Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours

Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours by Jancis Robinson (Author), Julia Harding (Author), Jose Vouillamoz (Author). Wine fans everywhere rejoice! Wine Grapes provides absolutely all the pieces the connoisseur desires to know about the succulent, outstanding fruit that care, love, ability, and time transform into humankind’s most beloved beverage-and presents it all in a stunningly lovely, gorgeously illustrated package. The dazzling co-creation of Jancis Robinson, one of the world’s greatest known wine authorities, Julia Harding, who passed the Master of Wine exams at the prime of her class, and internationally famend botanist José Vouillamoz, Wine Grapes is the first complete compendium in more than a century to all grape varieties relevant to the wine lover. An exquisite gift ebook-and a must-own for anyone in the meals and wine trade-Wine Grapes charts the relationships of the grapes (with some astounding family trees), discusses in fascinating detail the place and the way they are grown, and, most importantly, what the wines constituted of them will ultimately style like. For years I've beloved Jancis Robinson's pocket-sized Information to Wine Grapes, turning to it each time I encounter a new wine grape. Alas, it is lengthy out of print, and a bit dated by way of the relationships between grapes.

Now comes this new volume, which is anything however pocket-sized. Huge and slip-cased, it has the gravitas of an aged Premier Cru. For each of practically 1400 varieties there may be an entry that gives you its color (from amongst five choices), frequent synonyms (for some broadly grown grapes there are various), other varieties it's often mistaken for, and what is identified of its origins and heritage (relying on recent, extensive, DNA testing of wine grapes). Then there is a brief abstract of the way it grows (vigor, resistance, when it ripens, and the like) and the place it grows. As warranted, there is a dialogue of what it tastes like and the quality of the wine it produces. Many of these grapes are actually very marginal from a wine making viewpoint, and are of interest for historic or relationship reasons. (I do miss the little sliding bar from the earlier book that steered at a look the probability of the grape producing a decent wine.) The connection data is fascinating. Selected grapes have a family tree related to their entry. Looking at Cabernet Sauvignon we learn that Chenin Blanc is a sister of Sauvignon Blanc and, hence, an aunt of Cabernet Sauvignon. Freisa seems to be a cross of Nebbiolo with an unknown grape. The foldout family tree of Pinot Noir is remarkable. Who would have guessed that Lagrein is a granddaughter of Pinot, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are each nice granddaughters? On a down side, the figure is sewn so deeply into the binding that a part of the tree cannot be read. I made a decision to examine on a grape of local (but not wine drinking!) interest. In the earlier e book there may be an entry for the Mission grape, the primary wine grape delivered to California; there may be was associated with the Monica grape. The current volume does not have an entry for Mission (it has entries pointing you to a main entry for some synonyms, however not for others).
Checking the index it seems that Mission is actually Listan Prieto. (Which I'd certainly never heard of before.) There are additionally lovely shade plates, initially printed in France over a century ago, of selected grapes. (Apparently, one is labeled "Mission"!) But there are, alas, some imperfections. I've talked about how the Pinot household tree is sure in order that it is not all readable. While the paper in a volume this measurement is necessarily thin, the see-through on some pages is annoying; extra opaque paper would have been nice. The label on the entrance of the slip case is somewhat crooked, and the one on the sting quite so. Manufacturing quality may have been better. Had this been a normal guide at half and even two-thirds the worth it will have been a straightforward 5 stars. However in a slip-cased guide at this record value you anticipate somewhat higher consideration to element than this e book manages. So I reluctantly drop my rating to four stars. Nonetheless a superb investment for or reward to a faithful oenophile, it's not quite the value it could have been with just a little better physical execution.
I've been hoping that Jancis Robinson would update her previous basic, "Vines Grapes and Wines". "Wine Grapes" is much more than a revision of the old ebook; it's a definitive quantity that brings us updated on what is thought of the parentage and characteristics of basically all of the commercially necessary, and many of the extra obscure, wine grapes. It's beautifully produced in laborious cover, nicely organized and properly documented. Wine retailers, wholesalers, importers, producers, wine educators and grape growers will all need this volume at hand. Severe wine fans will even discover it fascinating to research whatever grape variety has not too long ago piqued their interest.

Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours

Jancis Robinson (Author), Julia Harding (Author), Jose Vouillamoz (Author)

1280 pages

Ecco (November 6, 2012)

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