Andrew Jefford

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Andrew Jefford (born 1956) is an English journalist, radio presenter and author of books on wine.

Contents

[edit] Education

The son of a Church of England clergyman and the eldest of three brothers, Jefford grew up in Norfolk, England.[1] He was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, the University of Reading (where he read English) and the University of East Anglia, where his post-graduate studies were jointly supervised by the late Sir Malcolm Bradbury and Guido Almansi.[1][2] At UEA he worked for two years on a PhD thesis on the short fiction of Robert Louis Stevenson, which was not completed.[1]

[edit] Career

He began work as an editor with Paul Hamlyn's Octopus Group,[2] and his passions for wine and writing led to articles and books on wine. He is now a freelance drinks journalist and broadcaster. He was the drinks writer for The Evening Standard, the evening newspaper for the London region,[2] between 1992 and 2002, occasionally presents The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4,[2] and writes a bi-monthly column for Decanter. Jefford is also contributing editor to the magazine The World of Fine Wine.[3]

He has won eight Glenfiddich Awards,[2] has twice been named British Beer Writer of the Year, and was named Communicator of the Year in the 2001 International Wine and Spirit Competition.[1]

Jefford lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.[2] and (when not busy with the business of drinking) says he enjoys swimming, music, walking and growing acers. He is also a poet, with work published in The Spectator and The Independent.

[edit] Television

On television, he has worked as a chef's assistant and has reported on whisky for Food File (Channel Four, 1996) and SCAM (Carlton Television, 2003)[1]

[edit] Bibliography

Jefford's books include -

  • Dr Jekyll and Professor Nabokov: Reading a Reading, in Robert Louis Stevenson (critical essays), ed. Andrew Noble (1983)[1]
  • Port, An Essential Guide to the Classic Drink (Exeter Books and Merehurst, 1988)[1]
  • Which? Wine Guide 1991 (Consumers' Association, 1990)[1]
  • The Magic of Champagne (St Martin's Press, 1991) ISBN 0-312-09865-0
  • The Wines of Germany (Mitchell Beazley, 1994)[1]
  • The Evening Standard Wine Guide 1996 (Pavilion, 1995)[1]
  • The Evening Standard Wine Guide 1997 (Evening Standard Books, 1996)[1]
  • Smokes (Evening Standard Books, 1997)[1]
  • One Hundred and One Things You Need to Know About Wine (Simon & Schuster UK, 1998)[1] ISBN 0-7432-0509-X
  • Wine Tastes Wine Styles (Ryland Peters & Small, 2000)[1] ISBN 1-84172-050-X
  • The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (2002)[1] ISBN 1-84000-410-X
  • After-Dinner Drinks: Discovering, Exploring, Enjoying (Ryland Peters & Small, 2003) ISBN 1-84172-508-0
  • Choosing Wine (Ryland Peters & Small, 2003) ISBN 1-84172-510-2
  • Peat Smoke and Spirit: A Portrait of Islay and its Whiskies (Headline Books, 2005)[1] ISBN 0-7472-4578-9
  • Wege zum Wein: Geschmack, Stil, Genuss (Hallwag, Bern & Munich, 2000, translation of Wine Tastes Wine Styles, 2000)
  • Weinlandschaft Frankreich (Gräfe & Unzer, 2003, translation of The New France)

[edit] Awards and honours

  • Bunch Award for Wine Journalism 1994[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 1995 Drink Writer of the Year[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 1995 Whisky Writer of the Year[1]
  • Wine Guild of Great Britain 1995 (Premier Award)[1]
  • British Guild of Beer Writers 1995 Beer Writer of the Year[1]
  • Sony Bronze Award 1996 (for BBC Liquid Companion)[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 1997 Wine Writer of the Year[1]
  • Lanson Award 1999 (Broadcast Media, for BBC Food Programme)[1]
  • British Guild of Beer Writers 1999 Beer Writer of the Year[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 2000 Drink Writer of the Year[1]
  • Lanson Award 2000 (Broadcast Media, for BBC Food Programme and Nature's Alchemists)[1]
  • International Wine and Spirit Competition 2001 Communicator of the Year[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 2001 Radio Broadcast of the Year (for BBC Food Programme on cork)[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 2002 Wine Writer of the Year[1]
  • Lanson Award 2002 (Broadcast Media, for BBC Liquid Companion)[1]
  • Lanson Award 2003 (Wine Book of the Year, for The New France)[1]
  • APA Magazine Awards 2003 (Journalist of the Year)[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 2003 Drink Writer of the Year[1]
  • Glenfiddich Award 2003 Wine Writer of the Year
  • Glenfiddich Award 2003 Glenfiddich Trophy
  • Veuve Clicquot USA Award 2003 (Wine Book of the Year, for The New France)[1]
  • André Simon Award 2003 (for The New France)[1]
  • Symington Family Port Award 2003[1]
  • World Food Media Award 2005 (Best Drink Journalist)[1]
  • Louis Roederer Champagne International Wine Writer of the Year 2006[1]
  • ATOP Travel Writer of the Year 2006[1]
  • Louis Roederer Champagne International Wine Writer of the Year 2007[1]

[edit] Quotations

  • "There are many occasions in life when a lower-scoring wine is preferable to a higher-scoring one." - Andrew Jefford
  • "If God does exist, sexual reproduction is proof that He or She has a sense of humour."[4] - Andrew Jefford
  • "Wine is appreciated aesthetically, not politically: beauty, and not power, is the goal." - Andrew Jefford
  • "Homo sapiens might now be regarded as a plague species."[4] - Andrew Jefford

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao CV at andrewjefford.com (accessed 15 October 2007)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Andrew Jefford biography at BBC Radio 4 web site (accessed 23 October 2007)
  3. ^ The World of Fine Wine
  4. ^ a b Worldview page at andrewjefford.com (accessed 15 October 2007)

[edit] External links