Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster.

Early life

Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. His mother was born in

Graiguenamanagh Graiguenamanagh or Graignamanagh () is a town on the River Barrow in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Part of the settlement, known as Tinnahinch, is on the County Carlow side of the river, and Carlow County Council refers to the whole village as "Grai ...

. He was brought up near

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

with a brother and a sister. Clarke became a chorister at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

and subsequently won a

choral scholar A choral scholar is a student either at a university or private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir. This is a common practice in the UK at schools attached to cathedrals where the choir ...

ship to

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

. He later attended

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named aft ...

where he studied theology and psychology and became Common Room President. He played University hockey, was University punting champion, sang with

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded ...

, and acted with the dramatic society and the

Oxford Revue The Oxford Revue is a comedy group primarily featuring students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians, actors and satirists. The Revue wr ...

at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

. He also captained the wine-tasting team. He claims to have been given his chosen name, Oz, "in the school showers" when he was 13, because he played cricket like an Australian cricketer. The Australian cricket team was touring the UK at the same time. Prior to this, he answered to the name Robbie, or Robin formally. His goal was to educate British people about making wine approachable to the British public, and introduce them to the high quality wines that Australians and most of the Western World enjoys. Having grown up in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Clarke played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for Babes of Kent schoolboys and supports Gillingham. He can be seen wearing a Gillingham scarf in ''

Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas ''Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas'' is a BBC television programme in which wine personality Oz Clarke and comedian Hugh Dennis travel through Britain to sample a wide array of seasonal Christmas beverages, including whisky, winter ales, mulled w ...

'', broadcast prior to Christmas 2009 and ''James May's Man Lab Christmas Special'', broadcast prior to Christmas 2011, both on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. He is a cousin of Irish journalist and broadcaster

Olivia O'Leary Olivia O'Leary (born 1949) is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter. Education Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin (UCD), she worked with the ''Nationalist'' and ''Leinster Times'' in Car ...

Acting career

After Oxford, Clarke started a career as a full-time actor and singer. His first job was at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

, followed by

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, Manchester and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He then worked for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, the National Theatre,

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

and

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

. In the West End, he appeared with Michael Crawford in ''Billy'' at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...

, sang Sweeney Todd in ''Sweeney Todd'', played all the men in the ''Mitford Girls'' and General Peron in ''Evita''. It was during this acting period that he was drafted in to the newly formed English Wine Tasting Team, who won competitions against France, Germany and the USA, among others. This proved crucial for his career development. When a wine expert dropped out of the new BBC show '' Food and Drink'', the acclaimed television producer Peter Bazalgette allegedly shouted, 'Get me the actor who knows about wine'. They did, and Clarke's career began to shift away from theatre towards wine, but not out of the entertainment business. He and

Jilly Goolden Jill Priscilla Goolden (born 28 September 1949) is an English wine critic, journalist and television personality. Career For 18 years Goolden co-presented the popular BBC2 ''Food and Drink'' television series in Britain, with Chris Kelly, Mich ...

became the voices and faces of wine in Britain for a generation. He played one of the first criminals apprehended by Superman in the 1978 film ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'', a terrorist in ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film se ...

'', a Special Branch man in ''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the ...

'' and Balthasar in

Stuart Burge Stuart Burge (15 January 1918 – 24 January 2002) was an English stage and film director, actor and producer. The son of H. O. Burge, by his marriage to K. M. Haig, Burge was educated at Eagle House School, Sandhurst, and Felsted School, Esse ...

's 1984 film of ''Much Ado About Nothing''. He sang the baritone role – and Sam Gamgee's song – in the BBC adaptation of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'' and recorded Stephen Oliver's ''A Man of Feeling'' for Granada TV. On December 2011, Clarke was one of the team in the

programme ''

James May's Man Lab ''James May's Man Lab'' is a British television series presented by former Top Gear presenter James May. The first, three-part series was aired on BBC Two between 31 October and 14 November 2010. The second, five-part series was aired between 25 ...

Christmas Special''.

