Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine (Oz Clarke's Wine Companions) (Hardcover)

by Oz Clarke (Author) "THE WORLD OF WINE is ever expanding, as the vine has settled happily and productively in regions far from its long-established Mediterranean habitats..." (more)
Key Phrases: cent new oak, passito wine, blackcurrant fruit, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The prolific Oz Clarke, winner of both the Julia Child and James Beard awards for wine writing, takes readers on a structured and stylish whirlwind tour of the world's wine-producing regions in Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine, a 416-page tome full of glossy, full-color pages packed to their sturdy binding with photos, maps, and opinionated enological overview.

Early chapters summarize the making of red, white, sparkling, and fortified wines; give tips on keeping, serving, and tasting wine; and vividly detail the traits of some of the globe's grape-growing geography. Clarke's prose is full of tasty turns of phrase: tannic Merlots are full of "gum-drying toughness," oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc is a "half-way house" between Chardonnay and French Sauvignon, and lightly aged Riesling smells like "petrol." But a couple of his pronouncements are just plain infuriating: calling the political Classification of 1855--drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and based on the prices the wines fetched then and still extant in this day of vineyard consolidation and ownership by insurance companies and makers of luxury luggage--generally "still a remarkably accurate guide" may strike one as oddly musty thinking, given his revisionist reviews of Chateaux d'Issan and Lynch-Bages appearing later in the book. But this is wine we're talking about here: one person's "ugh!" is another's "strange but delightful," and wine researchers and armchair sippers alike will find the latter 85 percent of the New Encyclopedia to be the real body of the work: an information-packed, browsable, alphabetical gazetteer of wines, regions, grape types, and producers written in the sometimes enraging, always engaging, wonderful words of Oz. --Tony Mason

From Booklist
Not as wide-ranging as The Oxford Companion, with entries limited to wines, wine regions, producers, and grape varieties. We reviewed the previous edition in our February 15, 1994, issue, calling it "a delight to browse."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt; Subsequent edition (November 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151005656
• ISBN-13: 978-0151005659
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #169,288 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, well organized, and entertaining, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

If you're looking for an informative, well organized, and entertaining wine encyclopedia (versus, say, an obtuse, sloppy, and dull wine encyclopedia), then look no further. Generally speaking, I find encyclopedia-type wine books to be rather dull and a little thin on information, but Oz Clarke has truly succeeded. Clarke's writing style is concise, informative, and amusing. Not an easy feat for an encyclopedia. This 400+ page encyclopedia is an A to Z of wines, wine regions, producers, and grape varieties.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good bargain!, July 14, 2004

By	Ilke Tezel "k-erk" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine (Hardcover)

This Encyclopedia is enough comprahensive for its price; a basic reference on wine making, regions and wines and so, writers style is friendly and not boring. Only disadvantage of this book A-Z arrangement, it's a bit confuse. I have more encyclopedia and reference books on wine; but i take a look this book so often.
Finally it is a good bargain i think...

5.0 out of 5 stars Close to perfect wine book, April 25, 2004

By	"elnriz2" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine (Hardcover)

There were some areas I wanted a little more detail in, but this is by far the best read out there for those studying wine - well written, and interesting without the punchy or gimmicky writing style of so many other food and wine books. This book was exactly what I was looking for.