About Us
ABOUT US
EDITORIAL ADVISOR
Hugh Johnson OBE can trace his lifelong passion for wine to his undergraduate days at King's College, Cambridge. He left with a degree in English Literature and went to London to write features for Vogue and House & Garden. Later he joined The International Food and Wine Society as general secretary, and in time succeeded the legendary André Simon as editor of its magazine Wine & Food. Hugh's first book, Wine, established him as one of the foremost English writers on the subject. This was followed by the bestselling World Atlas of Wine, now in its sixth edition, revised in conjunction with Jancis Robinson MW. He went on to write numerous bestselling titles, notably his Wine Companion, recently revised and updated by Stephen Brook, and his annual Pocket Wine Book, which appears in 13 languages, including Mandarin. He was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by President Chirac of France in 2004, and was awarded the OBE in the 2007 New Year's Honours List.
EDITOR
Neil Beckett ascended what he hoped might be an ivory tower in St
Andrews via a first class honours degree in English and Medieval History (St Andrews), a doctorate in Medieval History (Magdalen College, Oxford) and a fellowship of the Royal Historical Society (University of London). Always equally interested in wine, he soon wanted to spend more time down in the cellar than up in the tower, and between the two did an MBA, managing to wangle a dissertation on White Burgundy. After a vintage in Burgundy he started writing for wine shippers Richards Walford. During a year at Lay & Wheeler wine merchants he graduated with distinction in the WSET Diploma and took the top prizes, before going on to Harpers Wine & Spirit Weekly, of which he was for several years contributing editor and for which he wrote a regular column on fine wine. In 2004 he became the first editor of The World of Fine Wine. He has won prizes for his writing on wine and is one of the two UK tasters on the Grand Jury Européen.
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Andrew Jefford grew up in Norfolk, England, the son of a vicar and the eldest of three brothers. An English degree and postgraduate studies under Malcolm Bradbury at the University of East Anglia were followed by a period as an editor for Paul Hamlyn's Octopus Books. Then in the late 1980s Andrew saw the chance to combine his passions for wine and writing, and since that time he has worked as a freelance drinks journalist and broadcaster. He has written several books and guides, most recently Peat Smoke and Spirit, a portrait of the whisky island of Islay published in 2004. He has won a plethora of distinctions for his work, including eight Glenfiddich awards and consecutive Louis Roederer International Wine Writer of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007. The New France was awarded the André Simon Award, Lanson Award and Veuve Clicquot USA Book of the Year in 2003. It is surprising that he finds time for what he claims as enthusiasms – family, Bach, Shakespeare, birds, lonely places, swimming, and going to bed.
PUBLISHER
Sara Morley studied Modern History at Oxford, specialising in 
17th- and 18th-century French History. Subsequently she worked in the wine trade and as a freelance writer for Harpers and Decanter magazines. In 2003, she won the Rouyer Guillet Cup, the Geoffrey Jameson Memorial award and the Vintners' Scholarship as top trade graduate in the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma. Then in 2004 she came on board at the outset of The World of Fine Wine, later progressing in 2008 from Deputy Editor to Publisher of the Fine Wine Editions book and magazine department. Sara lives in Berkshire, England, with her family.
WHAT THEY SAY
Hugh Johnson OBE, renowned and award winning wine writer, and editorial adviser to The World of Fine Wine:
“The World of Fine Wine takes wine journalism in a new, more sophisticated direction. It is not a consumer magazine, but the first cultural journal of the wine world. It acknowledges that wine-lovers have other interests, too, and the same high standards in whatever they do. The first 21 issues have been a remarkable demonstration of new possibilities. I know I don't want to read the same old marketing jargon ever again.”
Tim Atkin MW, wine correspondent of The Observer:
"The World of Fine Wine is by far the best wine magazine in the world. It's scholarly, opinionated, well written and a delight to read. It's also the only magazine I bother to keep. I come back to individual pieces again and again for enlightenment and entertainment. In these days of simple answers, scores out of 100 and branded pap, The World of Fine Wine stands out as a publication that dares to take wine seriously."
Eric Asimov, wine correspondent of The New York Times:
"Always has many things worth reading."
