne]

Apr 15, 2008 9:15:31 GMT @dutchdiva said:

ah I'm just watching this episode and making caps for the fan site.

Just have to say I LOVE your website!
Those screen caps keep me going during the day. Makes my work day soooo much eaiser. I saw you put the Pendine sands ones up eairler. The bit when James loses the car, and says 'Struth' oh that makes me think BAD thoughts, actually they are quite good thoughts ;D
I would soooo like to make an animated Avater of that with the Struth bit at the end.
They also show that on the Wine Adventures DVD, which I've been drooling over all night.

[lindenchase]

Some sad news... I'm in San Francisco at the moment and thought I check out the infamous wine bar that James and Oz went to. Beckstar was kind enough to look up the name and it turned out to be quite close to my hotel.
But alas... the place has closed down. Only recently apparently, as their website is still on-line. So, James and Oz's visit didn't do the place any good. Or maybe they were closed down by the health authorities after reports that people drank out of the spittoons. ;D

[dutchdiva]

I know it's old news but I haven't seen it posted yet

After two series of sipping at the font of Oz Clarke's wine wisdom, James May can tell his Riesling from his Rioja, identify a Californian Chardonnay at 20 paces and describe the plummy nose of a Shiraz without gritting his teeth.



This time, however, the duo are embarking on a tour of the UK on a quest to find the perfect home-grown tipple, from bitter to lager, cider and whisky.



Oz And James's Big British Adventure (working title) is the third series of the wine show featuring the nation's favourite odd couple Oz Clarke and James May.



James may he think he knows more about beer than Oz but he soon discovers Oz's drinks expertise isn't just confined to wine. Expect plenty of bickering, banter and drinking as Oz and James go on their third road trip together.



Oz And James's Big British Adventure is commissioned by Roly Keating, Controller, BBC Two, and Lisa Edwards for BBC Two.



The executive producers are Mark Hill, Head of RDF Television West; Chris Stuart, Creative Director, Presentable; and Lisa Edwards for the BBC.

[lew]

Must start a new thread for any titbits about the new series, that'll get them all going ;D

[Shortie]

I've just said on the Button Thread, then realised it should probably be here not there, that I had found Dave was repeating the French Wine Adventure this week, and I thought it had been re-edited, there were bits I didn't recognise.

[blackopal]

Apr 15, 2008 0:17:26 GMT @maygrail said:

What does James' shirt say?

Many thanks to Maygrail for sharing these caps. I haven't seen most of the shows in question, so this is lovely.

[dutchdiva]

here you go blackopal

[blackopal]

Ooh thank you. Must be a war-related slogan I imagine. Very interesting.

And I'd like to throw my support behind Eclair that the next wine series should be in Australia. They make the most divine chardonnay - it's the bomb. That's how I chose my username:



Sorry I keep jumping from subject to subject; I'm trying to catch up. This snippet is from the review that Ms. Eclair gave the link for: "The last show saw a complete absence of James May's loutishness. Gone were the burps and sneers, replaced by an appreciation of fine wines and a blurt of wine facts."

He was burping? On camera? Oh dear. Actually he sort of looks like he's mid-burp in the Dig For Victory photo above, come to think of it...

[Deleted]

James was quite pished and naughty boyish by that point ;D I also think the burping was tongue in cheek

[Eclair]

He does a ripper after getting "clattered" whilst at Sue Wah's (sic) winery in WA Series 2 Episode 6... ;D

[maureen]

I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I just ordered the DVD for this. I can't wait until it gets here. In the meantime, I've got it scattered on several different tapes. Now, I just wish they would release Inside Killer Sharks and both Top Toys shows on DVD.

[maureen]

I finally got this in the post this week. After long hours of work, the only thing I had the energy to do the last two days was watch this with a glass of wine and my husband. We really enjoyed it alot together. When watching the last episode where they were in the high class restaurant, I imediately thought of Crocodile Dundee and my husband the first time we'd gone to a high class restaurant together. I'll bet, like my husband and Paul Hogan, James probably slapped the waiter's hand when having the napkin placed on his lap. ;D ;D I wish I was the blond chick in the biker one putting tattoes all over his sweet face and running her fingers through his lovely hair. It looked like he was melting while she was. Lucky girl!

[Deleted]

Beeb interview www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/wineadventure_interviewjames.shtml

James' adventure

We meet James May and find out how he's come on with his knowledge of wine.

What was it like working with Oz again? Has the dynamic between you changed much since the first series?

We know each other much better now, of course. For the first trip, we met twice before setting off and it was just brief meetings about the trip. Now he takes me to the pub occasionally to try new wines. Yes he's still irritating and I still irritate him. He thinks I'm a scruff (and I am) and I think he's a pompous bloke.

