The World Atlas of Wine

Rating:
Summary: The One To Own
Review: I've done some extensive reading of most of the comprehensive wine books available. In my opinion, this one is definitely the best. The layout is easy to follow and it is easy to find what you're looking for, two things which cannot be said for many of the wine "encyclopedias". The text is clearly written and not in any way laborous to read. The pictures are great.

The background information about wine is a good concise exploration, not overdone, yet not just put in as an afterthought. Most regions are well covered, though some up-and-comers like Argentina, or limited distribution sources such as New York State, get less coverage than they perhaps deserve.

Even with its short-comings, this book does a better job by far than any other in its genre in providing a concise, comprehensive, and well-written/well-formatted guide to the world of wine. Take this one home and read the rest in Borders' Cafe!

Rating:
Summary: The One To Own
Review: I've done some extensive reading of most of the comprehensive wine books available. In my opinion, this one is definitely the best. The layout is easy to follow and it is easy to find what you're looking for, two things which cannot be said for many of the wine "encyclopedias". The text is clearly written and not in any way laborous to read. The pictures are great.

The background information about wine is a good concise exploration, not overdone, yet not just put in as an afterthought. Most regions are well covered, though some up-and-comers like Argentina, or limited distribution sources such as New York State, get less coverage than they perhaps deserve.

Even with its short-comings, this book does a better job by far than any other in its genre in providing a concise, comprehensive, and well-written/well-formatted guide to the world of wine. Take this one home and read the rest in Borders' Cafe!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: If ever there was a must-have tome on wine, this would be it. It's equally at home on the reference shelf or the coffee table with its specific descriptions of both the classic regions and the emerging areas as well as its stunning photography and beautiful presentation throughout. I've owned the book for two years, and I find I'm often turning to it after enjoying a nice wine to find out more about where it was made. Why do we visit wineries? For me, it's to attach a memory or place to the product we drink. This book won't take you there physically, but really it's the next best thing presenting photographs and maps of the areas, information on what makes each area unique, as well as some of the geographic, economic, and social drivers that are making it evolve. Other reviewers have said that the book isn't as comprehensive as they would like, but it's not meant to present a thorough analysis of each wine, but rather to present notable regions on aggregate. I must admit that in some cases the representative wines given for a region wouldn't have been my choice, but I guess that's a matter of personal taste. This being the fifth revised edition of the book speaks to its enduring influence in the space, and even with the thousands of other competing products out there, I expect this reference to continue its reputation as the best there is.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Thing
Review: If you subscribe to the notion that information is the key to a deep understanding of a subject, then this is where anyone who has ever enjoyed a glass of wine should be.

I've got a large collection on wine-related books and I find that the World Atlas of Wine is the one I turn to the most. I won't go so far as to say it renders the other's irrelevant -- the Wine Bible is also quite good, and several books on have that are more narrowly focused on specific countries or regions are essential to me -- but this is the one that explains the most about more subjects.

It should not be surprising: Hugh Johnson has produced four editions of the book before this one, and the addition of the wonderful Jancis Robinson just solidifies the Atlas' place atop of the heap of wine literature. This great looking and easy-to-read book is pleasing in so many ways: its delightful photos and large format make it a great coffee table book; the detailed maps and region-by-region explanations make it a good travel companion; and the text's lively anecdotes and density of information virtually make the volume a thrilling page-turner. It is at once accessible enough for beginners and informative enough for experts.

No, it is not perfect. As with any comprehensive wine book, some will complain that certain remote (and perhaps up-and-coming) wine producing regions have been left out or glossed over. And despite improvements from previous editions (thanks to Ms. Robinson, I believe), there is still some of the crusty and old-fashioned wine lingo that often intimidates the uninitiated.

So with what amount to only minor caveats, I wholeheartedly recommend the World Atlas of Wine. Get it and you will never feel the same about the wine you drink again.

