The British journalist and wine writer Cyrus Redding (1785-1870) first worked in London for the "Pilot" newspaper before editing the "Plymouth Chronicle" and then the "West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser". In 1814 he travelled to Paris, where he served as editor of various magazines. He then gave up journalism and wrote books, including "Gabrielle: a Tale of the Swiss Mountains" and "Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea". He then devoted himself to the subject of wine and travelled to many wine-growing regions, whose wines he described and evaluated. In 1833 he published "A History and Description of Modern Wines", which was influenced by the publications of the two wine writers André Jullien (1766-1832) and Jean-Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832). This was followed in 1839 by a sequel entitled "Every Man His Own Butler", which describes many wine-making techniques (including wine adulteration), various types of wine from Portugal and Spain such as sherry, port, Setúbal and Madeira, as well as French wines. His evaluations of Bordeaux wines were used by the jury in deciding the Bordeaux classification in 1855. There are facsimile editions from more recent times such as French Wines and Vineyards. See also a list of famous wine writers under Literature.
![]()
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien