John (Jock) Campbell Graham, a former assistant editor of the New Zealand Herald and one of the country's leading authorities and writers on wine, has died in Auckland, aged 87.
Mr Graham, an old boy of Auckland Grammar and a graduate of Auckland University, was one of the Herald's great names
and had an association with the paper stretching back 68 years.
He joined the editorial staff in 1931 and found himself in the deep end from day one. As he set foot in the office, the tremors of the Napier earthquake drew experienced reporters south - leaving young Jock Graham to cover Auckland.
He responded to that challenge and 1000 more as he built a career in journalism that saw him travel the world and eventually become the Herald's authority on foreign affairs and diplomatic issues.
Mr Graham, who served with the Army as a captain in the Pacific and in Italy during the Second World War, retired in 1977 as senior leader writer and assistant editor.
But he was not lost to the paper, continuing his weekly wine column until this year, when poor health intervened.
Last year, he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to journalism and the wine industry.
For 10 years he and wife Susan were directors of the annual national wine awards. In 1995, when the Grahams celebrated 60 years of marriage, the International Wine and Food Society in London made this assessment on the partnership: "Classic, refined, firmly structured. Truly a remarkable vintage, strikingly harmonious and quite outstanding."
Jock Graham is survived by Mrs Graham and their son, Alan.
