Matthew Jukes, Wine Expert Who Shaped a Generation of Tasters, Dies at 58

Matthew Jukes, the wine expert whose 40-year career took him from a London wine shop to the judging tables of the Sydney Royal Wine Show, died on 6 August after suffering a heart attack while on holiday with his family in Portugal’s Algarve region. He was 58.

Jukes had flown to Europe to rejoin his family immediately after completing his judging duties in Sydney, according to a tribute by Christopher Waters. He was, at the time of his death, marking his 40th year in the wine industry.

A Career Built on Matthew Jukes Wine Expertise, From Barnes to Broadcasting

Jukes began in the trade in 1987, working with wine consultant James Rogers at the Barnes Wine Shop in south-west London, according to his official biography. From 1990 to 2016, he bought wine for the Bibendum Restaurant and Oyster Bar, building a list that won industry awards. Three years on a weekly BBC radio slot followed, after which Channel 4 approached him to host the television series ‘Wine Hunt’.

He wrote a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine from 1999 to 2022, and spent 20 years as MoneyWeek’s wine columnist. Over his career he published fourteen wine books. The Daily Telegraph described him as ‘one of Britain’s busiest and most respected wine experts.’

Jukes claimed to taste 40,000 wines a year. His cellar held around 800 bottles, with a further 150 in a wine cabinet at home, as noted on Tom Cannavan’s wine-pages.com.

Annual Reports, Australian Wines, and Cordialities

Jukes developed annual reports covering Bordeaux en primeur, Burgundy and Piemonte, but it was his ‘100 Best Australian Wines’ that carried furthest. Launched as a straightforward list in 2004, it grew into a major tasting event that toured China and Australia. It earned him an Honorary Australian of the Year award in 2012.

In 2006 he launched the One Day Wine School, and that same year he and Australian wine writer and television host Tyson Stelzer created the Great Australian Red competition, a tasting challenge celebrating the best cabernet and shiraz blends produced in Australia.

In 2019 he ’caused a stir in the world of oenophiles’ by founding Cordialities, his own zero-alcohol range aimed at drinkers with a ‘wine-savvy palate’ who wanted something beyond the ‘cheap, sugary, fake creations’ that dominated the non-alcoholic market. Recipes were developed in his kitchen; the finished products won orders from Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide. He was ‘very proud of the success of his business,’ said David Gleave of Liberty Wines.

The Man Behind the Palate

Those who worked alongside him describe two distinct registers. Away from the tasting table he was, in Libby Brodie’s words for City AM, ‘gregarious and generous,’ ‘clever, funny and honourable,’ and ‘one of the very best human beings I have met in my life.’ At work, Jancis Robinson noted on her website, there was a ‘laser-like focus’ and no chatting.

He also kept a strict personal code on hospitality. If he arrived to find his bill had been settled by someone else, he would donate the equivalent sum to charity.

Brodie’s assessment is direct: he was ‘superb at his job’ and ‘leaves the world in a better state than he found it.’ The tributes pouring in from writers, sommeliers and importers across multiple countries suggest the industry agrees. The absence he leaves in annual tasting calendars, in weekly columns and on competition judging panels will take years to fill, if it can be filled at all.