Cyril Ray

Cyril Ray (16 March 1908 – 24 September 1991) was an English writer and journalist. After a spell as a war reporter, and then a foreign correspondent he became best known for writing about food and, especially, wine. He became a wine writer almost randomly, and had strong interests in other spheres such as military history and riding. His wife Elizabeth Ray also wrote about food. In addition to writing about food and wine, Ray wrote histories of major wine producers, including the champagne maker Bollinger and the claret houses Lafite and Mouton Rothschild. A strong socialist, he resigned from prominent positions when he felt his principles incompatible with those of the publication.

Life and career

Early years Ray was born in Bury, Lancashire, the eldest son of Albert Benson Ray (né Rotenberg), an optician, and Rita Ray (née Caminetsky), both Jews. He was educated at the Wesleyan church school in Bury and then at Manchester Grammar School from where he won an open scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford. He had to leave Oxford after a year, as the family's funds ran out.

When Ray left Oxford the Great Depression was at its worst and worthwhile jobs were scarce. Ray worked as a teacher, and then took a job in a riding school, where riding became one of his great loves. He took a short service commission in the Royal Air Force, and was posted to an obsolescent balloon squadron. His duties were light, and he had leisure for extensive reading. From 1950 to 1952 Ray was the paper's Moscow correspondent, a frustrating post at a time when the Soviet authorities were at their most secretive and suspicious.

One of Ray's strongest interests was military history, and in 1952 he published From Algiers to Austria: The History of 78 Division. He held strong views on morals and politics. He left The Sunday Times over its editorial support for capital punishment.

Wine writer Ray's position as a wine writer came out of his appointment in the early 1950s as editor of a magazine, The Compleat Imbiber, sent to its customers by an independent wine merchant, W. and A. Gilbey. This led to invitations to contribute wine columns to Punch and other magazines.

When the proprietor of The Spectator, Ian Gilmour, announced in 1962 that he proposed to stand for Parliament for the right-wing Conservative party, Ray and many other Spectator writers left. He had already written for the Sunday paper, The Observer since 1959, and he went on doing so until he retired in 1973. In retirement he continued to write for Punch and published another 14 books between 1973 and 1988.

In his later years, Ray lived mostly in London, in his rooms at Albany. He died in 1991 at the age of 83.

Books

By Cyril Ray

(ed.) Scenes and Characters from Surtees, 1948 From Algiers to Austria: The History of 78th Division, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1952 The Pageant of London, Batsford, 1957 Merry England, Vista Books, 1958 (ed.) The Gourmet's Companion, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1963 Regiment of the Line: The Story of the Lancashire Fusiliers, Batsford, 1964, abridged edition published as The Lancashire Fusiliers: The 20th Regiment of Foot, Leo Cooper, 1971 (ed.) Morton Shand’s Book of French Wines, Penguin, 1964 (ed.) Best Murder Stories, Faber, 1965 The Wines of Italy, McGraw, 1966, revised edition, Penguin, 1971. In a Glass Lightly, Methuen, 1967. Lafite: The Story of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, P. Davies, 1968, Stein & Day, 1969, revised edition, 1982 Bollinger: The Story of a Champagne, St. Martin's, 1971, revised edition, 1988 Cognac, P. Davies, 1973, Stein & Day, 1974, revised edition, Harrap, 1985 Mouton-Rothschild: The Wine, the Family, the Museum, Christie's Wine Department (London), 1974 (with Elizabeth Ray) Wine with Food, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1975 The Wines of France, Allen Lane, 1976 The Wines of Germany, Allen Lane, 1977 The Complete Book of Spirits and Liqueurs, Macmillan, 1978 Cyril Ray's Book of Wine, Morrow, 1978 (published in England as The St. Michael Guide to Wine, Artus Publishing Co., 1978),(revised in 1982 and reprinted in 1985 by Peerage Books as "The Guide to Wine") Ray on Wine, Dent, 1979 Lickerish Limericks, Dent, 1979 Ruffino: the story of a Chianti, 1979 Lickerish Limericks, with Filthy Pictures by Charles Mozley, 1979 The New Book of Italian Wines, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1982 Robert Mondavi of the Napa Valley, Heinemann, 1984 (ed.) Vintage Tales: Anthology of Wine and Other Intoxications, Century Publishing, 1984

By Elizabeth Ray

Resourceful Cook, Macmillan, 1978 Good Housekeeping Country Cooking, Ebury Press, 1979 (with Prue Leith) Alexis Soyer: Cook Extraordinary, Southover Press, 1991 (editor) The Best of Eliza Acton, Longmans, Green, & Co., 1968 Homemade Ice Cream, Ebury Press, 1978