High Johnsons's Wine Companion fully revised and updated by Stephen Brook
93 out of 100

Published Saturday, October 17, 2009

Overview

Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion is a huge door stop of a wine book at 4.5cm in its hardback form it certainly has the size of a great reference book. But reference books are not just about size, its about the quality of the topics covered, and Hugh does an excellent job. The 672 pages of the companion focus on producers, regions and appellation systems. All are written with an effortless prose, not overly verbose but from a master craftsman. The region information is well written conveying both a sense of wine style and culture. It contains the best collection of European Appellation Controlee listings, describing the AC grapes regions and wine styles.
But it is the detailed information on key producers that make up the bulk of the book. These can range from one sentence to pages, depending upon their importance. All are given a star rating out of four to reflect the quality of the producers. While rankings are subjective, I am in broad agreement with the vineyard rankings. But it is the pedigree rather than the quality of the rankings that I have concern for.

According to the publisher Octopus, (part of Mitchell Beazley), 70% of Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion 6th Edition has been updated since the 5th Edition. As Stephen Brook updated the 5th Edition, it is safe to say that almost all the text is written by Stephen, in which case congratulations are in order. Stephen’s writing is fluid and well crafted.

Stephen or Hugh, I’m not sure, has included in the appendix a shortened set of 26 maps, mostly from Hugh’s and Jancis Robinson's World Atlas. These are excellent and give a perfect overview set of maps. After the maps the last section is 'Enjoying Wine' and this, along with the 'Introduction to grapes, viticulture and vinification techniques' at the start, are nicely written but not inspiring if you have read several of these before.

Small touches such as listing principal grapes by country of origin are helpful, and I can tell the Wine Companion is going to, if not already, become one of my key wine reference books. The sheer number of producers and appellations system lists are excellent. I really like how it gives a very solid overview of the different appellation systems and the wines that make them up. It is the best single source of appellations I have some across. But these are both minor points. Most of the book is dedicated to listing key producers.

This book would suit most wine enthusiasts and is a great companion to one of the wine atlases, complementing an atlas rather than competing with it.

I rated this book 93 out of 100.

You can purchase the book directly from the publisher and receive a 40% discount. Note we highly recomend this book and do not receive any profit from the sale fo the book.