Wine career

While performing in Sheila Hancock's ''Dandy Dick'', he joined the '' Sunday Express'' as their first wine writer. He then became wine correspondent of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''. In 1982, Clarke won the last World Wine Tasting Championship, a

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

event that has not been repeated since then. Clarke has written several award-winning books, and is generally regarded as the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

champion who led Britain's wine revolution in the 1990s and 2000s, but he is also a passionate supporter of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

classics, in particular

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

. Clarke has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, including '' Food and Drink'', the long-running BBC Food show, for which he became well known in the UK for his stint as the wine expert alongside

, and ''A Question of Taste'' and ''The Wine Programme'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

. He made three successful BBC TV series with

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

: ''

Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure ''Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure'' is a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It was presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May (at the time, a presenter of ''Top Gear''), with Clarke aimi ...

'' in France and California, and '' Oz and James Drink to Britain''. The comedian

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist who has appeared in the comedy double act Punt and Dennis with partner Steve Punt. He played Dr Piers Crispin in the ...

was later brought into this concept as ''

'' was broadcast in 2009, and the later series, '' Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar'', was broadcast over the Christmas period in 2010. Clarke stated in ''Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure'' that he was banned from the

Champagne region The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term ...

of France in the 1990s for having made statements suggesting that Champagne was deteriorating in value while rising in price. In November 2008 a survey by the wine industry consultancy firm Wine Intelligence was made public, having polled the views of more than 1,500 regular UK wine drinkers. Results show that Clarke was the most recognised wine critic in the UK. In 2009 he won the International Wine Challenge Personality of the Year award jointly with James May, in the same week as winning the Louis Roederer International Book of the Year for his book ''Bordeaux''. In 2010 he and James May won the TRIC Award for 'best documentary' (for ''Oz and James Drink to Britain''). He was also awarded an

Officier de l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole The Order of Agricultural Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite agricole) is an order of merit bestowed by the French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the ...

by the

French Government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

. Oz Clarke's writing is now published by

Pavilion Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, an imprint of

Anova Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. In December 2010, he launched his very first app for use on Apple's iPhone and

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, ...

, through Anova Digital: ''Oz Clarke's Best Wines 2011'' and ''Oz Clarke's Xmas Wines''. In October 2018 his new book ''Red & White'' was published by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

and he embarked on promotional book tour

Selected bibliography

* ''The Essential Wine Book'' (1988) * ''Oz Clarke's Wine Guide'' ormerly ''Webster's Wine Guide''(published annually since the late 1980s, retitled ''Oz Clarke 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide'', 2008–present) 2011 edition: * ''Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Book'' (annually since 1993) Pavilion Books (2007–present) 2011 edition: * ''Oz Clarke's New Classic Wines'', Simon & Schuster (1991) * ''Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of French Wines'', Simon & Schuster (1991) * ''Oz Clarke's Australian Wine Companion'', Little, Brown & Co (2004) * ''Clarke and Spurrier's Fine Wine Guide'', Little, Brown & Co (1998 and 2001) * ''Oz Clarke's Encyclopedia of Wine'', Little, Brown & Co (1999 and 2003) * ''Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine'', Little, Brown & Co (2000 and 2003) * ''Oz Clarke's Wine Atlas'', Little, Brown & Co/Pavilion Books (1995, 2002 and 2007) * ''Vinopolis World Wine Guide'', Little, Brown & Co (1999) * ''Z Cards: Wine & Food Matcher, Wine Vintages. Wine Tasting, Wine Finder'' (2001) * ''Oz Clarke's Grapes and Wines: A Guide to Varieties and Flavours'', by Oz Clarke & Margaret Rand (2001, 2003, 2008) * ''Sainsbury's Book of Wine'', Sainsbury's (1987) * ''Sainsbury's Regional Wine Guides'' Series, Sainsbury's (1988) * ''Sainsbury's Pocket Wine Guide'', Sainsbury's (1993) ASIN B000RYL20 * ''Oz Clarke's Wine Companion to... – Bordeaux, Tuscany, Burgundy, California'' (1997) * ''Microsoft Wine Guide'' (1995–2002, CD-ROM) * ''Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure'', with Julie Arkell, BBC Books (2006) * ''Oz Clarke Bordeaux'', Pavilion Books (2006) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2008'' Pavilion Books (2007) * ''Oz Clarke: 101 Best Whites and Roses 2008'' Pavilion Books (2008) * ''Oz Clarke: Grapes & Wines'' with Margaret Rand, Pavilion Books (2008) * ''Oz Clarke: 250 Best Wines 2008'' Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2009'' Pavilion Books (2008) * ''Oz Clarke: 250 Best Wines 2009'' Pavilion Books (2008) * ''Oz Clarke: 'Let Me Tell You About Wine' – A beginner’s guide to understanding and enjoying wine'', Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz and James Drink to Britain'', with James May, Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2010'' Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz Clarke: 250 Best Wines 2010'' Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz Clarke: Bordeaux – Second Edition'' Pavilion Books (2009) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2011'' Pavilion Books (2010) * ''Oz Clarke: 250 Best Wines 2011'' Pavilion Books (2010) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2012'' Pavilion Books (2011) * ''Oz Clarke: 250 Best Wines 2012'' Pavilion Books (2011) * ''Oz Clarke: Bordeaux – Third Edition'' Pavilion Books (2012) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2013'' Pavilion Books (2012) * ''Oz Clarke: My Top Wines 2013'' Pavilion Books (2012) * ''Oz Clarke: Pocket Wine Book 2014'' Pavilion Books (2013) * ''Oz Clarke: Grapes & Wines'' with Margaret Rand, Pavilion Books (2014) * ''Oz Clarke: The History of Wine in 100 Bottles'', Pavilion Books (2015) * ''Oz Clarke: Grapes & Wines'' with Margaret Rand, Pavilion Books- UPDATED EDITION (2015) * ''Oz Clarke Wine A-Z'' (2015)

