Wine Grapes

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 *

JANCIS ROBINSON is one of the world’s best-known wine writers. In 1984 she was the first person outside the wine trade to qualify as a Master of Wine. The Financial Times wine writer, she is the author/editor of dozens of wine books, including two of the most respected and garlanded, The Oxford Companion to Wine (OUP) and The World Atlas of Wine (Mitchell Beazley). She is widely regarded by the wine-drinking public as an authority on vine varieties.

JULIA HARDING passed the notoriously stiff Master of Wine exams at the first attempt, the top student of her year. She is Jancis Robinson’s full-time researcher, co-ordinator and associate palate. In this book she has gathered the most up-to-date statistics about wine-grape plantings in every corner of the planet as well as unearthing recommended wine producers for almost every variety.

JOSÉ VOUILLAMOZ, who worked with Professor Carole Meredith and the ground-breaking team of grape geneticists at the University of California at Davis, is a botanist and grape geneticist with an international reputation and is currently based in his native Switzerland. He has discovered numerous unexpected relationships between grape varieties, many of which are exclusive to this book.