The English wine writer Henry Vizetelly (1820-1894) specialised in extensive descriptions of the history of champagne, port and sherry. His career began in 1869 when he was commissioned by the "Pall Mall Gazette" magazine to report on French wine. He travelled extensively for his research. In the 1870s, he travelled to the wine-growing regions of Germany (where he narrowly escaped execution as a "spy" during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870), France, Portugal, Madeira and the Canary Islands.
He wrote several books about wine, which were characterised by many illustrations. These included "Wines of the World - Characterised & Classed by Henry Vizetelly" (1875), "Facts About Sherry" (1876), "Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines" (1879) and "A History of Champagne: with notes on the other sparkling wines of France" (1882). As one of the first recognised wine experts, he was active as a judge and wine critic at the World Exhibitions in Vienna in 1873 and in Paris in 1878. He ruined himself financially as the English publisher of the French author Emile Zola (1840-1902). Vizetelly was awarded the Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph by Emperor Franz Joseph I.
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