Henry Jeffreys studied English and Classical Literature at Leeds University. He worked in the wine trade and publishing before becoming a freelance writer and broadcaster. He was wine critic for The Lady, and his work has appeared in Spectator magazine, the Guardian, the Oldie and BBC Good Food magazine. He has been on BBC Radio 4, Radio 5 and Monocle Radio, and featured on BBC 2's Inside the Factory (2020). He was a judge for the BBC Radio 4's Food & Farming Awards and for the Fortnum "">Mason food and drink awards 2018. He is the author of Fortnum & Mason award-winning Empire of Booze: British History through the Bottom of a Glass (2017), The Home Bar (2018) and The Cocktail Dictionary (2020), and in 2022 was awarded Fortnum & Mason drink writer of the year. He is currently features editor for the Master of Malt drinks blog and drink writer for The Critic Magazine. He lives in Faversham, Kent with his wife and two children.
Captivating, impeccably researched and endlessly entertaining. Henry Jeffreys embraces his subject like a scholar but with wry humour and a novelist's knack for storytelling. It's the best book on wine I have read. -- Russell Norman This is my favourite type of book. One that tells a story that you knew was happening but had yet to have the pieces put together by a skilful and engaging writer. -- Stephen Harris, Michelin-starred chef and writer Jeffreys' entertaining, accessible and skilfully paced book helps us relish the English countryside's delicious new calling. -- Andrew Jefford, wine writer and author of Drinking with the Valkyries [Jeffreys has] done a great job of highlighting the peculiar Britishness of the whole endeavour, and it's shot through with the wry humour that makes his writing so enjoyable -- Matt Walls, contributing editor Decanter magazine