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Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Oxford Companions

Almost 4,000 A to Z entries on a breathtaking range of topics, from grape varieties and regions to viticulture, growers, and the history of wine
More than 60% of entries have been comprehensively revised and updated to include the very latest international research and opinion
300 brand-new entries, including wine apps, aromatics, geosmin, Hong Kong, minerality, natural wine, social media, and tasting notes language
Edited by the award-winning online publisher and Financial Times wine correspondent, Jancis Robinson OBE, Master of Wine, and Julia harding MW
More than 180 top local experts, including 58 new ones, contribute entries on their specialist regions, such as Huon Hooke on Australia, Michael Fridjhon on South Africa, David Schildknecht on Germany and Austria, Victor de la Serna on Spain, and Walter Speller on Italy
Beautiful new page design incorporating new colour photographs and black and white line drawings
All maps of wine regions have been updated for this edition

New to this Edition:

Comprehensively revised and updated throughout
300 brand-new entries
Significant new updates on hundreds of topics such as China, screwcaps, and the origins of viniculture
Impressive global coverage of wine regions, including new entries on Alaska, Lesotho, Norway, and Tahiti
Includes brand-new colour photographs and black and white line drawings
Maps of wine regions have been updated

Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Description

Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim, the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status, winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich and Julia Child/IACP awards, as well as writer and woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit, The Oxford Companion to Wine presents almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable, from regions and grape varieties to the owners, connoisseurs, growers, and tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture and oenology to the history of wine, from its origins to the present day. More than 180 esteemed contributors (including 58 new to this edition) range from internationally renowned academics to some of the most famous wine writers and wine specialists in the world.

Now exhaustively updated, this fourth edition incorporates the very latest international research to present 300 new entries on topics ranging from additives and wine apps to WSET and Zelen. Over 60 per cent of all entries have been revised; and useful lists and statistics are appended, including a unique list of the world's controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, as well as vineyard area, wine production and consumption by country.

Illustrated with almost 30 updated maps of every important wine region in the world, many useful charts and diagrams, and 16 stunning colour photographs, this Companion is unlike any other wine book, offering an understanding of wine in all of its wider contexts—notably historical, cultural, and scientific—and serving as a truly companionable point of reference into which any wine-lover can dip and browse.

Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Oxford Companions

Preface
Contributors
Acknowledgements
List of new entries
Maps of the wine regions
Note to the reader
Complete list of entries by subject
Companion to Wine
Appendix 1: Controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties
Appendix 2A: Total vineyard area by country
Appendix 2B: Wine production by country
Appendix 2C: Per capita consumption by country

Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Oxford Companions

Author Information

Edited by Jancis Robinson

Julia Harding

Contributors:

