Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hailed by the Wine Advocate as "perhaps the most gifted of all wine writers writing today," Jancis Robinson has been voted the Wine Writer's Wine Writer by her peers, dubbed "the undisputed mistress of the kingdom of wines" by France's Madame Figaro, and won the 1995 Wine Literary Award of the Wine Appreciation Guild. Holding the prestigious rank of Master of Wine, Robinson lectures and judges all over the world, and recently hosted a ten-part PBS series Jancis Robinson's Wine Course. She also edited The Oxford Companion to Wine, which won every major wine book award in 1995--including the Julia Child Cookbook Award (Wine, Beer, or Spirits) and The James Beard Book Award--and which has been praised by Frank Prial in The New York Times as "easily the most complete compendium of wine knowledge assembled in modern times," and by Anthony Dias Blue as "one of the definitive reference books on the subject."

Now, in Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes, Robinson provides wine aficionados with a handy, on-the-spot guide to the most central aspect of wine making--the grapes themselves. Here are over 850 grapes, ranging from such widely acclaimed vines as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc, to economically important if less distinguished vines such as Airen, Grenache, Muller-Thurgau, Trebbiano, Syrah, and Rkatsiteli. Robinson offers a fact-filled introduction--discussing everything from rootstocks and wine blends, to vine pests and disease--and glossary of technical terms (from botrytis and carbonic maceration, to fanleaf and foxy, to skin, sugars, tannins, and yield). She then examines the world's grape varieties in alphabetical order, describing the basic characteristics of the wine produced by the grape (dry, sweet, high or low acidity, the bouquet), its likely quality, the regions that produce the best wine, and, if a blended wine, the blends that yield the best results. (As an added guide to the wine a grape might produce, the Guide includes an easy-to-use visual aid: a horizontal bar with a band which shows the range of quality, from ordinary to superb.) Robinson also shares much fascinating wine history, her deep insight into the wine industry, and more important, her own judgment on a wine. And Robinson does not hedge in judging a wine: discussing Carignan, France's most planted red wine, she comments "Its wine is high in everything--acidity, tannins, color, bitterness--but flavor and charm. This gives it the double inconvenience of being unsuitable for early consumption yet unworthy of maturation." And for Trebbiano, the most planted white grape in Italy (and with Ugni Blanc, which is the name of the grape in France, the second most planted white grape in the world), Robinson notes "the word Trebbiano in a wine name almost invariably signals something light, white, crisp, and uninspiring."

Perhaps most important, this portable book can be used in the store as a buying guide. With Robinson's Guide, simply find the grape variety on the label--or, if not listed, turn to Robinson's unique Grapes Behind the Names appendix in the back--look up the entry on that grape, and you will discover everything you need to know to make an informed decision to buy or pass. With Jancis Robinson by your side, you can evaluate a bottle of wine on the spot, no matter where, when, or by whom it has been produced.

About the Author

About the Author:
Jancis Robinson writes a regular column on wine for the Wine Spectator, the world's largest circulation wine magazine, and for The Financial Times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 24, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198600984
• ISBN-13: 978-0198600985
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 3.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #533,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #29 in

  Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > By Plant > Grapes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great view of the grapes, February 11, 1997

By A Customer

Successor to Robinson's large-format "Vines, Grapes and Wines," this delightful little book sorts out the world of wine not geographically, as encyclopedias usually do, but on the basis of grapes. Chock full of information about grapes from the commonplace (Chardonnay) to the bizarre (Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso), this pocket-size book is a must for the wine-trivia lover or the serious wine fancier

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, of course!, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

What can you say about the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of wine grapes written by the world's foremost expert on the subject, when that person also happens to be a clear and charming writer as well? If you want to know about grapes, find out from the woman who has offered her entire cellar to the person who can outstrip her knowledge on the subject. Wonderful!

5.0 out of 5 stars Jancis Robinson Pocket Guide to Wine Grapes, July 12, 2009

By	Mr. P. Markby (Fordingbridge, Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes is a phenomenally useful resource.
It remains one one of the most used reference books, small as it is, in my quite extensive Wine and Food collection. It also remains accurate after all these years, but bearing in mind the DNA developments and discoveries of recent years, a re-editing would be hugely welcome. Do not let this gem slip out of your grasp!