John Stewart Hutton was born on June 28 1951 at Hanley Castle in Worcestershire, to Major John Murray Hutton of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and his wife Elsie, née Jewell. Major Hutton was an MCC cricketer, Harlequins rugby player and scratch golfer, sparking lifelong sporting enthusiasms in his son.

Educated at St Edward’s School, Oxford, John embarked on a banking career until he was ejected as “unsuitable”; he also had a short foray as a restaurateur before seeking an entrée into the world of wine. Warned by one veteran that the trade offered “a fun life” but not much financial security, Hutton’s oft-quoted reply was: “I’d rather be a lead guitarist in an R&B band, but wine was second on the list, so here I am.”

A hero-worshipper of Eric Clapton, Hutton did indeed play the guitar all his life, having started out in a casual 1970s band which rejoiced in the name of The Wonderful Mission of Earl Lavender. But by the end of that decade he had found a job with Hedges & Butler and in 1983 he moved to another wine merchant, Fields, which was acquired by Berry Bros & Rudd in 1997 and integrated with other smaller firms.

Hutton oversaw the development of Fields, Morris & Verdin as a leading wine agency, supplying a range of outlets that extended to some of London’s finest Japanese and Chinese restaurants as well as the empire of Corbin and King.

A man of infectious, self-deprecating cheerfulness, he was a mentor and friend to many younger members of the wine trade. Celebrated in his anecdotal repertoire was the story of his discovery of a promising Australian winery called Pedare. Did the name perhaps suggest Italian antecedents, he enquired. “Nah, mate,” came the reply, “The owners are Pete, Dave and Reg.”

Hutton could talk all day and night about music, sport and comedy as well as wine, and was happiest at home in Herefordshire with his wife and their many Labradors. He married Sarah Jane Hepworth, who was banqueting manager at the Grocers’ Hall in the City of London, in 2002; she survives him with their three sons. To his grandsons, he was known affectionately as “Grandpa Bottles”.

​John Hutton, born June 28 1951, died April 7 2026