Dave Hughes, the international wine and spirits judge and writer and a member of Oracle Paradis Wine Fund’s highly-respected investment team, has started a blog for the Oracle Paradis Wine Fund website.
Mr Hughes has blogged about the South African, Argentinean and Chilean vintage reports for 2013, reporting that South Africa will have the largest harvest ever while Argentina has outstanding quality out of this year’s vintage. He has reported on the sale of valuable wine at auction, such as two bottles of Petrus sold recently by the Elysee Palace in Paris to Chinese buyers for £3000 each. In other news he reports on spirits and beer and relates news of historical interest, such as the recently declassified Foreign Office documents revealing a late night drinking session between Winton Churchill and Joseph Stalin during World War II.
Mr Hughes was born on 12 June 1938 in Gatooma district, then Rhodesia. He served an apprenticeship as a distiller at African Distillers in 1956 and filled several positions before moving to South Africa in 1986. He founded the Cape Wine Academy in 1979. He has been involved with the Nederburg Auction since its inception in 1974 and is still a consultant. He is a consultant to the Veritas National Wine Competition, the South African Airways Wine Selections and the International Wine and Spirit Competition in the UK.
His memberships include the American Society of Enologista, the Society of Wine Educators and International Wine and Spirit Journalists. He is a life member of the International Wine and Food Society.
In 2001 he was invited to join Worshipful Company of Distillers as the first non-resident of Britain to be given this honour since the guild was formed in 1638 and he was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2002.
In 2003 he was made Keeper of the Quaich, the Scotch Whisky Association, which honours those who have contributed to the Scotch Whisky Industry and in 2011 he was honoured by the South African Port Producers’ Association (SAPPA) for his contribution to building the image of Port in South Africa and internationally.
His books include: Living with Wine; 300 Great South African Wines; South African Wine Buyers Guide (9 editions); Wine lands of the Cape; Visiting Wine Routes; The Complete Book of South African Wine; Hughes on Booze;
Wines and Brandies of the Cape of Good Hope; The Definitive Guide To The South African Wine Industry; A Dictionary of South African Wine.
Mr Hughes blogs on wine and spirits, and reports on and offers insights into news from the drinks industry around the world.