Honours and awards

* Youngest ever British Wine Taster of the Year 1973 * Captain of victorious England Wine Tasters Team 1980 * World Wine Tasting Championship winner, 1982 * ''Wine Magazine'' Book of the Year 1984 * Wine Guild of the United Kingdom Wine Writer 1984 (''Webster's Wine Guide''), 1989 (''Sainsbury's Book of Wine''), 1992 (''New Classic Wines'') * Winner of the International World Wine Tasting Championships, Los Angeles *

Glenfiddich Glenfiddich () is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky produced by William Grant & Sons in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic ''Gleann Fhiodhaich'' meaning "valley of the deer", which is ...

Drink Award 1983 (journalism), 1989 (journalism), 1992 (''New Classic Wines'') * André Simon Drink Book Award 1992 (''New Classic Wines'') *

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 23, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, ...

Wine & Spirits Award 1992 (''New Classic Wines'') * Julia Child Cookbook Award (Wine, Beer & Spirits) 1996 (''Oz Clarke's Wine Atlas'') * Le Prix Lanson 1997 (''Wine Guide'' CD-ROM) * Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Special Millennium Award 1999 (for outstanding contribution to wine education and communication during previous decade) * Jacob's Creek Silver Ladle 1999 (''Wine Guide'' CD-ROM) * Le Prix Lanson Wine Book of the Year 2002 (''Grapes & Wines'') * Special Millennium Award, Le Prix du Champagne Lanson 1999 * Le Prix Lanson Annual Wine Guide of the Year 2004 (''Pocket Wine Book'') * International Wine & Spirit Competition Communicator of the Year 2006 * Roederer International Wine Book of the Year 2009 for ''Bordeaux'' * International Wine Challenge Personality of the Year Award 2009: Oz Clarke and James May * Gourmand Award for Wine Literature 2009 (''Oz and James Drink to Britain'') * TRIC award for TV Arts/Documentary programme 2010 (''Oz Clarke and James Drink to Britain'' TV series) *

2010 Clarke was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to broadcasting and journalism.

References

External links

Oz Clarke official site
*

Performing Artistes {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Oz Living people Wine critics English television presenters English people of Irish descent Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford People educated at The King's School, Canterbury 1949 births James Beard Foundation Award winners Officers of the Order of the British Empire Wine writers English journalists