Product Description

Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim, the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status, winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich and Julia Child/IACP awards, as well as writer and woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit, The Oxford Companion to Wine offers almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable, from regions and grape varieties to the owners, connoisseurs, growers, and tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture and oenology to the history of wine. Tracing the consumption and production from the ancient world to the present day, the Companion is a remarkable resource for gaining further appreciation for a beverage whose popularity has only increased with time.
Now exhaustively updated, this third edition incorporates the very latest international research to present over 400 new entries on topics ranging from globalization and the politics of wine to brands, precision viticulture, and co-fermentation. Hundreds of other entries have also undergone major revisions, including yeast, barrel alternatives, climate change, and virtually all wine regions. Useful lists and statistics are appended, including controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, as well as wine production and consumption by country.
Illustrated with maps of every important wine region in the world, useful charts and diagrams, and stunning color photography, this Companion is unlike any other wine book, offering an understanding of wine in its many wider contexts - notably historical, cultural, geographic, and scientific - and serving as a truly companionable point of reference into which any wine-lover can dip, browse, and linger.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13343 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 840 pages

Customer Reviews

*The* reference for anyone who enjoys wine
Some reference books sit on the shelf, forgotten, hoping to be used someday in the future when someone has a desperate need to know how to calculate the third log value of an arctangent.

This book is as far removed from that fate as a Petrus is from a White Zinfandel!

At least once a week I have opened up this gorgeous wine tome and looked up the answer to a question, or read more about a particular wine I was enjoying. With over 3,000 entries to choose from, you can explore the ancient roots of wine in Iraq and Egypt, or learn about new vine-growing techniques winemakers are using in Washington State. The information is clearly written, well illustrated, and not overly technical.

Jancis Robinson, the editor of the tome, is well known in the industry for her knowledge and fluency in wines of all types. Combine her amazing knowledge with fantastic photographs of each wine region, and even reviews of various personalities in wine, and you have a book that you'll keep on the coffee table and actually read often! Be warned - you can lose guests in its pages for hours.

The book is great for a beginner. Confused about Beaujolais Nouveau? Want to know how a White Zinfandel differs from a Red Zinfandel? The Oxford Companion to Wine has clear, concise descriptions of all wine types, explaining their histories, their characteristics, and where they're found now.

The Companion is also a boon for experienced drinkers. It goes into the fine details of how wines are grown, and how various winemakers use different techniques to bring out the best in their particular grapes. There are maps of wine regions, and insights into what makes certain wines unique.

Great as a gift for your favorite wine drinker, but buy one for yourself, too! The book is a wonderful reference tool to have around the house. With its lovely photos of France, Italy, and Spain, it serves as a wine-lovers guide to places to visit or dream about, and wines to drink while doing so. Highly recommended as the only wine book you should ever need.

An Exhaustive (but not exhausting) Wine Reference
The sheer breadth of what this astounding book offers is almost too good to be true. I just started out learning about wine and I wish this had been the first book I cracked open. Jancis Robinson shows her immense talent as an editor and should be commended. If you're learning about wine, this is the book to get. If you already know about wine, get it anyway. You won't reget the purchase.

The best wine reference book in existence
As a wine industry professional and card-carrying wine geek I can say that this is the single best wine reference book out there. If you're a beginner look elsewhere, but if you're someone who needs to know the grape parentage of Huxelrebe or the history of Chateauneuf du Pape then this is the book.