Hugh Johnson has been writing about wine for six decades, and his books have sold millions of copies worldwide. His winning formula of insight, critical appraisal and superbly evocative writing has been often-imitated but never bettered.

Now, he looks back at his decades at the forefront of wine writing. Beginning in the 1960s, the book takes a chronological journey through Hugh Johnson's writing, featuring work published in a huge array of sources, including Decanter magazine, the Sunday Times and the World of Fine Wine.

But this book is not just about Hugh Johnson and his written work. It is about the evolution of wine production, tasting and drinking over the last sixty years. It is about the fundamental shift in our understanding of wine, and our subsequent enjoyment of it. From early tastings in Bordeaux - where even the wine served at Communion is St-Emilion - through a prophetic 1975 assessment of California, to a 2014 discussion of the ever-increasing ABV strength of wine, this book provides a fascinating overview of the development of wine during a period of enormous change.

For anyone serious about wine, this is essential reading.


About the Author:

Hugh Johnson is the world's pre-eminent writer on wine. First published in 1977, his Pocket Wine Book sells hundreds of thousands of copies a year. With the publication of his first book, Wine, Johnson established himself at the age of twenty-seven as the most refreshing and authoritative voice on the subject. During the past four decades he has written books that have become landmarks on the subject, including his classic The World Atlas of Wine, co-authored with Jancis Robinson, his Wine Companion, first published in 2003, and The Story of Wine. In his spare time he writes about gardening from his home in London.