Encyclopedia of Wine Book

Indefatigable Oz Clarke looks set for another success with his Encyclopedia of Wine, the latest manoeuvre in his campaign to expunge any lingering taint of elitism from the enjoyment of wine. This is his big one and it is immaculate. No-one could cover everything in the world of wine, but this books seems at moments as if it does. Its thousands of entries, organised alphabetically, cover the most important wines, wine regions, grape varieties and producers around the world. It is beautifully produced and generously illustrated with photographs, maps and vintage charts. Clarke and his editorial team seem to have been everywhere, talked to everybody and tasted everything. He is the best kind of populariser: possessed of quite staggering breadth and depth of knowledge, and with a reputation as one of the best noses in Europe, there is nonetheless nothing intimidating in his style. His task is perhaps made easier by the truly astonishing overall increase in quality over the last 10 years or so, a development attributable to the activities of the so-called "flying wine- makers", who parachute in to forgotten vin de table vineyards, apply a few elementary rules of modern, hygienic wine-making and conjure from them fresh, bright, modern wines. This is very much to Clarke's democratic taste. The quality of Oz's prose--sensuous, warm, precise, concise and witty--adds greatly to the pleasure to be had from this production. Here he is, firstly on a very grand but perhaps slightly over-rated Italian label, then on Cornas, the awakening giant of the Rhone. "No-one ... could deny that they are capable of great longevity, even if they never quite seem to arrive at the point of being a pleasure to drink". "The colour is still deep, but tingling with life; the smell is rich and opulent, blackcurrants and raspberries, heady and exotic; the taste is almost sweet, with the fruit bursting through its tannic chains, and there's the roar--pure sensuous fruit, coating your mouth, tannin too, and herbs, and deep chocolaty warmth to sear the flavour into your memory". You envy him his ability to conjure such a world of pleasure and interest from what is after all fermented grape juice. --Robin DavidsonRead More