Product Description

Over the course of five videos, Jancis Robinson gives us a basic understanding of wine: how it is made, how to appreciate it, how to properly store, open, and drink it. Robinson is an expert in the field, editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, as well as a columnist for the Wine Spectator. These tapes, though, are not just about the drink; just as interesting is her look into the people behind the wines. Each video introduces a new locale and the people who cultivate the grapes and turn them into nectar. Robinson never speaks down to her viewer--she points out that wine should not be a serious subject, that its point is to provide pleasure--although she is frequently a bit condescending to the vintners in her interviews, making the show all the more amusing. Some of the best moments occur when she offers a winemaker a taste of the competitor's wine--somehow they never think it is quite up their own standards. She revels in revealing the scandals and failures of the wine world, providing a gossipy feel. While the wine course is more than enough reason to watch this series, the cinematography is spectacular, beautifully highlighting the wine-growing regions of the world--from Australia to Chile to Oregon to Europe. Mixing history and culture with nuts and bolts, this set is a perfect place to start if you have little or no previous knowledge of wine. --Jenny Brown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29571 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 300 minutes

Amazon.com
Over the course of five videos, Jancis Robinson gives us a basic understanding of wine: how it is made, how to appreciate it, how to properly store, open, and drink it. Robinson is an expert in the field, editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, as well as a columnist for the Wine Spectator. These tapes, though, are not just about the drink; just as interesting is her look into the people behind the wines. Each video introduces a new locale and the people who cultivate the grapes and turn them into nectar. Robinson never speaks down to her viewer--she points out that wine should not be a serious subject, that its point is to provide pleasure--although she is frequently a bit condescending to the vintners in her interviews, making the show all the more amusing. Some of the best moments occur when she offers a winemaker a taste of the competitor's wine--somehow they never think it is quite up their own standards. She revels in revealing the scandals and failures of the wine world, providing a gossipy feel. While the wine course is more than enough reason to watch this series, the cinematography is spectacular, beautifully highlighting the wine-growing regions of the world--from Australia to Chile to Oregon to Europe. Mixing history and culture with nuts and bolts, this set is a perfect place to start if you have little or no previous knowledge of wine. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

Excellent--but dated
An excellent series (BBC. Jancis Robinson brings a certain wit & British charm to the whole subject. She has an amazing ability to stand outside of the wine hype and almost view it as an outsider. The only thing is this: this series has a 1995 copyright. And a lot has happened in 13 years!

Was it about wine...?
I've tried desperately to watch this DVD on several occasions only to find myself bored by the tiresome ramblings of Jancis R. I wasn't as convinced this DVD was about wine as it was about her seeing how long
she could talk. Hoping at any point she might get as tired of hearing her own voice as I was of hearing it.
Thank goodness I didn't buy this dvd. I've rented it a couple times hoping to find some little nugget that might
interest me. No such luck. At this point, not only would I NOT buy this DVD set, I wouldn't want it if it
were given to me. And the chance of me renting again is pretty close to non-existent. And if there were
an option for giving this DVD a zero star rating, that's still more than it deserves.

Jancis Robinson Wine Course
This is a great introductory over view of wine regions. It has fun quizzes on the special features, as well as maps and links and wine recomendations. Its fun.