How did this trip compare to France overall?

I know a bit more now than I did then, but actually not as much as I think I know, which will become apparent when you see the programme. It's very different in California of course - they speak English for a start. I'd assumed they wouldn't be bogged down by the same old rules and etiquette as the French, but they turned out to be the same in lots of ways.

The wines are more accessible though. Most casual drinkers like me would tend to gravitate to New World wines, though not necessarily Californian. People in Britain think about grape varieties - we look for Chardonnay, while the French look for the region, say Chablis. In the US, you get both those things. If you like a light Pinot Noir, you just think 'I'll have that'. In France, you have to choose the region and then work out where to go from there.

Do you think New World wines are as good as French wines?

Some of them are better. If you're a true connoisseur with money to spend, you should learn about French wine. The really good - and unfortunately really expensive wines - are fabulous, while the average wine is mediocre. If you're an average drinker that likes mid-range wine, you're better off with the New World. There are cheap wines from France, but you need to know a lot to find them.

What is the most exciting bottle of wine you've ever tried?

Either Château Pichon-Baron, a Bordeaux wine from early on the last trip or - from this trip - Orion, made by a bloke called Sean Thackrey. In California, I tried some incredibly expensive wines and they were lovely, but this one was the most interesting. It's made from grapes from old vines - they're not even identifiable as a variety so he calls it California native red wine. It sounds terrible, but it's really exciting stuff - though it's about £70 a bottle.

Do Clarkson and Hammond tease you for being a student to Oz and learning about wine, or do they actually come to you for wine advice?

God, no, they wouldn't come to me for wine advice! They just take the mickey out of it - saying I'm on holiday with my boyfriend. Though I have to admit that I've been in a restaurant with Jeremy (Clarkson) and he's handed the wine list to me saying I probably know more than him, though I probably don't to be honest.

Did you feel more equipped for this trip than you did before you went to France?

Oz is a fantastic teacher. All this stuff about swirling the wine to get the oxygen in it sounds ridiculous, but it's all true - I have to admit I've called him from off-licences for advice. Of course I've learned infinitely more since the beginning of the first series. I knew nothing then. Oz says I have a reasonably good palate and if I concentrated, made wine notes and took it all seriously like him, I might get quite good at it. I'm not interested in taking it that far, which is lucky, otherwise the programme would end up being about two wine ponces.

Do you think you could ever become a wine snob?

I avoid being a snob of anything; it's a reprehensible concept. If I scrutinise myself, though, I guess I am a snob about music and cars - I'm fighting it! What I don't like about wine is the pretentiousness of it. People think that buying the right wine makes them a good person. The truth is that most people don't know much about it. You need guidance to make an informed choice. You can get very good wines for £3, but you have to know what you're doing and have to put in the groundwork.

Oz said that you were often quite shocked at the price tag on some of the wines you tried in California, some up to £2,000 dollars. Has your view changed about the pricing of high-end wines like this? Are they ever worth it?

I've always believed my quest is to find good wines that people like me would buy, for around £10. Oz has always been a champion of this too, since his old Food and Drink days. Yes, a 60-year-old vintage from an award-winning vineyard is going to be spectacularly good, very nice thanks, but it's irrelevant to your average person - as is living in a castle - so we have to look elsewhere. As with all luxury things, you get these incremental improvements at a huge increase in price.

Do they make better wine or better cars in California?

American cars are dreadful; the Americans are definitely better at drink! We did have a bit of fun with the cars out there though. We drove around California in a Monaco Dynasty, which was great fun, though it was huge, so not a particularly exciting drive. We also had a bit of good car action when we borrowed a Mustang and a Mini from an car enthusiast in San Francisco. In France I'd be inclined to go for the cars. The French have an good take on car design - it's interesting, enduring and radical.

Where would you like to go next?

We could carry on with the New World and go to Australia or Chile - their wines are so popular in Britain that it would be pretty relevant. Otherwise the Old World - maybe Italy and Portugal? Or we could have a crack at Germany? I'd be interested to do something about British drinks - cider, mead, whisky and beer, of course.

[maureen]

Good find, MG. I read this last winter and thought it was delightful. I like to experiment when I'm on holiday or visiting wineries and wine restaurants, but once I'm at home, the old stand-bys of colonial wines end up in my wine rack at home. Most of my collection usually consists of California and Australian wines with the odd red Monsoon Thai. Nummy!

[Deleted]

I copied it incase the Beeb hid the page

[wildcathammondette]

Found this



Funnily enough the text underneath Route De Vin is Dutch and it reads

"With the Jag Through the winefields"