With his plummy accent, blue striped shirt and yellow polka-dot tie, Hugh Johnson seems the epitome of the slightly eccentric English gentleman. I'm surprised when his mobile phone rings; the ringtone a laughing toddler. 'My granddaughter, Lily,' he says with a smile.
Johnson was in Hong Kong recently for a Room to Read event, where he helped raise US$3 million for the charity, and to conduct a series of tastings for wine professionals.
His name is a big draw at such events. Since starting his career more than 50 years ago, Johnson has become one of the most prolific wine writers - and one of the most respected. His annual Pocket Wine Book is in its 34th edition; the World Atlas of Wine - now co-written with master of wine Jancis Robinson, is on its sixth edition; and his other books include Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion: The Encyclopedia of Wines, Vineyards and Winemakers, The Story of Wine and The Art and Science of Wine. He has also written several books about horticulture.
'My first article was published 50 years ago last Christmas,' he says. 'It was in Vogue - December 1960. You'll never guess what it was called - What to drink with turkey. I've been able to recycle it 50 times.
'I don't write just about wine. To start with, I call myself a travel writer with a special interest in wine. I've always thought of it as specialised travel writing - that's my angle, hence the World Atlas of Wine. With geography comes the history. If you don't understand the history, you don't understand the wine.'
Johnson grew up drinking wine in his parents' home. 'It was what my father drank. We always had classic wines - they were the only kinds there were in England in those days. It was always Bordeaux, and my father always [bought from] the same chateau - Les Ormes de Pez. [At the time] all Bordeaux went to England, practically, and we drank the good stuff, although it wouldn't have been as good then as it is now.'