that appeared in Lui in 1979, in which he outspokenly criticized the mediocrity and laisser-aller of this wine region which had an immense unused potential for producing good wine. Threatened lawsuits were finally laid to rest, but the Winroths noticed that the following year advertisements for Provence wines were emphasizing the reds and whites, not the rosés. The frankness of Jon Winroth's articles progressively gained him a solid reputation of intransigence in wine circles. Steven Spurrier described his style in 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...

as “vociferously vocal”.

In 1981 the International Herald Tribune published his book, Wine As You Like It, which aimed to open the world of wine to the amateur.

After meeting Jacques Dupont and Pierre Crisol, who were then the wine editors for Gault Millau

Gault Millau

Gault et Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Gault Millau is most famous for its rating system, on a scale of 1 to 20. Restaurants below 10 points are almost never listed...

, and finding their approach to tasting very close to his own, he created with them La Cote des Vins, a bi-weekly newsletter for wine professionals. This publication reported their tasting results and comments, sometimes the result of tastings of 200 wines in one day.

With the children grown and gone and the attractions of Paris outweighed by its increasing noise and pollution, Jon Winroth and Doreen followed the TGV

TGV

The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....

 line toward Tours and found a small house in front of a large cave in a calcareous

Calcareous

Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...

 hillside near Montoire-sur-le-Loir

Montoire-sur-le-Loir

Montoire-sur-le-Loir is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.The inhabitants of Montoire-sur-le-Loir are called montoiriens.-History:...

 in the coteaux du Vendômois. Jon Winroth closely followed the progress of these local wines and shared the joy of his winemaker friends when they finally attained Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

status in 2000. He continued writing, with samples arriving by mail and truck and articles dispatched by fax

Fax

Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...

, until his retirement in 2000.

He was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole

Mérite agricole

The Ordre National du Mérite Agricole is an order of merit established in France on 7 July 1883 by Minister of Agriculture Jules Méline to reward services to agriculture...

in 2004.

Jon Winroth died in the Clinique Saint-Gatien in Tours

Tours

Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...

 on July 15, 2006, at the age of 70 years, of complications of his renal disease, after 32.5 years of home dialysis.

External links

• Archive of articles by Jon Winroth broneer.org (in French)
• Sélection d'articles écrits par Jon Winroth (in French)
• Broneer.org : Jon Winroth biography (in French)