Oz Clarke is UK's best known wine critic

A new survey by Wine Intelligence in the UK has revealed that Oz Clarke is the UK's best known wine critic but still only 18% of 1,500 regular wine drinkers actually recognised his name. Oz first made his name with the BBC Food and Drink show in the 80s, and has appeared on our screens more recently alongside James May of Top Gear in their Big Wine Adventure series touring France and California. Runner-up on the list of experts was Olly Smith who is a regular on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen, confirming that wine critics who appear on television are predictably far more recognised than traditional wine writers.

Sarah Jane Evans MW and Matthew Jukes were not far behind Olly Smith, followed by Superplonk author Malcolm Gluck in fifth place and Jancis Robinson MW in sixth.

A Wine Intelligence spokesman said, 'One conclusion from this study is that broadsheet column inches alone are perhaps not as influential as they once were: the critics that regular wine drinkers find the most compelling and engaging are those embracing a range of media, communicating about wine in a broader lifestyle context.'