Sarah Ahmed
Hamish Aird
Professor Jean Aitchison
Mail Amanov
Kym Anderson
Alberto Antonini
Tony Aspler
Susy Atkins
Bill Baker
Dr John Barker
Dr Eveline Bartowsky
Nicolas Belfrage
Helen Bettinson
David Bird
Dr Linda Bisson
Dr Jeremy Black
Beverley Blanning
William Bolter
Dr Rob Bramley
Michael Broadbent
Dr Roger Brock
Stephen Brook
Larry Brooks
Nick Bulleid
Robin Butler
Bob Campbell
Dr Dimitra Capone
Alain Carbonneau
Tom Carson
Bruce Cass
Umay Çeviker
Dr Steve Charters
Dr Véronique Cheynier
Nodari Chkhartishvili
Professor Dr Monika Christmann
Elaine Chukan Brown
Dr Tyler Colman
Dr Michael Considine
Dr Bryan Coombe
Dr Peter Cousins
Dr Glen Creasy
Professor Barry Cunliffe
Tamlyn Currin
Dr Bob Dambergs
Dr Daniel Deckers
Li Demei
Dr Donald Dibbern
Barry Dick
Professor James Douglas
Dr Peter Dry
Dr Denis Dubourdieu
Anne Duggan
Abi Duhr
Margaret Emery
Marcel Essling
Nicholas Faith
Christopher Fielden
Michael Fridjhon
Doug Frost
Denis Gastin
Richard Gawel
Benny Génsbøl
Rosemary George
Dr Caroline Gilby
Dr John Gladstones
Sam Glaetzer
David Gleave
Wojciech Gogolinski
Howard G. Goldberg
Dr Jamie Goode
Robert Gorjak
Nayan Gowda
Paul Gregutt
Ronald de Groot
Lisa Shara Hall
James Halliday
Jake Hancock
Rosi Hanson
Julia Harding
Sam Harrop
Dr Judith Harvey
Maarten van Helden
Professor Paul A. Henschke
Dr Markus Herderich
Dr Hildegarde Heymann
Hans-Peter Hoehnen
Dr Leofranc Holford-Strevens
Huon Hooke
Alex Hunt
Dr Dan Johnson
Hugh Johnson
Russell Johnstone
Dr Gregory V. Jones
Dr Tony Jordan
Rupert Joy
Eva Kaluzynska
Michael Karam
Dr Philip Kennedy
John Kesby
Mel Knox
Dr Mark Krstic
Martin Lam
Miles Lambert-Gocs
Erica Landin
Dr Valérie Lavigne
Konstantinos Lazarakis
Professor Terry Lee
Cornelis (Kees) van Leeuwen
Harriet Lembeck
Peter Leske
Simon Loftus
Wink Lorch
Patrick E. McGovern
Edi Maletic
Alex Maltman
Jane Masters
Richard Mayson
Dr Gabriella Mészáros
Sven Moesgaard
Adam Sebag Montefiore
Jasper Morris
Lucie Morton
Linda Murphy
Igor Nykolyn
Dr Philip Norrie
Ken Ohashi
Jeremy Paterson
Edmund Penning-Rowsell
Professor Gary Pickering
Professor Thomas Pinney
John Platter
Dr John Possingham
Dr Vladimir Pukish
Wyatt H. Peabody
Alexander Purcell
Dr Jane Renfrew
Professor Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon
Jancis Robinson
Dr Gábor Rohály
Andrés Rosberg
Anthony Rose
Bjørn Tore Aastorp Ruud
Viacheslav Rybinstev
Dr Amanda Stewart
David Schildknecht
John Schreiner
Professor Hans Schultz
Michael Schuster
Tom Scott
Dr Mark Sefton
Victor de la Serna
Young Shi
Con Simos
Reva K. Singh
Stephen Skelton
Dr Richard Smart
Professor Barry C. Smith
Walter Speller
Richard Stávek
Patricia Stefanowicz
Tyson Stelzer
Creina Stockley
Lukas Susaj
Dr Elisabeta Susaj
Keith Sutton
Michael Tabone
Patricio Tapia
Geoff Taylor
Rémi Teissier du Cros
Joelle Thomson
Dr Roy Thornton
Dr Steve Tyerman
Tim Unwin
Dr José Ramón Úrbez-Torres
Tim Vandergrift
Gido Van Imschoot
Kenneth Verosub
Dr Olivier Viret
Dr José Vouillamoz
Monty Waldin
Dr Bernard Watney
A. Dinsmoor Webb
Robert E. White
Dr Patrick Williams
Dr Hanneke Wilson
Nigel Wilson
Dr Tony Wolf
Steve Wratten
Bruce Zoecklein
David Harvey
Pamela Vandkye Price

Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Oxford Companions

Reviews and Awards

"This is simply a supremely practical and astonishingly comprehensive reference book." - Liz Sagues, Circle Update

"It's not always worth buying follow-on editions of classic books, but the fourth outing of the Oxford Companion to Wine contains lots of new material. If you're looking for a Christmas present for the wine lover in your life or just want to own a copy yourself, this is the most comprehensive wine tome on the market." - Woman & Home

