For despite the rigorous nature of his own self-discipline, Jukes was so much more than a disciplinarian.
Beyond the prodigious authority of his insights, he was so much more than a critic. And aside from the prolific wealth of his output, he was so much more than a writer.
Far more significant than the extent of his body of work was the quality of this work – a fact that marked him as a colossus of the British wine trade.
Most striking – and tragic – of all was the now extinguished promise of so much more to come.
Early days and formative years
Born in Hampshire in 1967, the young Jukes spent part of his childhood in Belgium, where his father worked in Brussels, and wine was a vivid part of his household.
In his teens he attended The Oratory School in Oxfordshire, before moving into the wine industry aged 19, serving customers in the Barnes Wine Shop in south-west London.
By the age of 23 he was wine buyer for the era-defining Bibendum Restaurant in South Kensington, a position he held until 2016, winning multiple awards for the quality of the list along the way.
In between times, he co-owned The Crescent wine bar, a popular spot with the Chelsea set in the mid-1990s.
It was arguably this rounded introduction into wine that gave him a broader perspective than many of his wine-writing peers. An appreciation of the consumer viewpoint and commercial reality never left him.
He once described a ‘favourite coup’ as buying the entire UK allocation of the 1996 vintage of Torbreck’s cult Barossa Shiraz RunRig.
‘I sold it for £32.50 per bottle on the [Bibendum] list and left it at this price after [Robert] Parker awarded it 100 points and the retail price in New York hit $1,000 a bottle.’
A love for Down Under
Jukes was drawn to Australian wine early in his career, feeling the Cabernets from the likes of Cape Mentelle or Wynns were ‘more attractive, accurate and delicious’ than similarly priced Bordeaux.
Coming to the same conclusion regarding Barossa Shiraz vs those of the Rhône, he became increasingly convinced that Australia was hugely undervalued both in terms of price and quality.
The country’s real appeal to him, though, came through its people.
Speaking to trade title The Buyer in 2018, he recalled how much more forthcoming Australian winemakers were than their European counterparts when sharing insights into their wines.
It was a trait he exploited early in his broadcast career when welcoming Australian winemakers into his radio studio, often straight from landing at Heathrow, for his show on the BBC London station GLR.
Jukes became convinced that Australia was chronically underappreciated, particularly at the fine-wine level, and hence worth championing.
With the ebullience of Aussie winemakers and his unwavering focus on the consumer, it made for the perfect marriage – and a lifetime’s mission.
His third book, The Wine List 2003, inspired what was to become his defining project.
The book detailed his top 250 wines, 50 of which were Australian – including, even then, Tasmanian Pinot, Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, and cool-climate Shiraz – ‘already a thing!’ as he later observed.
Determined to champion such fare, he resolved to produce an annual report solely dedicated to Australia.
His 100 Best Australian Wines was more than simply a list, however.
The notes on each wine were detailed, insightful and entertaining, and the initiative gained further traction when he grew it from a smart tasting event at Australia House to a roadshow, touring the country via tastings, masterclasses, music and dinners.
In time he would take the festival overseas, with events in China, New York and, naturally, Down Under.
His championing of Australia never ceased.
In a 2024 retrospective for Decanter, he bemoaned the fact that, while the country had been producing delicate, balanced, cool-climate wines long before the rest of the world caught up with the trend, it went largely unnoticed.
‘It drives me up the wall when people think Australia only makes big, blocky, clumsy wines when 20 years ago, delicacy and balance were already living and breathing mantras.’
He was far from a one-trick pony, however.
The radio show in the late-90s led to a stint hosting Channel 4’s Wine Hunt, while, not long afterwards, The Wine Book was serialised by the Daily Mail, leading to a 22-year weekly column for its Weekend magazine, during which time the newspaper was the most read in the UK.
He also wrote a weekly piece for MoneyWeek magazine for two decades, as well as a monthly column for UK trade magazine Vineyard.
While the latter was unusual, in that its audience was the trade rather than the consumer, it was typical of the man.
He didn’t do it for prestige or money, but to support the English wine industry – another sector he felt had huge potential.
Back in 2016 he accompanied the Wine & Spirit Trade Association to Paris to host an English wine vs Champagne blind tasting, just as English wine was starting to make waves.
He would go on to volunteer his services to the WSTA’s lobbying campaign for fairer alcohol duty across a number of years.
Myriad causes, adventures and goodwill
Given his support of the industry, what was arguably atypical was his move to embrace the non-alcoholic sector, apparently inspired by a trend he saw coming across the Atlantic on a trip to New York in 2017.
