ARCHIVE TASTER: The Hugh Johnson EXCLUSIVE!

NB: This is archive material first released September 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!

As one of the best-selling wine writers of all time, with millions of sales to his name and global renown, Hugh Johnson OBE needs little introduction. For this exclusive interview, we head into the privacy of his London home for a rare no-holds-barred, funny, wide-ranging, moving, eye-opening chat. 

It’s intimate, controversial and thought-provoking. There are few things we don’t cover, and Hugh doesn’t pull his punches. Scoring wines out of 100 points is ‘dangerous’. Some fine wine has entered the ‘tedious’ territory of luxury goods. Over-oaked wines are ‘posh gloss’. Regarding climate change, ‘people need to change pretty smartly.’ 

Those featured range from Elizabeth David to André Simon, Napoleon, Robert Parker and William Pitt. Hugh talks about tasting wine from 1540, how the English used to be, ‘sozzled all the time,’ the challenges of making wine TV and the emergence of a new ‘Cote d’Or’ in England. 

Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 23 (originally published 1 Sept 2020)