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 almost 4,000 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. The 187 esteemed contributors (including over 50 new to this edition) range from internationally renowned academics to some of the most famous wine writers and wine specialists in the world.



Now exhaustively updated, this fourth edition incorporates the very latest international research to present 300 new entries on topics ranging from additives and wine apps to WSET and Zelen. Specific new keywords include wine apps, authentication, CellarTracker, concrete, counterfeit wine, films about wine, wine funds, ingredient labelling, ladybug taint, microbial terroir, minerality, Mtsvane, natural wine, optical sorting, orange wine, oxygen transmission rate (OTR), pet-nat, planting rights, plastic bottles, premature oxidation, proximal sensing, qvevri, Sauvignon Gris, smoke taint, social media, soil biota, Syrah decline, tasting notes language, urban wineries, vandalism and Vin de France. Over 60 per cent of all entries have been revised; and useful lists and statistics are appended, including a unique list of the world's controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, as well as vineyard area, wine production and consumption by country. For more about the new entries, see Nine years of new words.



Illustrated with almost 30 updated maps of every important wine region in the world, many useful charts and diagrams, and 16 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.

Almost 4,000 A to Z entries on a breathtaking range of topics, from grape varieties and regions to viticulture, growers, and the history of wine

More than 60% of entries have been comprehensively revised and updated to include the very latest international research and opinion

300 brand-new entries, including wine apps, aromatics, geosmin, Hong Kong, minerality, natural wine, social media, and tasting notes language

Edited by the award-winning online publisher and Financial Times wine correspondent, Jancis Robinson OBE, Master of Wine, and Julia Harding MW

187 top local experts, including more than 50 new ones, contribute entries on their specialist regions, such as Huon Hooke on Australia, Michael Fridjhon on South Africa, David Schildknecht on Germany and Austria, Victor de la Serna on Spain, and Walter Speller on Italy

Beautiful new page design incorporating new colour photographs and black and white line drawings

All maps of wine regions have been updated for this edition

New to this edition

Comprehensively revised and updated throughout

300 brand-new entries

Significant new updates on hundreds of topics such as China, screwcaps, and the origins of viniculture

Impressive global coverage of wine regions, including new entries on Alaska, Lesotho, Norway, and Tahiti

Includes brand-new colour photographs and black and white line drawings

Maps of wine regions have been updated

Click here to read more articles about the new edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine on JancisRobinson.com.

And click here to listen to Julia's full-length podcast, recorded by Qin Xie, on how she came to work for Jancis and further insights into the complex process of updating The Oxford Companion to Wine.