Mike Schofield enjoys trying to stump Richard Pratt with rare wines. On two previous occasions, Pratt successfully guessed the vintage and vineyard of the wine served, which only fueled Mike’s desire to win a bet against the expert.
The story is narrated by a quiet observer named Lewis. He is attending a dinner party hosted by Mike Schofield, a wealthy but insecure London stockbroker who deeply desires to be perceived as a man of culture and sophisticated taste. The guest of honor is Richard Pratt, a pompous, eccentric gourmet who serves as the president of a small wine-tasting society known as the Epicures.
The story plays with the idea of "truth." Pratt believes his palate is absolute truth, but the twist reveals that truth is subjective and easily manipulated by those behind the scenes (the butler). 4. Why "Taste" Remains Popular roald dahl taste pdf
[Dinner Party Guests] │ ├─ Mike Schofield (The Status-Seeking Host) ├─ Richard Pratt (The Arrogant Wine Connoisseur) ├─ Louise Schofield (The 18-Year-Old Daughter / The Stakes) └─ Narrator, Wives, & Household Maid
The story centers on a dinner party at the London home of Mike Schofield, a wealthy stockbroker who tries to hide his lack of culture by showing off rare wines. Among the six guests is , a famous and unpleasant gourmet who is the president of a gastronomic society. Mike Schofield enjoys trying to stump Richard Pratt
The tension reaches a fever pitch when Pratt, with a chilling calmness, proposes a final, horrifying stake: . In return, he offers his two houses. Despite the desperate protests of his wife and daughter, Schofield’s hubris gets the better of him. Convinced that the wine is impossible to identify, he accepts the bet.
Spurred on by pride and greed, the two men enter a horrific wager: He bets his house and land. He is attending a dinner party hosted by
The climax of the story centers around Pratt’s theatrical tasting process. Dahl describes Pratt’s sensory evaluation with meticulous, almost clinical detail—sniffing, swirling, and sipping the wine. Pratt narrows down the region, the district, the vineyard, and finally the exact vintage through a sequence of logical deductions.
The blind tasting is described with intense, sensory prose. Pratt smells, sips, and analyzes the wine, narrowing down the region, the commune, the vineyard, and finally the exact year through a calculated process of elimination. To the horror of the dinner guests and the utter devastation of Mike, Pratt correctly names the 1934 Clos de Beychevelle.