The Jancis Robinson Story | Mission Blind Tasting | Wine writing competition

Book reviews 2017 – a guide

• 2 min read
Image

14 January 2018 Very many apologies. Like all our guides, this was meant to have been a free article but owing to an oversight, perhaps our eagerness to publish it, we inadvertently failed to make it free. Kindly note that it is now, at last, out from behind the paywall.

8 January 2018 Jancis writes There has been a massively positive response –  on our Members' forum, on Twitter and by email – to Tam's reviews of more than 40 wine-related books published last year. In the 13 articles listed below, she treated us to almost 60,000 words of her own – surely the most thorough book reviews known to man or woman? We plan to publish three of Tam's own favourites free from next week. 

18 December 2017 Tam writes Wine writing in 2017 has, as usual, provided an eclectic mix, from the sublime to the surreal. Literally (we have a book by Salvador Dalí). There has been an uncommon focus on champagne for some reason, with no fewer than seven books on that one wine alone. There have been a couple of updates of old classics, a book revived from the seventies, and some cutting-edge, frontier science. Food gets a look-in this year, although it is getting more and more attention in the wine books themselves. There are several outstanding books, for different reasons, and I've put an asterisk by the books that I personally would buy for my own bookshelf.

Below is a list of all the books I'll be reviewing over the next three weeks. Those grouped under a date have already been published and you can follow the link to read the reviews; below that you can see what's still to come.

Monday 18 December 2017
Essi Avellan's Champagne: a guide for champagne lovers and gourmet travellers , Essi Avellan
The Ultimate Guide to Champagne, Liz Palmer
I Love Champagne, Davy Zyw

Tuesday 19 December 2017
Champagne: a tasting journey, Kaaren Palmer
* Champagne: the essential guide, Peter Liem
* Champagne: the future uncorked, Gert Crum
* Bursting Bubbles: a secret history of Champagne, Robert Walters

Wednesday 20 December 2017
*The New Wine Rules, Jon Bonné
101 Wine FAQs, Simon Woods
This is Not a Wine Guide, Chris Morrison

Thursday 21 December 2017
*Essential Winetasting, Michael Schuster
Wine: It's Not Rocket Science, Ophélie Neiman 
The World of Wine, Oz Clarke 

Friday 22 December 2017
*The Wine Dine Dictionary, Victoria Moore
Food and Wine Pairing in Three Steps, Jordan Shuler
Wine Lover's Kitchen, Fiona Beckett
*Reinventing the Wheel: milk, microbes and the fight for real cheese, Bronwen & Francis Percival

Tuesday 26 December 2017
*Neuroenology: how the brain creates the taste of wine, Gordon M Shepherd 
*Wine: myths and reality (second edition), Benjamin Lewin

Wednesday 27 December 2017
A Glass of Wine, A Breath of Fresh Air, Jean-Pierre Frick
*Rosé All Day: the essential guide to your new favourite wine, Katherine Cole 
The Dirty Guide to Wine: following flavors from ground to glass, Alice Feiring
*Wine Revolution: the world's best organic, biodynamic & natural wines, Jane Anson

Thursday 28 December 2017
9000 Years of Wine: a world history, Rod Phillips
Divine Vintage: following the wine trail from Genesis to the modern age, Randall Heskett & Joel Butler
The Wines of Gala, Salvador Dalí

Friday 29 December 2017
Hermitage Chave Héritage, Thierry Weber, Christophe Bohème and Louis Renardat-Fache 
Languedoc Roussillon: the wines and winemakers, Paul Strang 
*Wine in Lisbon, Ana Cristina Marques

Tuesday 2 January 2018
The Wines of Canada, Rod Phillips
Sipping Santa Barbara: recommended wines and producers, Charine Tan and Dr Matthew Horkey
The Winemakers of Paso Robles, Julia Pérez

Wednesday 3 January 2018
Tasting Georgia: a food and wine journey in the Caucasus, Carla Capalbo
Vinologue Georgia: a guide to the cradle of wine, Miquel Hudin and Daria Kholodilina
Terra Benedicta: the land of Hungarian wine, Gabriella Mészáros, Gábor Rohály and András Nagymarosy
Cracking Croatian Wine: a visitor-friendly guide, Dr Matthew Horkey and Charine Tan 

Thursday 4 January 2018
*Cork Dork, Bianca Bosker 
Glass Half Full, Caro Feely 
Slave to the Vine, Darren Delmore

Friday 5 January 2018
In Vino Duplicitas: the rise and fall of a wine forger extraordinaire, Peter Hellman
Quality Time at St-Chinian, Patrick Masterson

Choose your plan
Member
$135
/year
Save over 15% annually
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
  • Access 295,960 wine reviews & 16,111 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
Inner Circle
$249
/year
 
Ideal for collectors

Everything in “Member”, plus:

  • Early access to the latest wine reviews, 48 hours in advance
  • Early access to the latest articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
  • Access 295,960 wine reviews & 16,111 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
  • Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade

Everything in “Professional”, plus:

  • Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
  • Access to submit wines for review
  • Offer memberships to your employees and manage them from a single place
  • API access available for an additional fee
Pay with
Visa logo Mastercard logo American Express logo Logo for more payment options
Join our newsletter

Get the latest from Jancis and her team of leading wine experts.

By subscribing you agree with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

More Free for all

Ronan Sayburn MS, Sarah Abbott MW and Hannah Tovey at Icons tastings 2026
Free for all Take 27 Chardonnay ‘icons’ from around the world and serve them up to 18 accredited tasters … A version of...
WWC26 post-submission graphic
Free for all Great pairings – so many to choose from! A big thank you to all from Team JR. This year’s wine...
Kullabergs Vingård © Terra Skåne/Jan Kivissar
Free for all According to Star Wine List, a guide with more authority than most. Above, food and wine mavens gather at Arilds...
Mont Ventoux seen from Les Deux Cols at dawn
Free for all It’s not all turbo-charged Grenache down south. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. See also...

More from JancisRobinson.com

Brit Nat tasting 2026 by Em Drake
Tasting articles Britpop move over; here comes Brít-Nat with pop-the-crown-cap controversy and edgy attitude. Henry writes On the day that the soon-to-be-legendary...
Ried Kellerberg in autumn
Wines of the week Summer dreams in a limy, zesty white wine from Austria, from €9.90, £18.37, $19.99 . Above, the Kellerberg vineyard, one...
Diemersdal winemaking team
Tasting articles Great buys available in the UK and farther afield – including some naturally lower-alcohol wines. Above, left to right: Reon...
Alder Springs vineyard
Tasting articles Some of California’s most exciting wines are coming from a vineyard far from any other. Above, Alder Springs vineyard (credit...
Judges for Chardonnay Icons at 2026 London Wine Fair
Tasting articles Australia, and England, triumphed at this year’s blind tasting of icon wines at the London Wine Fair. The wine professionals...
Poggio di Sotto vineyard
Tasting articles If you appreciate wines that reflect vintage and terroir, the top 2020 Brunellos are well worth buying. Above, the Poggio...
Wine & War book cover
Book reviews A reminder of wine’s power to restore humanity, humour and hope in times of conflict. Wine & War The French...
Flowers in the Meinklang vineyard
Wines of the week A magical sparkling wine from Austria, from €9, £15.50, $16.95. It is, some say, the time when magic is strongest...
Wine inspiration delivered directly to your inbox, weekly
Our weekly newsletter is free for all
By subscribing you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions.