World Atlas of Wine

by Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson

Hailed by critics worldwide as "extraordinary" and "irreplaceable," there are few volumes that have had as monumental animpact in their field as Hugh Johnson'sThe World Atlas of Wine: sales have exceeded four million copies, and it is now published in thirteen languages.World-renowned authors Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson once again combine their unrivalled talents to enhance this masterpiece of wine knowledge. There are now 48 extra pages, including 17 new color illustrations, 20 new maps, and-for the first time ever-double page spreads and full-page photos in the atlas section for maximum visual impact. New World coverage has been extended for both Australia and South America; some New World regions even have their own entries for the first time, including Rutherford, Oakville, and Stag's Leap from California; Mendoza (Argentina); Limestone Coast (Australia); Central Otago and Martinborough (New Zealand); and Constantia (South Africa). And Old World coverage has grown too, with the addition of Toro (Spain), the Peleponnese (Greece), and Georgia. It's a truly incomparable book, and an essential addition to every wine lover's or professional's library."

Genres: Wine, Reference, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking, Food and Wine, Cookbooks

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Hugh Johnson, younger son of a London lawyer, began his life-long passion for wine in all its variety as a member of the Wine & Food Society at Cambridge University, where he gained an Honours Degree in English literature. When he left King's College in 1961 he became a feature writer for Vogue and House & Garden, writing, among other articles, travel and wine columns for both magazines and their sister-papers in New York.

In 1963, as a result of his close friendship with the octogenarian André Simon, the founder of The International Wine & Food Society, he became General Secretary of the Society and succeeded the legendary gastronome as editor of its magazine Wine & Food. At the same time he became wine correspondent of The Sunday Times and started work on his first book, Wine, whose publication in 1966 established him as one of the foremost English gastronomic writers. There are now over 800,000 copies in print in seven languages and the book is still regularly reprinted. After a year as Travel Editor of The Sunday Times he became editor of Queen Magazine, in two years doubling the circulation of the fashionable glossy. It was 1969 when James Mitchell of the newly-founded publishing house Mitchell Beazley invited him to write The World Atlas of Wine. The research involved took Hugh Johnson all over the world; the result was a best-seller that might justly claim to have put wine on the map. Its publication was described by the Director of the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine in his Foreword as "un événement majeur de la littérature vinicole".

Reviews

[Evan Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably the most indispensible wine book published in recent years. Wine has always been a product of a place: There are good reasons that Michigan is known for cherries and Maryland is known for crabs, good reasons that New England is known for shellfish and Florida is known for citrus. These are places that naturally are able to grow the very best of these things, and there are entire cuisines and cultures and events built around them.

So it is with wine. Particular grapes grow better in particular places, and understanding the geography, the specific vineyards, the twists and turns of various rivers can help put wines in context.

Of course, simply reading about hundreds of different vineyards is tedious business -- so why not have maps? Johnson and Robinson do exactly that in this atlas, showing you exactly where Clos St. Jacques is in relationship to every other vineyard in Chambertin, what type of hills there are, and what other vineyards nearby might produce similar wines.

Naturally, the more organized and detailed and terroir-driven a country's wines are, the more there is to detail on a map. So much attention is paid to France, Germany, and Italy where there are rigid (sometimes too rigid) controls on wine production and naming conventions. But that's somewhat unavoidable: There simply isn't the same degree of attention paid to terroir in the US as there is in France, and the vineyards are not classified in the same ways that they are in Germany or so on. So while the maps of lesser wine-producing regions -- like the US or Greece or where ever -- might be less detailed, there is still information on soil types, climate, and so on. Overall, the information is invaluable and forms a picture more complete than one could get by simply considering grapes and winemakers alone. Drinking lots of different wines from a region while reading this book is possibly the best wine education one could hope for.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a good introduction to the world of wine. It charts all the major wine regions of the world and offers a nonprofessional’s account of the way that soil, climate and grapes interact to produce the sweet nectar of the gods that we all know and love. The areas covered range from France to China. The author goes into incredible detail for the most important wine regions such as Bordeaux and the Mosel, showing maps of individual villages. The most helpful aspect of the atlas is the information it gives about what kind of wine to expect from certain areas and recommendations for producers that exemplify regional styles. One drawback is that the choice of focus reflects the author’s bias towards France, Germany and Italy. Wine regions in Spain, Eastern Europe and America are not given the attention they deserve because the tastes of the author lie elsewhere. That element aside, anyone who likes wine and wants to know more about what they are drinking can benefit from this book.

[Alexandre Klaser]

A very thorough piece of work, but it's frustrating to realize that in 2019 it still pays so little attention to South America, a region that has put itself on the map of the great wines at least as back as 20 years ago.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good high level overview of the world of winemaking. Includes info on climate, soil, grape varieties, viticultural and viniciultural differences, and producers. It's great for casual reference or a coffee table book, but if you're a student, I recommend subscribing to JancisRobinson.com, as this is kept up to date with all current entries from the book, plus digital versions of the maps.

