A very long time ago, one of England’s greatest cricketers was a man called C.B. Fry. He was astonishingly talented. In addition to playing cricket for England, he was also a professional footballer and the holder of the world long-jump record. Bizarrely enough, he was even offered the chance to be King of Albania at one point. Later in his life he wrote an autobiography called Life Worth Living.
I thought of C.B. Fry, who I imagine is long-forgotten even by most cricket fans, while I was reading Tasting Victory by Gérard Basset. It’s a pretty good title, but I think Basset should have purloined the name of Fry’s book for his own autobiography. For although Basset died an early death, he accomplished an awful lot: he was a Master Sommelier, a Master of Wine, the winner of innumerable sommelier titles, including Best Sommelier in the World, and the co-founder of the Hotel du Vin group. It was a life worth living.
As someone who writes about travel, I enjoyed the early chapters in which he describes his upbringing in Saint-Étienne (“nothing special about the place”) and “beautiful” Aix-en-Provence. He paints a vivid picture of France at the time. I was surprised to learn that “in the late sixties and early seventies, sport in France was not taken that seriously”, although his father viewed cyclists in the Tour de France as “superheroes with supernatural powers”. It was clearly a more innocent time. Travel itself was evidently a more pleasurable and relaxed affair too. Returning to France after his first visit to England, Basset recounts that “the Marseille customs officer did not even bother to check anyone”.
There are many amusing anecdotes in Basset’s story. He recalls being “mystified” by an “aloof” diner in Hampshire who had been very genial the previous time he had served him. The reason eventually dawned on Basset: “I realised the woman he was dining with was not the same one he had been with three weeks ago. This lady, no doubt, was his wife.” Sir Edward Heath, at the time a former prime minister, would visit the same restaurant and have whisky as an apéritif before moving on to wine. Not good for the palate, perhaps, but worthy of respect.
Best of all is the tale of the high-rolling bankers who descended on the place and proceeded to drink Dom Pérignon, Grand Cru Chablis, Château Lafite, Château Latour and Château d’Yquem. They wanted to finish the night with some Krug, but Basset told them it was sadly impossible as it was past midnight and they were not staying in the hotel. One of the bankers simply paid for a room, ‘didn’t bother to take the key’, and they kept on drinking. The bankers eventually departed, after settling up and leaving “a generous tip”. Basset writes that he “felt very proud…for having played my part in such a successful arrangement.”
Basset had an appealingly old school mindset. He was competitive and worked hard to achieve success. When describing difficult periods, he does so in a matter-of-fact way. Although he had a rough childhood, there’s no suggestion that he was plagued by mental health troubles as a consequence. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he was phlegmatic: “To my surprise I did not panic or have a meltdown. I was sixty years old and I thought, ‘Well, if my time is up, then so be it.’”
There are many useful lessons for life in Basset’s book. Readers of this publication will not be surprised by his remark that “there was an assumption that being French made me a wine expert.” Many of his valid observations are not related to wine, though. He encountered troubles in business towards the end of his life, leading to this comment: “It turned out that just as we had no experience with con men, so we had no real experience with lawyers either – but we were about to get it.” Words for the ages.
I liked Tasting Victory a lot. It’s short and very readable, and Basset comes across well. He was a hard-working man who made the most of his abilities and opportunities and had considerable success. In words of which C.B. Fry would have approved, he had this to say about his life: “I have had a good innings.”
Published in The Wine Merchant, April 2026.
