James Halliday Retires: The day that I never wanted to come
James Halliday is no longer involved in Halliday Wine Companion. That's a sad sentence to write, and a sad sentence to think about.
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A few days after James Halliday announced his retirement from wine writing he called me from his hospital bed, eager to talk about his final writing project. James and I have discussed this final project many times but still I was humbled and disbelieving that he’d called. This project will be a book about his journey in wine, through the lens of a series of great, unrepeatable wine dinners. The life James Halliday has had in wine is incredible. Indeed, in its own way, it’s historic.
The announcement of James’ retirement, it goes without saying, was a day that I never wanted to arrive. I said on social media, on the day of the announcement, that no one has given more to the wine community, which anyone who knows anything about anything knows to be true. But there are a couple of other reasons why I never wanted this day to arrive, and the first is that every week, of every year, as I read the words that James has written, I learn something new, or I see a new angle, or I gain a new insight.
The other reason is yet more personal. James has been the ‘head’ of Australian wine for all the time I’ve been involved in it. I’m tethered to him. He’s my marker and my guide. When I heard that James had announced his retirement I felt sad but more than that, I felt empty.
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James Halliday was effectively the Halliday guide’s chief editor from the guide’s inception until 2020, though he mostly operated under the title of author. There have been three chief editors of Halliday in four years: Halliday, Tyson Stelzer (2020-2022) and myself (2022-2024). The chief editor seat is now, fittingly, vacant. Halliday is irreplaceable.
JAMES HALLIDAY in Coldstream in 2021. He announced his retirement from all wine writing in May, 2024. This image is copyright Campbell Mattinson.
