The Life and Wines of Hugh Johnson

by Hugh Johnson

Overview

World’s best-loved wine author, weaves the story of his own epic wine journey with an embracing view of everything he has discovered along the way. Almost without realising it, the reader is drawn into a fascinating world; with each page turned, knowledge is gained and wine wisdom absorbed. Hugh takes us from the teetering ledges of the Mosel and majestic châteaux of the Médoc to the sylvan slopes of Windsor Great Park with a spring in his step and a tasting glass at the ready. No one writes so infectiously on every aspect of wine, whether human or cultural, technical or historical. This book is peppered with anecdotes and personal recollections, infused with the sheer delight Hugh finds in his subject. It is a book with a story to tell and a mastery of wine to impart. • First published in 2005 as Wine, A Life Uncorked, this new edition has been updated by Hugh to take in two decades of change in the wine world • The First Duty of wine: getting to know the luxury red wine icons Bordeaux and Burgundy (which has the lion’s share in Hugh’s cellar) • Technical Stuff: Hugh learns about winemaking the hard way: by growing and making it his own French Sauvignon Gris • The Wilder Shores of Wine: tracking wine’s origins in Georgia, the cradle of viticulture • The Bordeaux Persuasion: from the Médoc to Martha’s Vineyard – Hugh seeks out the world’s great Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds • NEW Foreword by Eric Asimov, wine critic for the New York Times on what Hugh means to him as an inspirational wine writer • NEW Digestif! In this new chapter, Hugh reveals the wines that give him the most pleasure – the bottles he keeps in his cellar today • NEW On ‘Bubbly’: Hugh finds sparkling wine perfection among the grandes marques of Champagne and the fashionable new fizz of our own English vineyards

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913141318
Publisher:	Académie du Vin Library
Publication date:	07/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Hugh Johnson began acquiring his wine knowledge as a member of the Wine and Food Society at Cambridge University. When he came down from King's College in 1961 he became feature writer for Vogue and House & Garden, writing, among other things, wine columns for both magazines. In 1963 he became general secretary of the Wine and Food Society and succeeded the legendary gastronome André Simon as editor of Wine and Food. At the same time he became wine correspondent of The Sunday Times and started work on his first book Wine (1966), through which he established himself at the age of 27 as one of the subject's foremost writers. His rare talent for making the most complex subjects readable has led to a remarkable sequence of books.

After a year as travel editor of The Sunday Times he became editor of Queen, and in 1969 James Mitchell of the newly founded publishing house Mitchell Beazley asked him to write The World Atlas of Wine. First published in 1971, this book has been translated into 14 languages and sold over four million copies. He is the world’s bestselling wine writer.

In 2007 Hugh Johnson received an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list. His OBE was awarded for services to wine making and horticulture. In April 2004 Hugh was honored with the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, one of the highest tributes bestowed by the French Government. The medal was presented to Hugh for his significant contribution to the appreciation and understanding of France and its wines.

Table of Contents

Foreword Preface Part One - Prospects Part Two - Bubbly Part Three - White Part Four - Red Part Five - Sweet Part Six - Digestif Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is one of the best books on wine ever written."

"Hugh Johnson said recently that his career happened more or less accidentally. The Life and Wines of Hugh Johnson... is his memoirs but framed as a voyage around his cellar, the cellar being that at Saling Hall, the house he bought in 1970."

From the Publisher

"Veteran wine books are by modern standards short on facts."

Decanter Magazine

"It is an absolute joy to read Johnson’s writing. It’s not only that he is exquisitely articulate, playing words as a maestro violinist might play Bach’s Chaconne. It is that he finds so much joy in wine. He is an incurable romantic, an optimist, infectiously enthusiastic, infinitely curious."

Tamlyn Currin

"If you want to learn about wine, switch off your phone, buy these two books and enjoy them with a nice glass of something."

The Critic

A Decanter best wine book of the year 2022: "Two new chapters – on digestifs and sparkling wines – make it compulsory purchase, even for owners of the previous edition."

Decanter

"This is a new edition of Johnson’s “memoir written with a corkscrew”. It has been “modestly edited and gently updated,” as Eric Asimov writes in the Foreword, and Johnson’s lucid, evocative prose shines as brightly as ever."

Falstaff

"This is an inspirational book well worth your time."

Eric Asimov

"...he learnt early how to write with an easy, flowing (sometimes flowery, but always precise) style that’s a joy to read."

Club Enologique

"This is a don’t-miss book for people who plan their travels around vineyards."

Washington Post

His enthusiasm comes bouncing off the page. His writing style is as effortless and fascinating as great wine and as hard to pin down. You can stare at it and stare at it, but you can't quite see how it's done.

The World of Fine Wine

Rather than loading us with statistics of vineyard acreage and soil types, Johnson takes us along as he recounts his own journeys exploring the world of wine. He's been all around that world, and he seems to have been present at or near the beginning of every fashion or trend, even if he disapproved of them.

Best Wine Books of 2022 Washington Post

His enthusiasm comes bouncing off the page. His writing style is as effortless and fascinating as great wine and as hard to pin down. You can stare at it and stare at it, but you can’t quite see how it’s done.

Issue 77 The World of Fine Wine