John Stimpfig

‘At age 17, I’d have guzzled it down… But he barely touched it’

Sixteen yearS ago, i bought a case of Château LéovillePoyferré 2000 for my son to be handed over on his 21st birthday. two years later, i did the same for my second son, with a case of Léoville-Barton 2002. My daughter will get a case of Pontet-Canet 2006.

Unfortunately though, what seemed like three good ideas more than a decade ago aren’t necessarily working out quite as intended. For a start, my two boys’ relationship with wine is already startlingly different to my own.

Most recently, on his 17th birthday, i offered the eldest a glass of Champagne (Deutz’s Cuvée William Deutz 2006, no less), which was specially opened in his honour. at his age, i’d have guzzled it down and begged for more. But he barely touched it. then, to rub salt into the wound, my 14-year-old declined it completely. and over dinner, both of them passed on the Château Potensac.

i console myself with the fact that it’s still early days. there’s plenty of time for all three to discover the joys of the grape – hopefully in moderation. and in all honesty, i am not terribly bothered by my sons’ current indifference. it may simply be a natural reaction to my own unbridled enthusiasm. Perhaps i just need to be patient.

instead, what worries me most is how young millennials will approach fine wine as they take centre stage. Will they buy and collect wine as baby boomers and generation xers have done, or will they merely consume it on the basis of whim, marketing and the latest short-term fashion trend?

Critically, where will the new connoisseurs come from, and where will their loyalties lie? already it seems that traditional regions like Bordeaux are losing out as today’s twenty-somethings show little respect for or interest in the great classics i grew up with.

Just the other day, an old school friend asked me for advice on behalf of his 25-year-old son as to how to sell a case of 1990 Pichon Baron which he’d been given at birth. the reason: ‘He doesn’t like Bordeaux and would rather have the money.’

Could this happen to me and mine? Hopefully not, but who knows? as the saying goes, you can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Meanwhile, if you’ve got any tips on what you’d do in my position, you know where to write…