[Gatis Kleinbergs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book for wine lovers! Definitely recommending for thous who want to find out some extra information about wine regions.

[Ricardo Del Pino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many political remarks (surprisingly biassed) for a wine book.

[CP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference map when travelling and choosing wine.
There are details on the specific wine region with detailed geographical illustrations

[Bent Andreassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Pluss. Read this book (previous edition in 1973) then bought this at the time new edition, and read that too in the 1970s.

[B & A & F]

There is still not enough respect and attention to South America and I personally love wine from Chile (they never go wrong for me). Until then, I don’t want to give a rating

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, overraskende lidt teknisk gennemgang af den grundlæggende videnskab. Læste kun indledningen

[Babette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a reference to The World Atlas of Wine recently (my memory fails me again) and thought I would investigate. It seems a most comprehensive and relatively up-to-date volume. It certainly can give me infomation that will increase my enjoyment of the frequent tastings at my favorite wine store.
As I read it, I realized that one of the aspects of places I visit that is important to me is what people eat and drink. Wine is important in almost every part of the world, and people make trips specifically to visit great wine-making regions.
I have visited three in my travels - Napa Valley in California,the Hunter Valley in Australia, and Alsace. As I explore this book, I think about planning trips specifically to include a visit to a wine center -or some center of food or drink that is important to a place.
I decided to investigate the authors of this book and found that Jancis Robinson has a website: www.jancisrobinson.com. This is another trove of information on wine and related topics. Some of the information (Purple Pages) requires a subscription fee(the LA Times identified as "the site worth paying for" in its survey of wine websites). For now, I am satisfied with all that I can access for free.

[Jacopo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non è possibile parlare di vino senza anche una solida base geografica. È in questo senso che due tra i critici del vino più famosi al mondo – entrambi inglesi – hanno ormai tantissimi anni fa redatto un volumone (aggiornato da poco) che offre una panoramica sulle caratteristiche di tutte le maggiori regioni produttive. Un atlante molto anglosassone per impostazione, forse un filo didascalico in alcuni passaggi ma capace di riportare uno sguardo particolarmente completo al mondo del vino. Semplicemente immancabile.

Da qui: http://www.intravino.com/grande-notiz....

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently finished, for the second time around, the 7th edition. On my book shelves I've most of the other editions going back to the first, which I read in the 1970's, when I first became interested in wine. Little did I know then, that I'd end up making a career out of commercial wine buying! Tasting Notes Of all the books that I've read on wine, this remains my favourite general reference work. Brilliant maps, charmingly written, beautifully presented.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has an interest in wine and is looking to deepen their knowledge, I highly recomend this book. The book contains wonderful maps of all the worlds wine regions, recommends the quintesential wineries in each region, and does a good job explaining the physical and cultural aspects of each area which contribute the uniqueness of that areas wines. I never travel without first consulting this atlas!

[H L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spectacular, beautiful work - equally compelling for wine lovers, for cartographers and map freaks, and really, for anyone who simply loves a well-executed reference work. Just a magnificent achievement that deserves a place in most everyone's library. I love this book almost as much as I love its subject.

[Flávio Sousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jancis Robinson's The World Atlas of Wine remains unsurpassed as the encyclopedia for oenophiles. It includes everything you'd need to know on the top-league wine regions while boasting stunning, pioneering cartography as applied to wine. The wealth of information and the manner in which it is delivered ensures its place as a perennial classic.

[lenaireen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der wohl beste Weinatlas unter allen Weinatlanten!
Durch meine Berufsausbildung und mein Interesse an Wein, kam ich wohl nicht um ein Buch dieser Art herum. Detaillierte Beschreibungen verschiedenster Anbauregionen weltweit, deren Besonderheiten und weltbekannte Weingüter mit ihren Spitzenweinen. Nur zu Empfehlen!
Seit neustem ist Auflage sieben erhältlich ;-)

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a good understanding of the history of wine, its marketing biases based on the French term terroir. It does not provide too much in terms of practicalities of the process of wine production.

[Katy Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing to read as well as a beautiful coffee table book for the wine enthusiast. A beautiful and useful gift!

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maps + Wine = Happiness

[Kirsten Karlen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diving thru this book right now - just an obscene amount of information about wines, wine tasting, etc. Good reference book.

[Byrd Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I find myself pulling out every time I find a new varietal or region I like and need to know more about. A good one to have onhand if you are a wine geek

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh Johnson AND Jancis Robinson are the "names" on this edition. Indispensable!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent wine resource.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the first edition of this book. It was quite useful in laying the foundation for my understanding of wine.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wine, wine, wine :-)

[Gabriele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have 3 editions of this atlas, incl the 1971 first edition. It has been reviewed 5 times and is the most comprehensive summary on wines around the world. Love it!

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great work and reference for wine. Anyone who is interested in wine should have a copy.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

See review in 6th Edition

[Tgaylord · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference work. The 4 stars reflects the fact that while I like the style of many of the maps, some leave a little to be desired as far as readibility is concerned.