After a well-balanced joust, the University of Edinburgh came second to the University of Oxford in the University Wine Championships last week in London.

Eight UK universities, each sponsored by a renowned winery, participated in the first University Challenge-styled quiz on Australia and its wines. Edinburgh and Oxford passed the filter into the final match, held in the Saatchi Gallery on January 26 (Australia Day).

Frederick Botfield, Jared Ehret, Luke McIlwain, and Robert Potts represented the university with their good taste – and not only in wine:  “Most of our preparation was spent deciding what to wear for each competition, which probably explains the result,” joked Botfield, “Other than that, the odd wine book and plenty of Aussie wine kept us in the game.”

 The teams travelled the Australian vines with their sharp palates in front of a large audience of supporters, who enjoyed the annual trade tasting after the match. The contestants were put to the test by ‘The Wine Detective’, Sarah Ahmed, with questions that went “from tartaric acid in grapes to surfing!”, as Botfield describes.

The blind tasting rounds certainly presented a ‘brooding complexity’ for the contestants. The last blend, a Shiraz/Cabernet, did not reveal its identity to either team; a vibrant ‘finish’ to a match in which the wine itself was victorious.

Director of Wine Australia for UK-Ireland-Europe, Yvonne May, remarked on the impressive energy and discipline of both teams, saying “It’s been eye-opening to see how much students know about wine these days.”

In return, these tastings have successfully opened many eyes to the Australian wine industry. By promoting Australian wines as “second to none”,  Wine Australia’s strategy is “to educate” young palates, as they harvest a new generation of wine conoisseurs.

The Oxford champions won a two-week trip through Australia’s wine regions, but the second place left a very good aftertaste to the Edinburgh team. The captain, Jahred Ehret, finished with a high note, “I wish the next Edinburgh captain all the best and expect them to get at least as far as we did this year!”