Pride and prejudice – blind tasting in France

The inspiration for this is a popular thread on our Members’ forum in which a Purple Pager called Blurds laments his quixotic quest to convince a French father-in-law that someone, anyone, makes fine Cabernet Sauvignon outside the Médoc. After 30 years in France, it is a predicament with which I can identify.

That they are born with a profound and innate knowledge of wine (all wine) is a truth the French hold to be self-evident, like the undisputable awfulness of all British cooking.

However, one advantage of...