Vines, Grapes & Wines: The Wine Drinker's Guide to Grape Varieties (Paperback)

~ Jancis Robinson (Author) "This thicket of arrows showing just some of the more seminal movements of the vine vividly illustrates the trouble man has taken to furnish himself..." (more)
Key Phrases: newer wine regions, high must weights, most important grape variety, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

More and more wine consumers are grape conscious-they identify and buy wine according to the grape variety used. Vines, Grapes & Wines examines every grape variety that the enthusiast is likely to encounter both as a plant and as a wine style, with each considered in its geographical context by the award-winning author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (October 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857329996
• ISBN-13: 978-1857329995
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,135 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep perspective, October 5, 2001

By	F. G. Hamer "MadManxMan" (Isle of Man) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jancis Robinson has long been one of the established authorities on wine. I once watched her and Oz Clark in a wine tasting 'contest' on television. They were an even match with scores of almost 100% on vineyard, price, year, quality etc. I've also watched Robinson's television series on wines and her knowledge and enthusiasm seem to know no bounds.

In 'Vines, Grapes and Wines' Jancis Robinson puts this enthusiasm and knowledge to good use, producing 280 large format pages of unadulterated information and pictures. It's clear she wants her readers to know not just about the wine itself, but about the region, the soil, the climate, the vintners, the wine's history.

This is not an cozy weekend read, it's much more a reference book that gives both pleasure and information, but well worth the investment for any serious wine buff.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reference book no-one should be caught without, August 16, 2003

By	stephen wong (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Simply put, this is one of the classics and a must-have for anyone with more than a passing interest in wine. Although it is several years old now and certain parts are out of date in terms of trends and the planting patterns of some younger wine-producing countries, the important bits are still are relevant as ever. The most comprehensive and invaluable book on grape varieties, purely for its reference fact value. Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand have written a more up-to-date bok covering the same topic, but that is less focussed on the grape itself as the wines made around the world with the particular grape. If you can have both, all the better, but if you had to choose one, this one would be it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, September 1, 2002

By A Customer

This is a fascinating, well-written book, sure to be of interest to anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of what's in their wine glass. It's a perfect companion piece to Johnson and Robinson's _Wine Atlas_. The bulk of the book is devoted to descriptions of "classic," "major," and "other" varieties, with the first two categories getting detailed treatment. There's also a section on "Where grapes grow and why" and some very interesting maps and analyses of great vineyards (e.g., Chateau Margaux and the Rutherford Bench).

One minor caveat is that the book doesn't seem to have been revised since it first appeared in 1986. So some of the "sociological" parts of the text (e.g., where specific varietals are being grown, and comments on their popularity) are becoming increasingly out of date, especially for the New World. But it's kind of interesting to be reminded that in the mid-1980s Syrah (aka Shiraz) enjoyed only "very limited popularity" (p. 90).