The wine world lost a giant yesterday with the death of Steven Spurrier. Many in the highest levels of the industry lost a friend and colleague. I can’t say any of that about a man I never met but only whom I read about in many a book and journal. Literally I think his name was one of the first five of the people I read about in the industry. When I read that he had died today I was struck that such a luminary in our field had left. I have nothing genius or remarkable to add just an ordinary reflection of a wine lover and for 20+ a student of wine and 15+ an active member of the industry. Together with just a few other names, his was at the top of the pyramid. Someone to admire for what he’d achieved and the legacy he has left to the wine world. By all accounts apparently also a lovely person. His friend Jancis Robinson has many more interesting things to say about him here. Decanter, where he was a contributor for many years, had this to say about his passing. I’m just adding my two cents to show how far and wide his reach was that even those he never met feel touched and saddened by his exit and appreciative of all he brought to the world of wine.