Wine: A Life Uncorked

Wine: A Life Uncorked

by HughJohnson (Author)

Synopsis

As the author learns about wine, so do we in this book full of candour and wit and fine writing. What makes one wine better than another?' and other fundamental questions, whether human or cultural, technical or historical, addressed in a wide-ranging and autobiographical book based on the author's enormous experience of the pleasures of wine. Tasting, keeping, savouring, cellaring, choosing, understanding, comparing, buying - the world of wine filtered through the vast knowledge of one of the greatest writers and practitioners, renowned throughout the world.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Edition: 1
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 13 Oct 2005

ISBN 10: 0297843788
ISBN 13: 9780297843788
Book Overview: A brilliantly written autobiographical tour-de-force. The first major new book on wine by the bestselling author for over 10 years. Covers every aspect of the world of wine.

Media Reviews
'Johnson's erudition and love of language are apparent on every page... reading Johnson is a delight... Johnson's take on the wine world is intelligent, questioning and thoughtful.' -- Tim Atkin OFF LICENCE NEWS 'a masterpiece, richly composed' -- David Sexton EVENING STANDARD 'Johnson is still the only modern wine writer who makes memorable statements and writes quotable lines.' DECANTER 'This is partly a book of personal anecdotes about wine, and partly a travelogue of the wine world... This will sit neatly on the bookshelf beside Johnson's other major wine books, and certainly helps to put them in context.' WINE INTERNATIONAL 'With more than 40 years' experience, there is not much Hugh Johnson doesn't know about wine. The author charts the journey of wine from grape to cellar in this very readable personal history.' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE 'the urbane Johnson's wry elegant prose speaks of a more gracious, timeless world in which discrimination and imagination are free to roam. I suspect that Johnson's informative tome will be required reading in 50 years time for a broad brush perspective on wine in the late 20th century.' -- Anthony Rose THE INDEPENDENT 'Scholarly and discursive.' -- Victoria Moore THE GUARDIAN 'These memoirs have been well worth the wait. What sets him apart is his literary style. He can write - really write. He enthuses but doesn't gush, is opinionated but not dogmatic, and is a master of the succinct put-down... a celebration of wine and a life spent considering it.' -- Joanna Simon SUNDAY TIMES '...his most charming and engaging book on wine... should be sipped with undiluted escapist pleasure... gloriously moreish ... he is at the peak of his powers, and paragraph after paragraph unfolds with such deft economy, such adept marshalling of detail, such intelligent use of elision, such polished narrative brio and ... such a keenly expressed sense of wonder that one's interest never flags... the choice recollections of one of the most fortunate and thoughtful wine drinkers in history.' FINE WINE MAGAZINE 'Every page contains what might be called numerous 'felicities' which add up to an incomparable lesson...' -- Nicholas Faith HARPERS WINE & SPIRIT '... using his cellar as a reference point, Johnson muses about subjects as varied as decanting, the First Growths, wine scores, terroir and his own efforts at wine making. As ever, his prose style is a joy.' -- Tim Atkin THE OBSERVER '...an eagle's eye view of the 40 most hectic years in the history of wine; some of the most intricate, allusive and mulitlayered tasting notes ever written; a clutch of deft gastronomic epigrams and a gale of common sense about good and great wines.' -- Andrew Jefford EVENING STANDARD 'Hugh Johnson has lived through the explosion of interest in wine connoisseurship and been one of its most influential proponents. This book charts his personal progress through the field. Part memoir, part travel-writing, and deeply imbued with the love of the vine.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'his best book yet... elegant, easy-to-read style... a brilliant introduction to the world of wine... place yourself in the trusty hands of one of the world's great experts, still at the top of his game after some 40 years.' -- Jamie Goode DAILY EXPRESS 'a beautifully written, passionate paean to the poetry of the bottle. And it manages to effortlessly combine memoirs of a 50-year career with often scathing critiques of today's world of wine.' GOURMET TRAVELLER 'enlightened, fascinating and funny... delightfully opinionated... every chapter is riveting... this is a book to sip and savour.' -- Charlotte Lessing THE LADY
Author Bio
Hugh Johnson has been tasting, buying, promoting and writing about wine for over 40 years. He has been, amongst many other appointments, secretary of Wine & Food and editor of the Wine and Food society, Wine Correspondent of the Sunday Times, Wine Editor of Gourmet, a director of Chateau Latour, Wine Consultant to British Airways. He has been President of the Sunday Times Wine Club since 1973 and the Circle of Wine Writers since 1997 and the Hon President of the International Wine and Food Society since 2002. He has been honoured by the Academy du Vin de Bordeaux, the German Gastronomic Academy and by a doctorate from Essex University. His many practical books on wine from Mitchell Beazley have been bestsellers all over the world. His STORY OF WINE won every major wine book award in Britain and the USA.