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Rating: 
Summary: Deep perspective
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A reference book no-one should be caught without
Review: 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 Although it is several years old now and certain parts are out of date in terms of trends and the planting patterns of some younger wine-producing countries, the important bits are still are relevant as ever.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.
Rating: 
Summary: Detailed and pretty interesting
Review: This book is incredibly informative. I often re-read sections because you cannot absorb all the information at once. Robinson's writing is clear, but sometimes the details (especially the history sections) are dry. I think of this as almost a text book but a readable text book with great pictures!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: 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).
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