Hugh Johnson OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 10 March 1939) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 author and expert on wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

. He is considered the world's best-selling wine writer.

Career

Johnson became a member of the Cambridge University Wine and Food Society while an undergraduate at King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

 in the 1950s, while reading English

English studies

English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

. On describing his introduction to wine-tasting Johnson has recalled:
Johnson has been writing about wine since 1960, was taken on as a feature writer for Condé Nast Publications

Condé Nast Publications

Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...

 upon graduation, and early worked with magazines such as Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

and House & Garden

House & Garden (magazine)

House & Garden was an American shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focused on interior design, entertaining, and gardening....

. 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 Sunday Times

The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

.
The publication of The World Atlas of Wine

The World Atlas of Wine

The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, MW, is an atlas and reference work on the world of wine, published by Mitchell Beazley. It pioneered the use of wine-specific cartography to give wine a sense of place, and has since the first edition published in 1971 sold 4 million...

in 1971, considered the first serious attempt to map the world's wine regions, became described by the sitting director of the INAO

Institut National des Appellations d'Origine

The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin . Controlled by the French government, it forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture...

 as "a major event in wine literature".

Over the years he has held the position as director of Château Latour

Château Latour

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the...

, is the co-founder and a partner in The Royal Tokaji Company, and in 1986 founded the Hugh Johnson Collection Ltd. which sells stemware

Stemware

Stemware is drinkware that stands on stems above a base. It is usually made from glass, but may be made from ceramics or metals.Stemware includes:* Wine glasses* Champagne flutes* Chalices and goblets...

 and other artefacts related to wine. Johnson is also a Horticulturalist

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 with a special interest in trees, and has published a standard guide to gardening, The Principles of Gardening. Since 2004 Johnson has acted as editorial adviser to The World of Fine Wine

The World of Fine Wine

The World of Fine Wine, abbreviated WFW, is a British quarterly publication for wine enthusiasts and collectors. Published by Quarto Magazines Ltd, the first issue was released in June 2004. It has been described as "an up-market Decanter, with longer, more in-depth features, more credible tastings...

magazine.

He was selected the Decanter

Decanter (magazine)

Decanter is an up market magazine on wine and spirits, published in over 90 countries on a monthly basis. The magazine content includes news from the industry, vintage guides and wine recommendations. Decanter organizes the annual Decanter World Wine Awards.-Wine Ratings:Decanter employs a 1 to 5...

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

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

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...

'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".

Selected publications

• Wine (1966)
• The World Atlas of Wine
  The World Atlas of Wine
  The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, MW, is an atlas and reference work on the world of wine, published by Mitchell Beazley. It pioneered the use of wine-specific cartography to give wine a sense of place, and has since the first edition published in 1971 sold 4 million...
  
  (1971, several editions; since 2004 co-authored with Jancis Robinson
  Jancis Robinson
  Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
  
  )
• The International Book of Trees (1973)
• Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book (1977, since published annually)
• The Principles of Gardening (1979), Mitchell Beazley Publishers (U.K.)/Simon & Schuster, Inc. (U.S.)
• Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion (1983, several editions)
• The Story of Wine (1989)
• The Art and Science of Wine: The Subtle Artistry and Sophisticated Science of the Winemaker, (1992, co-authored with James Halliday)
• A Life Uncorked (2006, autobiography, anecdotes and opinions)
• Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2011 (2010, wine guide)
• Hugh Johnson's Wine Guide 2011, iPhone app (2010, wine guide on iPhone)