Essi Avellan MW, wine writer and Editor of The FINE Champagne Magazine:
"Another truly remarkable wine publication of the highest standards is the World of Fine Wine. The vision and intelligence of the Editor Neil Beckett is present on every page of the magazine. The World of Fine Wine invites an impressive portfolio of specialists to contribute to it, making it the ultimate media of discussion and source of information on all important fine wine topics."
Jesús Barquín, wine writer and Sherry expert
"The World of Fine Wine is an excellent magazine, nowadays probably the best in the world of wine, and this is no doubt due to the most accurate and serious work."
Gerard Basset MS MW, World Wide President of The Court of Master Sommeliers:
“The World of Fine Wine is a compelling magazine. When you start reading it, you just cannot put it down. It is very different, really innovatively written, and so informative. Bravo and encore!”
Michel Bettane, leading French wine critic:
“The best way to explain fine wine and to protect it from the lobbies (so strong in my country) aiming to convince people it is a devil drink, is to insist on its cultural values and to my knowledge not other magazine on wine I know is doing it as well as The World of Fine Wine. I hope that many more wine growers or wine lovers will support such an unrivalled fighter !”
Oz Clarke, award winning wine journalist and TV presenter:
“The World of Fine Wine is fantastically stimulating for me because it covers all the subjects other wine magazines don’t dare touch.”
Simon Field MW, Buyer, Berry Bros & Rudd:
"A short note to say how impressed I have been, once again, with the
latest WFW...Don't know how you keep up this high standard but am very glad that you do!"
Michael Fridjhon, renowned South African wine writer:
“Useful for people who enjoy pondering what makes fine things fine, the
transience of taste memorable, and the artefacts in our culture harmonious.”
Peter Gago, Chief Winemaker, Penfolds, South Australia:
“What I admire the most about The World of Fine Wine magazine are the different, detailed and often quirky articles – written by an impressive pool of varied and respected writers. Deliberately non-mainstream and specialised (not elitist!), it delves deeper and wider, yet with awareness, sensitivity. A high hit-rate of fully-read articles, and a ‘when’s the next one going to arrive’ expectation surely imply impact, satisfaction & relevance!!! More please!”
Randall Grahm, owner-winemaker Bonny Doon Vineyards, Santa Cruz, CA:
“I absolutely adore your publication, and would be honored to contribute to it in any way...It is certainly the most literate wine magazine out there. Keep up your high standards.”
Tim James, wine writer and editor of Grape:
"The latest issue of World of Fine Wine, undoubtedly the most splendid,
luxuriously-unconcerned-with-supermarket-wine wine magazine in the world, carries (at last) my notes on a tasting of both Vergelegen’s great white blended wine and Eben Sadie’s equally great (though arguably less good, at his stage) and utterly different white blend, Palladius. I hasten to add that that is among the least convincing reasons why anyone should buy the mag.
I suppose the most luxurious thing about World of Fine Wine, is how few
advertisements it carries – the price is correspondingly appalling, and I’m
sure the publisher would like to have lots more. What struck me looking
through it this evening was just how beautiful it is, and how this is
connected with the lack of advertisements. It’s also connected with a
stunning eye for lovely images, both photographs and reproduced paintings – for example, in the latest issue, apart from some beautiful full - and
half-page photographs, there’s a wonderful, well chosen Picasso Cubist
painting called Violin and grapes, accompanying an article comparing and
relating the experiences of wine-drinking and making and listening to music.
François Mauss, founder-president of the Grand Jury Européen:
“In the world of wine communication, far too many newspapers and specialist reviews struggle to maintain their independence of the advertisers who make them viable. This makes it necessary to underline the highest editorial standards of The World of Fine Wine . As well as offering complete freedom of expression and opinion to the prestigious writers whose services they secure, the editors manage to strike a remarkable balance of coverage on the many different subjects they treat, in a completely impartial spirit. Certainly they limit themselves to fine wines and great terroirs, to the altogether exceptional. But it is precisely this that the real wine lover seeks: a unique approach to the mystery of wine, where the detail and relevance of background knowledge informs the culture, the dreams and the myths. If one had to describe this sumptuous review in one word, it would be: indispensable.”
"If you are a true wine lover, you MUST subscribe to the best Wine Review of this planet earth."