Even then, he did it with full commitment, developing his own brand of drinks via the testing of 200 different ingredients in the kitchen of his family home in Clapham.
After two years spent perfecting three blends, he moved to a purpose-built facility under a railway arch in nearby Battersea for production.
By 2024, Jukes Cordialities had grown to a range of 10 products being sold in over a dozen countries.
When, earlier this year, he finally teamed up with an outside investor to grow the business further, it was none other than Sacha Lichine, founder of the Provence rosé phenomenon Whispering Angel, who called Jukes ‘a beacon of excellence’ in the world of alcohol-free drinks.
Throughout his career, Jukes delivered countless lectures, talks and seminars at trade conferences and consumer tastings, while judging wine across the world.
In 2006 he introduced the intensive, indulgent One Day Wine School; in 2009 he co-founded Quintessentially Wine.
He went on to publish 14 wine books, and evolved his focus on Australia into three other comprehensive annual reports, published on his website, on his other favourite regions – Bordeaux, Burgundy and Piedmont. Each of them ran to 35,000 words a piece.
All of it was done under his own steam.
If you will allow me a personal reflection, in the late Noughties, when editing Decanter, and at a time when I thought of him as Mr Australia, I learned of his love for Burgundy.
Seeking a new voice on the region, I commissioned him to write a Burgundy vintage report.
What followed was a tour de force of the region, bowling me (and readers) over with his knowledge, insight and access.
Most striking of all, it was all done entirely independently, without any demands for logistical help or practical assistance on the ground.
He didn’t have a PA or an agent, and dealt with all projects personally.
Enquiries and entreaties would receive an immediate response, business-like but courteous, grateful for the commission and excited by the possibilities.
Even the logistics of the mammoth 100 Best tastings, which he grew to become a two-month festival attended by trade envoys, ambassadors and politicians, were all arranged under his own steam.
He was the same away from the spittoon.
Proudly but quietly, he made it his personal mission to raise an annual sum greater than his own income for various charities, from the NSPCC to stroke rehabilitation, homeless initiatives and The Roundhouse youth arts community, of which he was a patron. He achieved this feat every year for over two decades.
With his rigour, integrity and energy, they simply don’t make them like Matthew anymore.
Two of the few fellow writers who bear comparison – Jancis Robinson MW and Victoria Moore – paid tribute, the former labelling him ‘exceptional in so many ways’, the latter recalling his ‘rapier-sharp intellect and almost superhuman energy’ (for more tributes, see below).
That booming voice remained authoritative to the end. But he was also a warm, collaborative, welcoming presence, encouraging to and engaged with wine lovers and professionals at all levels and of all experience.
He was, come to think of it, a bit too soft to be a drill sergeant – luckily for all of us…
What they say
(Image credit: South China Morning Post/Getty Images)
Robert Hill-Smith, chairman of Yalumba (which, like Australia House in London, flew its flag at half-mast earlier this week, in tribute)
‘Australian wine has lost its biggest fan and cheerleader in Europe.
His 100 Best kept quality Australian wine connected to consumers at a time when it has been fighting to be acknowledged.
We will miss his enormous energy evangelising fine Australian wine over four decades as a journalist, ambassador, all round enthusiast and good guy who humbly, generously and willingly gave his heart, soul and wit to wine and charity.’
Vanya Cullen OAM, owner, Cullen Wines
‘Few people outside the Australian wine industry have done more to champion Australian wine, but what stays with me is how he did this with such irrepressible joy.
It is heartbreaking and devastating to hear of his passing and difficult to imagine a wine world without him in it. He will be sorely missed.’
David Gleave MW, chairman, Liberty Wines
‘Matthew learned early on to distinguish what was in his glass from all the external noise that surrounds it, be that reputation, reviews or region.
This meant he had the confidence to articulate an opinion as soon as he tasted; he never felt the need to see what other critics were going to say and he was never worried about swimming against the tide.
As someone who tasted quite a bit with him, especially in the Langhe, this made it fun, and we could violently agree or agree to disagree, both in a very civilised manner.
I’ll miss the fun of those discussions over something we both held to be very important: a simple glass of wine.’
Oz Clarke OBE, wine writer and broadcaster
‘Ah, dear Matthew. Unmatched in passion and commitment when he chose a subject to champion.
The most generous of all us writers when it came to sharing scoops and new discoveries.
His tasting notes for 100 Best were matchless in their hilarity, poetic bombast and ability to sweep you away in their sheer enthusiasm for the wine. What a loss.’
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association
‘Matthew went above and beyond when it came to showing his support to WSTA campaigns fighting for fairer excise duty and better industry support from Government. He was a real champion for the UK wine sector.’