"... even more astonishing than the depth and breadth of revision is the degree of change thats happened in the wide world of wine in the last 10 years to which this edition is testimonial. Its a handy barometer on how the wine world is doing." - Georges Meekers, Times of Malta

"The revisions for this new edition have been admirably and impeccably thorough... There also is plenty of humor, a quality often lacking in reference works." - Anne Krebiehl, World of Fine Wine

"As well as a huge weight of entertainment, this wonderful book also manages to entertain and delight." - Stephen Brook, Decanter

"Written with authority, and sometimes a humour so sly you have to do a double take, this [fourth edition] is still the best place to turn for answers to all your wine queries." - Henry Jeffreys, The Guardian Best Drink Books of 2015

"If someone is to own just one wine book, Ms. Robinson's mighty effort is the fail-safe proposition." - Wall Street Journal

"become an armchair expert with the renowned Oxford Companion to Wine" - BBC Good Food

"A solid update of a vital reference from a towering authority in the field." - Library Journal

"This giant tome is a must for wine aficionados, combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit" - Hannah Stephenson, Christmas Books, Belfast Telegraph

"This is the ultimate desert island wine book ... gloriously rich on fact ... surely the worlds best general wine reference book" - Liz Sagues, Christmas Books 2015, Ham&High

"magnificently comprehensive book ... If you're a wine novice, this one volume could teach you more about wine than any other; and if you're a full-time wine professional, you will still find much in here that you didn't know ... no editors could have brought us a volume closer to perfection than Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding have done" - Andrew Jefford, Decanter

"Thousands of wine students across the globe will rejoice in this unparalleled work of reference and see it as an essential starting point for further study. As a source of well-honed, succinct definitions, the Companion is invaluable ... The revisions for this new edition have been admirably and impeccably thorough ... Even if your bookshelf already groans under the weight of the previous edition, purchasing this revision will be money well spent. In the case of wine, as in so many other spheres, knowledge increases enjoyment exponentially. Quite apart from being such a splendid reference work, the book feeds curiosity" - The World of Fine Wine

"MUST-BUY BOOK ... this is the most comprehensive wine tome on the market" - Woman & Home

"go-to guide" - Julie Sheppard, Square Meal Lifestyle

"If you don't own her [Jancis Robinson] magnificent work, then it may be the most essential wine book any enthusiast should possess — a fastidiously researched and well-crafted book on just about everything on wine from a-z." - Robert Parker's bulletin board, Robert Parker

"I can't live without this book, and have purchased every version since it first came out. It's my go-to reference for research into current and historical grapes and wines." - Becky Sue Epstein, palatepress.com

"Over 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable... It's an essential piece for every wine-lover's shelves." - www.foodnetwork.com

"The most eagerly-awaited and widely-talked about wine book of the past year ... FT columnist Robinson remains one of the world's most respected impartial commentators on wine" - Off Licence News

"The world's most useful wine book" - Huonhooke.com, Huon Hooke

"The 4th edition is more than ever the indispensable reference about the most complex alcoholic beverage on the planet. The team assembled by Robinson and Harding represent some of the finest minds in their respective fields." - Australian Financial Review

"By some distance the greatest wine reference book ever created" - Wine Times, Ali Nicol

"New research, new trends, new players, new rules, new priorities. No wonder we needed a new edition. The authors and editors have done a distinct service to the wine world with this edition." - Mike Veseth, thewineeconomist.com

"'Must Buy Book'. The fourth outing of The Oxford Companion to Wine contains lots of new material... If you're looking for a present for the wine lover in your life, this is the most comprehensive wine tome on the market."