Richard Mayson, Port expert:
“In a world where wine is so often reduced to clipped phrases, scores and sound bites, The World of Fine Wine magazine puts wine in the widest cultural context and, above all, makes a refreshingly good read.”
Margaret Rand, wine writer:
"The World of Fine Wine is compelling because it links wine to so many other aspects of culture. It's never afraid to be intelligent, and it always goes into subjects in more depth than other magazines. At the end of a day spent tasting wine or writing about it the last thing I want to do is open a wine magazine - but WFW has me enthralled even then."
Jancis Robinson OBE MW, award winning wine journalist, TV presenter, and wine correspondent for The Financial Times:
“An upmarket, quite expensive but admirably serious quarterly glossy magazine about top-quality wine.”
Anthony Rose, wine correspondent of The Independent:
“On a recent visit to New Zealand wine country, I was taken aback at the number of people who went out of their way to praise The World of Fine Wine as the most original, in-depth wine publication of its kind around, and for some, the only one worth reading.”
Mark Savage MW, wine merchant:
"Never afraid to set the highest standards, The World of Fine Wine draws on the collective experience of many of the most perceptive voices in the wine world today. It takes the genre of wine writing to a new level, and can only enhance the pleasures to be derived from the subject of wine, most particularly in its broad cultural context, for that is where this publication clearly differentiates itself from most if not all other current wine magazines today."
David Schildknecht, wine merchant and wine writer, Austrian and German correspondent for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:
“The World of Fine Wine is a different sort of wine journal. Which other would dare to treat intoxication, synaesthesia, linguistic muddle, arrested fermentation, Champagne riots, Rabelais’s laughter, van Gogh’s madness, and gout?”
“Thanks for Jamie Goode’s informative and stimulating articles in the latest issue of The World of Fine Wine. Through articles such as these you are performing a great service for the vast majority of us wine merchants, wine writers and consumers who lack the time and the scientific background to peruse a literature that is in fact of great significance to our activities.”
Eleonora Scholes, editorial advisor for Fine Wines:
“Arguably the best wine magazine today, with the most comprehensive information about the world’s finest wines and all other topics linked to wine.”
Michael Schuster, award winning wine writer and educator:
“I think this is a first rate new wine magazine, and I enjoy reading it enormously. It combines authoritative, stimulating writing on wine and related cultural issues (art, music, gastronomy, history...) with production and illustrations of a very high order. At the price of a bottle of modest premium wine per issue, it represents excellent value - both as a long–term reference and a long term pleasure.”
Mark Solms, neuroscientist and owner of Solms-Delta, Franschhoek:
"If you, or those who want to control your life, have ever asked why you squandered your education and earning potential on something as trivial as the world of fine wine, then The World of Fine Wine is the magazine for you! This magazine is something truly, madly, deeply special. Could it be true that such an intelligent magazine actually exists in this day and age? I keep expecting the bubble to burst, but it hasn’t yet. This highly original magazine is lovingly put together by some original, kind, wise and good people. So if you want to read an almost-perfect quarterly before you die, subscribe quickly to this one."
Mike Steinberger, Drinks Writer, Slate.com:
"A relatively new British quarterly that has quietly established itself as the best English-language wine journal around.”
Paul Symington, owner Symington Family Estates, Oporto, Portugal:
“This is a really beautiful wine magazine, completely different to anything ever done before. The quality of the writing and the design and layout of the pages are all exceptional. The World of Fine Wine complements the world's great wines perfectly, looking at the wines in great detail, as well as exploring related subjects that make fascinating reading. I feel that each edition will be kept by most readers, it is not a magazine to discard.”
Terry Theise, wine merchant and importer:
“When your brain grows numb reading endless tasting notes and point-scores from writers determined to tell you precisely what to buy, it's more than refreshing to open a copy of The World Of Fine Wine and be reminded why you care in the first place. Even more, WFW serves to anchor wine in the context of a thoughtful, appreciative and civilized life. I don't know how I ever did without it.”
Franco Ziliani, author:
“If you’re among the growing number of wine lovers who feel that wine writing should be about so much more than notes and scores, and that it should explore the far more fascinating, lasting, and worthwhile culture of wine; if, in short, you’re really serious about it, then The World of Fine Wine is the one magazine you can’t afford to be without.”