Jancis Robinson's Wine Course: A Guide to the World of Wine [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As elegant and meticulously laid out as a posh wine shop, this companion to the BBC series of the same title by Financial Times wine columnist Robinson brims with the kind of facts, advice and trivia that will likely enthrall aspiring oenophiles but may overwhelm dilettantes. Robinson, a congenial raconteur, divides this course into four long chapters, each providing a deep immersion into a different facet of the wine world?and each punctuated by splashy photographs and charts. "Getting the Most Out of Wine" demonstrates how to open, serve and order the stuff; "How Wine is Made" reveals how the grapes are harvested, fermented and bottled; the last chapters catalogue the hundreds of varieties of wine and the world's vineyards, from those in France and Italy to less prominent regions in Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand. The book is bursting with short glossaries and sidebars, addressing the esoteric (wine-scoring systems) and the pragmatic (pronunciation; varieties of corkscrews). A short vintage guide and an index are included, but no comprehensive glossary. Readers with income and patience enough for the trial and error that a wine education requires will find that this manual is best read over time, in conjunction with regular samplings of the wines showcased. The novice looking for a simple handbook to help navigate a wine retailer or a restaurant list may be better served by the Windows on the World Wine Course (see Notes, below).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

How many times have you stood in an off-licence or in the supermarket wine aisle wondering how on earth you are going to choose a bottle from the vast array on display? Red, white or "pink" is hard enough, but French, Italian, New World? And what about grape variety? Step in Jancis Robinson with her infinitely readable, highly intelligent guide to wine and all its apparent conundrums for the uninitiated. Aimed specifically at those wanting to learn more but with little experience, she clearly and concisely leads the reader into this great world of wine, spanning the globe from Europe to South America, to Australia and South Africa. From terms, paraphernalia, tasting, buying, storing and serving, the book is a mine of information. No longer will you apologise to guests for sediment at the bottom of a bottle or insult them by serving a fizzy white as Champagne. You will be able to pick the perfect partner for your dinner menu, serve it with aplomb and savour it with your guests. Lavishly illustrated this should be the one book every wine-lover should have on their shelf. It is an indispensable reference to the subject and this new edition has been brought fully up-to-date to reflect the fast-growing industry of wine production. - Lucy Watson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 2 Rev Exp edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789207915
• ISBN-13: 978-0789207913
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,271,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Esoteric Ramble through the World of Wine, December 4, 2001

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Jancis Robinson's Wine Course (Hardcover)

There are many types of wine books on the market today. Some are the Dummy and KISS type - with little graphics and simple statements to start you from your first baby steps. Other are rich tomes with a wealth of information, like the Oxford Companion to Wine, which Jancis edits. These have just about every term and region you could hope to learn about.

This companion to Jancis' TV series is neither of the above, and it is much more. It is Jancis speaking to you, from her richly educated base of knowledge, to help you learn what makes wine so interesting. Think of Jancis as your incredibly experienced aunt, who has just come back from some exotic trip. She and you have sat down in the living room by a fire, are sipping some wine, and she is preparing to regale you with stories, and tidbits, and insights, and fascinating worlds you didn't even imagine.

That's what the book is like.

It starts with the basics - how to taste, how to serve, how to decant, wine and food. Even in these areas you get the sense that Jancis is chatting with you about something she loves. She admits to decanting full whites not because they need it, but because she loves the glowing color.

She goes into the gritty details of how wines are made, what a free-run-wine is, how sparkling and sweet wines are created. And then, she begins in on the regional reviews.

France, of course, is first. It always seems to come first. Beautiful pictures of the Chateau Latour tower and Loire valley gables. You move on through Italy, Spain, and yes, the US and Australia get a mention in here too. The reviews are all written from her heart - you see clearly what she likes and doesn't like, and you learn why.

A great way to learn more about wine - especially if you're also able to watch the TV Series!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book if you want to know more about wine!, December 17, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Sanford, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jancis Robinson's Wine Course (Hardcover)

In what is truly one of the most informative and informal books on wine, Jancis Robinson, the only journalist ever to be given the title Master of Wine, takes you on a journey through this magnificent drink. </p>

As one who truly knows her craft, Jancis shows the reader everything needed to be able to make good decisions about wine. From a discussion about different wine glasses to the different regions where wine is made to the different grape varietals, Jancis lets it all hang out.</p>

Don't get me wrong, though. While Jancis is very informal in her discussion, she is decidedly British, so the text reads as if it were spoken with an accent. Some of the terms are British as well, so a little knowledge of the British way of speaking helps. For example, what Americans (and the French) call a Bordeaux, the English call a Claret. These little things might trip a true wine novice, but I'm certain that anyone who enjoys wine and wants to find out more will keep this book in the bookshelf (when not reading it) for a very long time.</p>

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not The Best For Starters, May 4, 2003

By	S. Sommerville (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Jancis Robinson's Wine Course (Hardcover)

If you are looking for a good book to start out with, to learn the basic ABC's of wine, then I would reccomend The Complete Idiot's Guide To Wine by Phillip Seldon. This one (Jancis Robinson's) however is good for people like myself who already know the basics (the distinguishing characteristics of grape varieties, the main regions, how to make reasonablly good food/wine pairings, etc.)
In other words, it's not the easiest book to follow.

Another note- she makes her disgust of Spanish wines known in the opening paragraph on page 222 when she says "If it (Spain) had Germany's love of efficiency, or France's respect for bureaucracy, Spain might be sending us oceans of judiciously priced wine made expressly for the international market. But Spain is an anarchic jumble of districts and regions...and heartbreakingly awful human constructions, and has to be treated as such by the wine enthusiast."
I found those comments to be misleading, as Spain to me is a model exporter of high quality wines. Just about any Rioja or Tempranillo wine imported and that goes for less than $...is of fine quality. That is my opinion of course. Another semi-complaint is that there was not enough material on Argentina (only 6 paragraphs) which I found to be a shame, since Argentina has very unique and delicious wines.

Overall this is good, as I said earlier, for those who already have a basic knowledge.