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Vines, Grapes & Wines: The Wine Drinker's Guide to Grape Varieties

Vines, Grapes & Wines: The Wine Drinker's Guide to Grape Varieties
By Jancis Robinson

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Product Description

As more and more wine consumers become grape conscious, they identify and buy wine according to its grape—and this is the guide to help them choose. Written by one of the world’s most highly respected wine writers, Vines, Grapes, & Wines covers the numerous grape varieties that are grown internationally, examining an extensive range of the varieties that the enthusiast is likely to encounter both as a plant and as a wine style. Each one is described in its geographical context, and there are hundreds of inspiring illustrations throughout.

Winner of the Veuve Clicquot Wine Book of the Year and André Simon Drink Book of the Year awards

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #291580 in Books
  • Published on: 1992-10-29
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 280 pages

Customer Reviews

Still a valuable resource4
While not as exhaustive as "Oz Clarke's Encylopedia of Grapes", this does contain information that Clarke's book does not. Before the three sections on grapes (Classic Varieties, Major Varieties, Other Varieties) there is a section entitled "Where Grapes Grow and Why" that provides valuable insight. Some of the information is dated, however, and that should be a caution to anyone reading this for use as a text. For example, the book uses a 1979 "census" of the varieties grown in Champagne. The figures quoted in 1979 are far different than those today. So be careful if you quote this book with specific regard to data.

A reference book no-one should be caught without5
Simply put, this is one of the classics and a must-have for anyone with more than a passing interest in wine. Although it is several years old now and certain parts are out of date in terms of trends and the planting patterns of some younger wine-producing countries, the important bits are still are relevant as ever. The most comprehensive and invaluable book on grape varieties, purely for its reference fact value. Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand have written a more up-to-date bok covering the same topic, but that is less focussed on the grape itself as the wines made around the world with the particular grape. If you can have both, all the better, but if you had to choose one, this one would be it.

Fascinating4
This is a fascinating, well-written book, sure to be of interest to anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of what's in their wine glass. It's a perfect companion piece to Johnson and Robinson's _Wine Atlas_. The bulk of the book is devoted to descriptions of "classic," "major," and "other" varieties, with the first two categories getting detailed treatment. There's also a section on "Where grapes grow and why" and some very interesting maps and analyses of great vineyards (e.g., Chateau Margaux and the Rutherford Bench).

One minor caveat is that the book doesn't seem to have been revised since it first appeared in 1986. So some of the "sociological" parts of the text (e.g., where specific varietals are being grown, and comments on their popularity) are becoming increasingly out of date, especially for the New World. But it's kind of interesting to be reminded that in the mid-1980s Syrah (aka Shiraz) enjoyed only "very limited popularity" (p. 90).