Jancis Robinson

Writer/ Wine Expert

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Books

Agent: Caradoc King
Assistant: Becky Percival

Books

Jancis Robinson is a wine writer and broadcaster of worldwide reputation. She published her first book, THE WINE BOOK, in 1978, and was the first British journalist to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine exams. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Open University in 1997. In 1999 Decanter magazine chose her as (Wo)Man of the Year, and Glenfiddich judges voted her Television Personality of the Year.

Voted the first-ever international wine Communicator of the Year in 1996, she has won a string of Glenfiddich Awards in the UK (including the overall winner’s Trophy in 1984 and 1996). Known to millions as a television presenter on wine, food, and many subjects besides, she made her TV debut with The Wine Programme, the world’s first wine television series. Her award winning 10-part Wine Course was shown around the world in the 1990s, and in 1999 her Vintner’s Tales was voted Glenfiddich TV programme of the year.

She is the editor of the OXFORD COMPANION TO WINE (a new edition came out in 2006) and co-editor of THE OXFORD COMPANION TO AMERICAN WINES. Her other books include VINES, GRAPES AND WINE, CONFESSIONS OF A WINE LOVER, and JANCIS ROBINSON’S WINE FACTFILE. THE CONCISE WINE COMPANION, which she co-authored with Hugh Johnson, was published in 2001 by Oxford University Press, and THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE, also written with Hugh, was published in its sixth edition in October 2007. Her website, the Purple Pages, is now a major part of her work.

The 24-HOUR WINE EXPERT, a one day course in becoming a wine connoisseur, which is in partnership with Dutch wine expert Hubrecht Duijker, was published in 2016 by Penguin. 

 

Non-Fiction

Publication DetailsNotes

THE 24-HOUR WINE EXPERT

2016

Penguin

THE 24 HOUR WINE EXPERT will aim to teach the reader all that is really important about wine in less than 24 hours. This will and will explore the geography, price and handling of various wines and grape varieties and involve wine tasting. The idea for this book comes from Hubrecht Duijker’s best-selling wine book in Holland THE WEEKEND WINE EXPERT.

WINE GRAPES

2012

Allen Lane

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

THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE

2007

World rights: Mitchell Beazley

Originally written by Hugh Johnson, and revised and updated by Jancis Robinson, the bestselling THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE is widely recognised as one of the most important wine reference books. It includes detailed maps, illustrations, photographs and prose, covering the history and storage of wine throughout the world, the effects of geography and climate, preferred vines, the appellations, laws and traditions that govern production, and much more. The book is now in its eighth edition.
'This is the best collaboration of two Brits since Lennon and McCartney' - Ben Giliberti, Washington Post

'If you want to know more about wine, make a resolution to look up every bottle you have in this comprehensive book' - Jill Dupleix, The Times

'[The fifth edition] restores the Atlas to its position as the all-purpose go-to resource' - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO WINE

2006

World: OUP

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 more than 3,000 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.
Now exhaustively updated, this fourth edition incorporates the very latest international research to present over 300 new entries on topics ranging from globalization and the politics of wine to brands, precision viticulture, and co-fermentation. Hundreds of entries have undergone major revision, including virtually all wine regions. Useful lists and statistics are appended, including controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, and wine production and consumption by country.

Illustrated with maps of every important wine region in the world, useful charts and diagrams, and 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.

The Washington Post said of the second edition that it was ‘the greatest wine book ever published’.