I am devastated and heartbroken by the passing of Matthew Jukes, who suffered a heart attack while holidaying with his family in Portugal yesterday, at the age of 58. My heart goes out to his wife Amelia and his children Isadora, Elspeth, Rollo and Victor.

The wine world has lost one of its greatest; a global champion of Australian wine like no other of our generation. This year marked Matthew’s 40^th year in the wine trade.

Matthew defined my career. He was my mentor, my exemplar of integrity, my inspiration of creative communication, my benchmark of philanthropy and most of all my dear friend for 22 years.

Our partnership commenced the very moment we met at the International Screw Cap Symposium in Blenheim in November 2004.

Matthew took me under his wing before I was anybody in the wine world. Together, we went on to create Taste Food & Wine, The Great Australian Red and The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification.

It was Matthew’s example that set my precedent for integrity as a taster, Matthew’s flair for communication that inspired my creativity as a writer, Matthew’s incisive intellect that shaped my understanding of the intricacies of the wine world, and Matthew’s example in his Touch Wine for homeless charities that ultimately prompted my Flood Relief Raffle and Teen Rescue Foundation.

It was Matthew who took me to Burgundy when I wrote my Down to Earth Burgundy guide in 2007. And it was while I was in Europe for Matthew and Amelia’s wedding in 2010 that I visited Champagne and penned the first edition of The Champagne Guide – so I can ultimately indirectly blame him for this obsession, too!

There have been many tears today, and there will be many more. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all those who have reached out with sympathy and support to his family and to those of us close to Matthew. The wine world is an incredible community. You are the reason for Matthew’s larger-than-life passion and enthusiasm, and his tremendous legacy – which will live on forever.