Born in France and trained initially as a chef, Basset, was a founder of the Hotel du Vin chain of hotels.
To help his family and publish his memoirs, master of wine Jancis Robinson has announced a crowd funding initiative.
Publisher Unbound is seeking a total of £14,000 to cover the costs of publishing this memorial to one of the wine world's greatest achievers and mentors. Apparently, more than half the total needed has been raised already: unbound.com/books/gerard-basset.
One of the world’s most famous wine writers, Robinson, who writes a regular column for the Financial Times, says: “Despite an unpromising upbringing and early career, once he fell in love with hospitality and wine, Gerard was nothing if not determined. Part of his relentless thirst for knowledge and inspiration was his interest in self-help books. He devoured them. So, when in 2017 he had to give up his usual work commitments to concentrate on medical treatment, he decided he would write one of his own – his extraordinary life story that took him from being a school dropout to becoming the World's Best Sommelier on his sixth attempt."
Robinson goes on to say: “This is a way not only of supporting his widow Nina and student son Romané, but also of ensuring you will get a copy or copies of the book, when it is published.”
The wine trade mourns the loss of one its nicest characters....