Rating:
Summary: a note about italian south wines
Review: In this book ther is just a page on the italian south wines. Because i'm an italian sommelier, I would like to specify that ASPRINIO is a withe wine made in CAMPANIA and not in BASILICATA. Particulary near CASERTA(AVERSA). Is a very old and typicol grape imported in Italy by ETRUSHIAN. the grape plant is higt 15 mt.(alberata). Insted about TAURASI now is a DOCG (from 1996). This is the most famous red wine in Campania (Avellino). The grape is AGLIANICO wich derive from ELLENICUM and have is origin in old GRECE. For more information about ITALIAN WINES and in particular CAMPANIA's WINES write an E_MAIL to "[e-mail]"

Rating:
Summary: Not so comprehensive
Review: Not so comprehensive, particulary rest of the world (out of france). Producer entries is superficial, geological and climatic aspect on quality of wine is a missing. Certainly its a atlas and the maps-pictures more important than words; it's a good job about this way. But i like more Oz clark's wine atlas for it's 3-D maps ; if it's a atlas Oz's maps better than this...
However, i suggest buy one of them(mostly Oz's) if you are have extensive wine library and want just a wine atlas;
if not, you are looking for a more principal book maps,regions, producer entries and general information, take a look "the new sotheby's wine encyclopedia" and remember there is no complete source on wine and its also impossible

Rating:
Summary: the world atlas of wine
Review: One of the greatest wine reference books gets even better with this new addition. Jancis Robinson joining Hugh Johnson is wonderful, two of the greatest wine writers of our time.

I admit that as a beginner, it would be tough to follow since there is more empasis on the land and the grapes rather than on regulations and general regional information. It makes a great companion to the Oxford Wine Companion by Jancis Robinson.

I have over 50 books on viticulture and enology (on my current quest for my Master of Wine cerification) and this is one of the most important! Buy it and the Oxford Companion (or the pocket companion for beginners).

Most books by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson are good buys, as are Oz Clarke's and Clive Coates. Stay away from Karen McNiel and Andrea Immer, the books are written for the very green beginner.

Rating:
Summary: A must have book for any enophile!
Review: One of the greatest wine reference books gets even better with this new addition. Jancis Robinson joining Hugh Johnson is wonderful, two of the greatest wine writers of our time.

I admit that as a beginner, it would be tough to follow since there is more empasis on the land and the grapes rather than on regulations and general regional information. It makes a great companion to the Oxford Wine Companion by Jancis Robinson.

I have over 50 books on viticulture and enology (on my current quest for my Master of Wine cerification) and this is one of the most important! Buy it and the Oxford Companion (or the pocket companion for beginners).

Most books by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson are good buys, as are Oz Clarke's and Clive Coates. Stay away from Karen McNiel and Andrea Immer, the books are written for the very green beginner.

Rating:
Summary: My "desert island" wine book.
Review: Over the last 30 years, I have acquired, read, reread, and meditated on many dozens of books on the subject of fine wine. This is my all-time favorite, because it illustrates so clearly the relationship between the geography of the world's most important fine wine producing districts and the resulting wines. Even in these days of high tech, much of the character and quality of wine is still determined by just where the fruit is grown. Johnson's Atlas depicts the classic regions in satisfying detail. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Wine on the Page Instead of In a Glass
Review: Plenty of people enjoy wine solely for its taste--and they're entitled to. But they're missing an awful lot. Wine isn't merely a drink but a whole world of people, places, history and culture, and those are things most wine drinkers remember far longer than taste. For them, this new edition--the fifth--of Hugh Johnson's wine atlas (first published in the 1970s) will be a treasure. It now has a co-author in Jancis Robinson, who is Britain's high priestess of wine. Maybe that description is a little intimidating; what I mean is that she know a tremendous amount about wine, and what I want most of all to convey is that she shares her knowledge and enjoys sharing it. She'd rather inform than impress; she wants you to have as good a time as she does. And she and Johnson have given you, in this book, a passport for that purpose.

This book gives you noting less than the whole world of wine on the printed page. There are maps, of course, maps beyond counting of the fabled wine regions of France and of the stunning wine regions of Italy, surely the most beautiful of wine countries as well as the sources of many of the greatest bargains. Wine's New World is well represented too: the U.S., which is no surprise (and Canada, which to many people is) as well as Chile and Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa. Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and the former Soviet Republics are covered--they're making comebacks after years of awful "socialist wine-making" under Communism. And the list goes on. Even Japan and England are here--they do, after all, make more than sake and beer.

There's a wealth of background information, too, on everything from vines to the mystique of what the French call "terroir," storing and serving, matching wine with food, the many grapes that make so many wines (in Italy, for example, the Sangiovese grapes is the core of half a dozen winess in Tuscany alone), and of course how wine is actually made. And all of it is readable and enjoyable, making this a complete wine course at a bargain price. Put a log on the fire, grab a glass, pull a cork and settle down with this book. Choose an especially comfortable chair--odds are it'll be a long time before you're ready to get up.

--Bill Marsano
(The reviewer has won a James Beard medal for wine and spirits writing.)