Customer Reviews

Oz Clarke's New Wine Atlas: Wines and Wine Regions of the World

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful atlas. It differs from other offerings in that it includes panoramic maps, giving the reader a real feel for "the lay of the land". The book also has regional "keys", providing information on grapes grown, aspect, soil and climate. The accompanying text is less scholarly in tone than The World Atlas of Wine but nearly as informative.

If I were to recommend one reference, it would be the above referenced atlas. But if your bookshelf has room for two, get this as well.

I can hardly judge the author's knowledge about wine itself, as I am definitely not a connaisseur. I just enjoy wine and want to know a little better about it. It also happens that I like to travel too. So, I thought it was a pity that nobody has reviewed this nice book before.

What I can say is that this book is very well done, with an interesting introduction, and maps that try to replicate the vegetation you would find in the actual places. It really gives you the sense of traveling to the area he is describing, which is not bad considering the aim of this type of book.

Comparing this to Hugh Johnson's Wine Atlas, this one feels much more like a travelogue, a quite good one, whereas Johnson's seems to be more informative about growers, more like a mapped encyclopedia. If you are just a curious wine consumer and can have both, start with this then go to Johnson's. If you can't, perhaps a good idea might be to buy this one and Johnson's Pocket Wine Book...or the other way round. It's a tough decision.

Oz Clarke continues as one of the best wine writers in the worlds. Great topographical maps show exactly what the areas look like. In depth work explaining nearby wind currents helps explain the terrior.

This book is unlike most other wine atlases. Instead of showing a flat map with regions outlined and highlighted, this book shows illustrared maps from a 3/4 aspect so you can 'see' the elevation and vineyards.

A very unique book and one that I refer to often in my studies.