Hugh Johnson - Wine Writer

In the 1950s, as an undergraduate reading English at King's College, Cambridge, Johnson became a member of the Cambridge University Wine and Food Society. On describing his introduction to wine-tasting Johnson recalled that...

...Adrian Cowell, founder of the International Wine & Food Society came in after dinner with two glasses and said, "Come on, Hugh, are they the same? Or different?" Both were, I am sure, red Burgundy, but one was magic and one was ordinary. This caught my imagination. It was my Damascene moment.

Johnson has been writing about wine since 1960, was taken on as a feature writer for Condé Nast Publications on graduation, and early worked with magazines such as Vogue and House & Garden.

He has published a wide array of books, starting with the publication of Wine in 1966 at a period he became the wine columnist of The Sunday Times. The publication of The World Atlas of Wine in 1971, considered the first serious attempt to map the world's wine regions, became described by the sitting director of the INAO as "a major event in wine literature".

Over the years he has held the position as director of Château Latour, and is the co-founder and a partner in The Royal Tokaji Company.

In 1986 he founded the Hugh Johnson Collection Ltd. which sells stemware and other artefacts related to wine. Since 2004 Johnson has acted as editorial adviser to The World of Fine Wine magazine.

In 1995 he was selected the Decanter "Man of the Year", and was awarded the Officer of the British Empire distinction in 2007.

The Principles of Gardening:
A Guide to the Art, History, Science, and Practice of Gardening

Johnson is also a Horticulturalist with a special interest in trees, and has published a standard guide to gardening, The Principles of Gardening.

Hugh Johnson is known as one of the wine world's most vocal opponents to awarding numerical scores to wine.

In the autobiography A Life Uncorked, Johnson also expressed regret over the wine critic Robert Parker's influence on the world of wine, which has in his view moved winemaking in many regions towards a more uniform, bigger and richer style. In 2005 Johnson stated, "Imperial hegemony lives in Washington and the dictator of taste in Baltimore"

Hugh Johnson is acclaimed as the world's favourite wine writer. Since his first book, Wine, appeared in 1966, he has been making the subject of wine approachable to all with his witty and humorous style.

His other books include the bestseller "Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book." He is also President of The Sunday Times Wine Club.

Jancis Robinson is internationally renowned for her witty, authoritative wine writing and her books Vines, Grapes and Wines, and Oxford Companion to Wine are among the most important in wine literature.