Faith was best known for his definitive books written on the wine and spirits industry including The Story of Champagne and Cognac. Throughout his career he produced 23 books and his first, The Winemasters published in 1978, won the André Simon award.

Cognac was his main passion within the industry. He produced three books on the category and was subsequently awarded a lifetime achievement award by Bureau National Interprofessional de Cognac in 2010.

The veteran journalist was also one of the best known financial writers in the UK, having held editorships at the Sunday Times, The Economist and frequently contributed to The Financial Times. Aside from finance he held the editor role at L’Amateur de Bordeaux before setting up Drinks International’s International Spirits Challenge in 1996.

In 2011 Faith was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ISC Awards Dinner and following this announcement, members of the industry recognised his career.

Tim Atkin MW said: “Nick Faith is a rare beast in the drinks world: a brilliant financial journalist who can write about wine and spirits. I believe he is one of the greats and his award is richly deserved.”

Bernard Hine of Hine Cognac added: “Nick has the magical power to transform anyone into a connoisseur. His knowledge of wines and spirits is vast but cognac is certainly one of his specialities.

“Nick worked hard and did much research to find why cognac is so fascinating, but his understanding of the atmosphere of the Cognac region and of the families who developed the product is the reason for my respect for Nick.”

Faith passed away peacefully in hospital alongside his family.