Welcome to Book Club and Episode 2532 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. Today Richard is in conversation with Natasha Hughes MW to discuss her book, The Wines of Beaujolais.
On the bookshelf:
The books discussed in today’s episode include:
The Wines of Beaujolais by Natasha Hughes MW is available now at:
https://academieduvinlibrary.com/ and all good bookshops.
Further reading:
That classic episode of Only Fools and Horses (if you look closely you can see the iconic “Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé” poster in the background): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63rcdLeXiU8.
You can find out why Beaujolais Day is celebrated like Christmas Day in Swansea here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv75yznqe0o
Finally, the seemingly innocuous sounding dish to avoid if you are a vegetarian is Salade de museau.
About today’s guest:
Natasha Hughes is a freelance wine and food writer, consultant and educator. Her exploration of the world of wine began when she ran a catering company part-time while at university. It blossomed on her return to London, after six years spent working in TV production and publishing in Australia, when she became deputy editor for Decanter online, the website of the UK's leading consumer wine magazine. On leaving the magazine in 2001, Natasha began a successful and diverse career that has included writing for some of the world's most respected magazines and websites. Her first solo book, The Wines of Beaujolais, was published in 2025 by the Academie du Vin Library.
In addition to writing, Natasha consults for businesses and private clients and hosts seminars and tastings for members of the trade and the public. Natasha also judges at wine competitions around the world. She became a Master of Wine in 2014, winning four out of the seven available awards that year, including the Outstanding Achievement Award for best overall performance in the exams.
Connect:
Website: https://master-classes.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latashmw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-hughes-mw-5b046724/
More about the host:
Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind The Art of Wine Storytelling, Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine, including Verona Campione, published in May 2025. With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.
Connect:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rickhough.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verona_campione
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/
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Until next time, Cin Cin!