Wine Grapes: A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours - Hardcover

Jancis Robinson; Julia Harding; José Vouillamoz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846144469 ISBN 13: 9781846144462

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2012

Synopsis

An indispensable book for every wine lover, from some of the world's greatest experts.

Where do wine grapes come from and how are they related to each other? What is the historical background of each grape variety? Where are they grown? What sort of wines do they make and, most importantly, what do they taste like?

Using the most cutting-edge DNA analysis and detailing almost 1,400 distinct grape varieties, as well as myriad correct (and highlighting almost as many incorrect) synonyms, this particularly beautiful book includes revelatory grape family trees, and a rich variety of illustrations from Viala and Vermorel's seminal ampelography with century-old illustrations. Combining Jancis Robinson's world view, nose for good writing and good wines with Julia Harding's expertise and attention to detail plus Dr Vouillamoz's unique level of scholarship, Wine Grapes offers essential and original information in greater depth and breadth than has ever been available before. A book for wine students, wine experts and wine lovers everywhere.

AWARDS

Best Wine, Beer and Spirits Book and winner of the Jane Grigson award, IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Awards 2014
A wine book of the year, 2013, The Times, London
Faiveley International Wine Book of the Year 2013, Roederer Awards
Best Viticulture Book 2013, OIV Awards
Best Drink Book 2012, Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards
Best Beverage Book 2012, James Beard Awards
Best Drink Book 2012, André Simon Awards
Hall of Fame for Best Wine Book 2012, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
Best Drinks Book 2012, Wine & Spirits magazine
One of the V&A's '100 books essential for preserving humanity'

About this title

Review:

This thousand-plus-page monument combines 21st-century science with the ambition, scale and authority of 19th-century scholarship. It may be the nerdiest wine book ever published (and, trust me, that's a competitive title) but it's also a work of astounding scholarship, and as a piece of book-making, is an outright masterpiece (John Lanchester Guardian, Books of the Year 2012)

Features extraordinarily detailed profiles of close to 1,400 vine varieties employed in the production of wine around the world ... I learned a huge amount ... What struck me most, though, was how engaging and passionate it was. This wasn't a dry cataloguing of grapes, a microscopic look at their DNA; this was a heartfelt exploration of wine history. (Max Allen [Australia’s best-known wine writer] Weekend Australian)

This book is a thing of beauty - classic, well written and splendidly illustrated - and will be a point of reference for decades to come. With Christmas coming it may well be worth considering as a present for those wine enthusiasts amongst your friends and family. I am going to put it on my list when I write to Santa that's for sure! (Bordeaux Undiscovered)

A fantastic Christmas present for any wine geek, and one that will provide an endless source of fiendish questions for quiz-setters (Fiona Beckett Guardian)

A magnificent achievement: colossally informative, illuminating and intriguing (Andrew Jefford Decanter.com)

A phenomenal book in its detail and research ... the definitive guide to grape varieties ... an incredible piece of work, detailing 1,368 varieties (out of a possible 10,000 worldwide) with 80 beautiful colour plates - essential for all wine students, wine lovers, wine growers keen to experiment with new grapes - and anyone with a passing interest in grapes (Rose Murray Brown The Scotsman)

This has got to be the wine reference book to top all such guides (S Irene Virbila Los Angeles Times)

Definitely the WINE BOOK of the decade, if not the century! (Wine Appreciation Guild, San Francisco)

Even for the already knowledgeable and deeply well versed, the book offers countless new discoveries, surprises about grapes' true origins and kinships, and a plethora of varieties you've never even heard of (Michel Jamais LivetsGoda.se)

It is almost bible-like, which is perhaps quite fitting. I found the overall appearance quite beautiful. I was especially pleased to see many varieties have a description of the taste of their wines. From a drinker's perspective this must be the most important information (Steve Slatcher Winenous.co.uk)

From the Back Cover:

An indispensable book for every wine lover, from some of the world's leading wine experts.

Where do wine grapes come from and how are grape varieties related to one another? What is the historical background of each one? Where are they grown? What sort of wines do they make?

Using cutting-edge DNA analysis and detailing almost 1,400 distinct grape varieties, as well as myriad correct (and incorrect) synonyms, this book examines grapes and wine as never before. Here is a complete, alphabetically presented profile of all grape varieties of relevance to the wine lover, charting the relationships between them and including unique and astounding family trees, their characteristics in the vineyard, and--most important--what the wines made from them taste like.

Presented in a stunning design with eight-page gatefolds that reveal the family trees, and a rich variety of full-color illustrations from Viala and Vermorel's century-old classic ampelography, the text will deepen readers' understanding of grapes and wine with every page. Combining Jancis Robinson's worldview and nose for good writing and good wines with Julia Harding's research, expertise, and attention to detail plus Dr. Vouillamoz's unique level of scholarship, Wine Grapes offers essential and original information in greater depth and breadth than has ever been available before. This is a book for wine students, wine experts, and wine lovers everywhere.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846144469
• ISBN 13: 9781846144462
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1280