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'Sprightly and effervescent' Hugh Johnson honoured with OBE
January 8, 2007
Adam Lechmere
Decanter columnist, wine writer and gardener Hugh Johnson has been awarded the OBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List.
He said he is 'quietly pleased' to be awarded the gong for 'both things I love best' - wine and gardening.
Johnson, 67, is not only a celebrated wine expert but also a horticulturalist with a particular interest in trees. He has published several books on gardening – notably the International Book of Trees and the Gardener's Companion, the Principles and Practice of the Gardener's Art.
His OBE was awarded for services to winemaking and horticulture. As his biography on amazon.com states, Johnson has been 'tasting, buying, promoting and writing about wine for over 40 years' including stints as director of Chateau Latour, Wine Correspondent of the Sunday Times and many other posts.
Decanter's Man of the Year 1995, he writes a bi-monthly column in the magazine. He is the author of numerous best-selling wine books, including the annual Pocket Wine Book, which has sold more than 7.5m copies.
He told decanter.com, 'It's a great honour. And what I'm quietly pleased about is that the two things I love – the things I've been plugging away at for years – have been recognised.'
He also said he was slightly bemused by the reference to his winemaking skills, as although he has been closely associated with Latour, and is a partner in the Royal Tokaji Wine Company in Hungary, 'you couldn't actually call me a winemaker'.
Johnson's garden, at Saling Hall, a 17th century manor house in Essex, is open to the public once a week during the summer months. It is noted for its trees.
And his favourite tree? 'That's an difficult question. It would have to be my best oak. It's a superb specimen, 350 years old, and very big. Everybody who sees it goes “Ooh” and “Aah”.'
Fellow wine writer Steven Spurrier said the award was 'richly deserved'.
'The sprightly and effervescent Hugh is now in danger of entering Grand Old Man territory, richly deserved, of course. Just last week I saw his name on a brass plaque and his inimitable signature on a vast barrel of venerable Amarone in the Masi cellars in Valpolicella. It was said of the Duke of Wellington that “he had more official titles than hairs in his wig”. Were he to wear a wig, the same would apply to Hugh. Were I to wear a hat, I would doff it in admiration.'
The OBE (Officer of the British Empire) is awarded to 858 people every year. It ranks fourth in the hierarchy of the royal awards known collectively as the Order of the British Empire.
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 It was about time!!!
Mr. Johnson introduced me to the wonderful, healthy and ever-evolving world of wine at the tender age of 20 when I bought his "THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE" in its 1985 enlarged and completely revised edition (Simon and Schuster - New York).
Such book was the first in a number of publications acquired by me throughout the last 21 years. However, Mr. Johnson's will always retain that magical "halo".
Today, at the not-so-tender age of 41, I am fully involved in the wine business having had a wine import and wholesale company in the U.S. (still operating) and now as a managing partner and shareholder in a venture which owns a number of wine bars in the U.S.
Thank you Mr. Johnson for the way you have opened the world of wine to thousands of people around the world. Alex Barragan, Florida, USA
This is fantastic news and wholeheartedly deserved. It bodes well for the wine industry. Catherine Dillon, Cape Town, South Africa
As a young cook in London in 1976, Hugh Johnson's book Wine truly inspired me to learn about wine. Over the past 30 years, the Wine Atlas is never far away, and HJ continues to provide insight on the ever expanding world of wine. Congratulations Hugh!
Martin Lam, Chef-proprietor, Ransome's Dock , London
'Bout bloody time. He should be knighted. Tim White, wine columnist Australian Financial Review and wine writer The Age (Melbourne), Australia
Hugh Johnson's books have been both inspirational and entertaining to me in my wine career. I started writing my first wine book at the same age as him and am honoured to have won the Gourmand award for it, as did he for his wine books. Thank you and Congratulations again Mr. Johnson, you are my hero! Elmari Swart (M.Sc. Oenology)
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