The Concise World Atlas of Wine
94 out of 100

Published Friday, October 30, 2009

Overview

While this is a new book it is certainly not new text. The Concise Wine Atlas is based on the Wine Atlas by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. The text is almost identical, so what is new?

It’s not so much what is new but what is missing is the key point of difference. Most notably bulk. The Concise Wine Atlas is only 40% of the size of its bigger brother. Gone is the hardback and in its place is a smaller lighter more flexible book. I say flexible both in term of the soft cover being able to shape into your backpack more easily and also flexible because it means you can take it with you. Travelling with the hardback World Atlas of Wine can only practically be done by car. I have travelled with this book to France, Italy and Australia, but have always lugged it with some regret. The Concise is travel friendly, whether it be on trains, planes or automobiles. This is its biggest selling point, and the key differentiator to the World Atlas of Wine.

Cutting down the tome was done in two ways. Firstly the text was shrunk by a barely noticeable amount, so it is still easy to read, and secondly by removing content. The main areas to be cut are the forward which has been significantly reduced, by dropping whole sections and the photos of the region’s vineyards and people that help to give a feel for the wines. Gone too are the pictures of labels recommended by the authors that help to identify the leading producers. Thankfully the maps, which every wine enthusiast should have, have been kept.

In the end the book has lost a little but gained portability and I heartily recommended it to any student or wine nut who wants to travel with a detailed set of maps and region explanations.

The World Wine Atlas is reviewed here.
I rate this book 94 out of 100. What this book lacks in content versus its bigger brother it makes up for with its convenient size.

You can purchase the book directly from the publisher and receive a 40% discount. Note we highly recommend this book and do not receive any profit from the sales generated by this review.