"A must-have in any serious wine library. Even wine writers refer, and defer, to it." - The Wine Review, Ch'ng Poh Tiong

"sheer abundance and global spread of information... some sort of awesomesauce" - Observer, David Williams

"a handy barometer on how the wine world is doing" - Wine-Searcher, Claire Adamson

"The glorious fourth edition is not just a must-own for any wine professional, it is also a must-buy for any drink-loving wine-hound." - Victoria Moore, Daily Telegraph

"A masterpiece of vinous scholarship." - David Williams, The Observer

"This is Essential reading. Robinson and Harding, along with their team of contributors, have managed to keep the Oxford Companion fresh." - Washington Post

"there is plenty to discover" - Leon Burakowski, Telford Journal

"As well as a huge weight of information, this wonderful book also manages to entertain and delight." - Stephen Brook, Decanter

"Indispensible." - The Wine Merchant, Issue 40

"This book is as perfect and up to date as you can possibly require ... This book is pleasing to read, endlessly fascinating, both un-put-downable and awesome for quick reference. I have totally fallen in love with it" - Extremehousewife

Winner of the 2016 James Beard Book Award

The Oxford Companion to Wine

Fourth Edition

Edited by Jancis Robinson
Julia Harding

Oxford Companions

From Our Blog

How much do you know about wine? [quiz]

The world of wine is developing rapidly, so much so that the updated fourth edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine has added 300 new entries, including wine apps, aromatics, minerality, social media, and tasting notes language. The wine map as a whole has changed with countries like Hong Kong and many in Northern Europe developing as substantial wine producers.

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The Eastern Mediterranean, comprising Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Lebanon and Turkey, is politically one of the most divisive regions in the world. Greece and Turkey have had their historical differences; the tiny island of Cyprus is still divided and Israel and Lebanon's last altercation happened all too recently disrupting the harvest in the Galilee and Bekaa Valley respectively.

Posted on December 7, 2015

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Wine and DNA profiling

In ampelographic collections, about ten living plants of each grape variety or clone are kept alive for future studies or plantings, which requires a large amount of time and money. Yet, in every collection we estimate an average of 5% of labelling errors. They can now be identified with DNA profiling and duplicates can be eliminated, thus saving time and money.

Posted on November 30, 2015

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Wine 'made in China'

Wine 'made in China' has gained increased attention around world in recent years. Splitting my time as I do between Europe and China, I have the opportunity to assess the health and potential of the Chinese market with a good degree of objectivity.

Posted on November 23, 2015

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Wine and social media

Can Instagram really sell wine? The answer is, yes, though perhaps indirectly. In recent years the advent of social media, considered to be the second stage of the Internet's evolution ' the Web 2.0, has not only created an explosion of user-generated content but also the decline of expert run media. It's a change that has led to the near demise of print media.

Posted on November 9, 2015

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Biodynamic wine

All vineyards and thus the wines they produce are not created equal. Two Chardonnays grown in neighbouring plots but with slightly differing soils, slopes and sun exposure will taste subtly different, even if both will still taste of Chardonnay too. This unique 'somewhereness' is what the French call terroir.

Posted on October 26, 2015

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On the unstoppable rise of vineyard geology

The relationship between wine and the vineyard earth has long been held as very special, especially in Europe. Tradition has it that back in the Middle Ages the Burgundian monks tasted the soils in order to gauge which ones would give the best tasting wine, and over the centuries this kind of thinking was to become entrenched. The vines were manifestly taking up water from the soil.

Posted on October 12, 2015

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Wine globalization set to continue

The past two decades have seen globalization of the world's wine markets proceed like never before, in both speed and comprehensiveness. There was a degree of trade expansion in the five decades to World War I but, until the late 20th century, interactions across continents involved little more than the exporting of vine cuttings and traditional production expertise.

Posted on September 28, 2015

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Twelve important figures in the modern history of wine

Many people have influenced the world of wine over the course of the last 400 years. They have changed, developed, and perfected the winemaking process, introduced grapes and viticulture to different continents, and left their mark on an industry that has been with us since the dawn of civilization.

Posted on September 14, 2015

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Wine around the world [infographic]

It's a multi-million dollar global industry. It's been with us since the dawn of civilization. And it's constantly developing. The wine business is an intriguing marker of human activity ' economic changes, consumer fashions, globalization, social and technological developments.

Posted on August 31, 2015

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