Who knew what talent lurks in the JancisRobinson.com team? Last night Richard Hemming, Alex Hunt MW (right) and fellow musicians stunned 300 members of the UK wine trade with an unforgettable night of music and brilliant organisation at SkinCôntactLIVE. The numbers are still rolling in but Richard reckons that his brainchild of a gig at Vinopolis in aid of Wine Relief should net £10,000 for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, which takes place this Friday.
Along with Ben Smith of Concha y Toro, once of Curiosity Killed the Cat, and Matt James of The Bordeaux Cellar, once of Gene, they (Richard on the left below) played a dozen sets on time and with much more accomplishment than many a professional band. A dazzling array of wine-trade singers joined them on stage, including my fellow wine writers Tim Atkin MW, Charles Metcalfe, Joe Wadsack and David Williams; Anne McHale MW of Berry Bros; Helen Chesshire of The Chesshire Set; Ewan Murray of The Wine Society; Anne Jones of Waitrose; and Lucy Britner of Square Meal.
Twitter is alive with comments such as 'nights like Skin Contact remind us all why we love our wine trade' and 'truly awesome talent in the trade. Put me down as beer roadie next time'.
Côtes du Rhône provided the wine, The Frying Scotsman the food, and Neal Martin was a superb DJ, his first gig since being announced Robert Parker's successor as reviewer of Bordeaux en primeur for The Wine Advocate. He brought along the bottle of Pichon Baron 2009 that is spotlit in the murk below to keep him going.
