FRANCE: Tributes pour in for Alsace wine 'father' Jean Hugel

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 16 June 2009

Tributes have been pouring in for Jean Hugel, the man lauded as the saviour of Alsace wine after the Second World War and who has died aged 84.

Hugel, born 28 September 1924, died at home late last week following a battle against cancer, said his family wine company, Hugel & Fils.

Tributes have poured in on the website of the company, which was founded in 1639.

Hugel has been dubbed as the modern father of Alsace wine in the post-1945 era. After being conscripted into the German army, alongside all young men in Alsace during the latter period of the war, Hugel returned to France after the Allied victory and went to learn his winemaking skills in Montpellier and Bordeaux.

The Wine Society, of which Hugel was a member, held a special memorial service for him at its Annual General Meeting last week.

Wine critic Steven Spurrier MW said: "Nobody could have been more loved and admired than he. His warm and generous welcome to me as a stagiare back in 1965 stays with me to this day."

Sectors: Wine