a must have for anyone truely interested in wine. grab a bottle of wine and sit back and learn where that bottle came from, anywhere in the world. great maps of all fine regions of wine.

This book is amazing... It is a perfect coffee table, encyclopedia, textbook, or gift for anyone that has ever picked up a glass of wine and wanted to know a little more. It has beautiful pictures and is so informative. It is a gift I wished I had actually bought for myself.

This is an excellent book for both the novice wine lover as well as the more sophisticated one.

As someone who appreciates wine and always wants to learn more, I have learned the importance of geography as it applies to wine making. The more I learn about wine and geography, the more I understand the flavors and textures that I experience when tasting. The World Atlas of Wine has helped me to close the knowledge gap (as much as can be possible with a commodity that is constantly evolving).

From a purely aesthetic angle, the book is outstanding. It is cloth bound and the pages are glossy yet readable. The full color photographs are numerous, the maps are useful, the labels plentiful, the text is formatted like an encyclopedia. It looks lovely on a coffee table and that's where you should keep it. Out. Where you and your guests will reach for it.

The content is something you can read about from the other reviewers so I won't be able to say anything new. But I would like to summarize that it has a good section about wine making that you can read as you would any text - in order. Then the rest of the book is broken up into regions and sub regions in a well organized manner. You can peruse that part of the book in whatever order you like. The index is thorough. And I can't say enough about how useful I find the maps to be.

I do wish there was more New World content but I feel that is a minor complaint considering how much higher I regard the usefulness of this book to the others in my wine collection.

I bought this book for my cousin's 60th birthday. She lives in Tacoma (I'm in AZ) and she owns a wine shop. Her husband and her love to discover different wines throughout the world that they can introduce to their patrons. Upon receiving her present, she immediately called me with an enthusiastic THANK YOU!! She LOVES this book.
I know this book must be terrific if she says it is so!
I am looking forward in visiting her this summer and i look forward in seeing The world Atlas of Wine myself!

While the book is very big, I felt Sonoma County California's wineries deserved more than about one page of coverage. This book seems to have a strong European bias.

If you want much better coverage of California wines, try Matt Kramer's "New California Wine" also available at Amazon.

For somebody involved with the world market of wines, this book is definitely a must!
Also a fantastic tool for my studies in the WSET courses.
Highly recommended!

I bought this book as a gift for my boss. It is a beautiful hardbound book with lots of color pictures of the various wine regions and I think he was very pleased with its coverage of each region and its wines.

While there many quality books out there that provide more detailed information about a particular type or style of of wine (Bordeaux, California, etc.), none approaches the scale and scope of this phenomenal book.

Now in its sixth edition (and the third edition I've purchased), The World Atlas of Wine, just keeps getting better and better.

If you are looking for an overview of the world of wine, information on the geography and provenance of different wines from around the world, this is the book you must have.

For instance, after returning from Italy a couple of months ago, I wanted to learn more about Italian wines, an area I understand less about than the wines of the USA or France, which I have studied and tasted extensively. I wondered about the difference between Barolo vs. Barbaresco in Piedmont, and the difference between Brunello di Montalcino vs. other Sangiovese-based wines from Tuscany. With just a few pages of reading and studying the maps, I learned more about these wines than I could have ever imagined.

If all you care about is a certain type of wine, there are better and more comprehensive books available to you. But, if you want to learn about the WORLD of wine, there is no better place to start than The World Atlas of Wine.

The editorial notes for this listing refer to the 5th edition, but the listing itself is actually for the new, 6th edition. I own the 5th and have gone through the 6th in some detail. It is worth buying the newer edition if you have an earlier edition. The authors have not only added a couple dozen entirely new maps, but the format itself is nicer, in my opinion, and of course, the contents have been comprehensively updated. New editions of this book are not as frequent as the annual pocket guides (co-author Hugh Johnson's is excellent - Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2009: 32nd Edition (Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book). The 5th was published in 2001, and I would not expect the 7th edition for several years.

This is a favorite wine book, and, unlike ratings-focused books, not quite so readily replaceable by software and not particularly suited for mobile devices. A wonderful use of this book is to read about a region then go buy a few representative wines, which will help enormously in fixing the reference information in your mind as well as increasing the enjoyment of the wine itself. It's also a nice companion to wine articles in Wine Spectator and other magazines to supplement the tasting and travelogue information typical in such articles.

It is a shame that there isn't a "Look Inside" for this book. If you are unfamiliar with it, the World Atlas' maps are quite wonderful. Not just plain-Jane maps, but viticultural maps, with chapters and pages of accompanying commentary to help you understand the unique characteristics of each region as it pertains to wine. It is a delightful book to leave lying around, as you can read a page or two casually - each region stands on its own, i.e., this is not a book you have to slog through cover to cover.

I am a Master of Wine Student. I have own 5 editions of this atlas during my wine career. I thought I wouldn't need to upgrade to this new edition because, well, honestly, I didn't think this book could tell me any more than I already knew. Wow, I was wrong. The details of New World regions alone is reason to buy this book. The maps are always the BEST, but now they are more informative and more realistic of the wine world at large. You can also see the maps on the [...] site, but the book is still a great reference.

Great update to a reference work well-known among wine educators and consumers. The geographical context of the knowledge base about wine and winemaking is exceptionally well done and informative.

This is my third copy of World Atlas. Each one has been such a substantial improvement over the previous one that its purchase was inevitable. Great maps, witty, relevant text and the usual breath-taking photographs of wine country. (did you ever notice that no body grows wine in ugly places?)

Really better than 6th edition. I hardly encourage anyone interested in wines to buy it

This seems to be truly a complete Atlas on wine and locations for
finding anything you might desire in wines.

This is a must-have book for your home library. What surprised me is the cost, so low for a hardcover, high quality book like this.

THIS BOOK IS SO INFORMATIVE AND HELPFUL FOR NOT ONLY THE NOVICE, BUT THE PERSON WHO WOULD LIKE TO BRUSH UP ON THERE KNOWLEDGE OF WINES. HIGHLY RECOMEDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

simply outstanding, in every way....very complete and detailed and the best book on wine i have seen, ever

I discovered this book while visiting Burgundy last year.
It was part of the limited offerings available near the Hospice.
Considering the size of the book, I decided to wait until I returned to the USA to purchase it.
The book offers a detailed review of everything from how wine is produced to the details of each terroir around the world. I believe this book is a must have for wine enthusiasts.

I discovered this book while visiting Burgundy last year.
It was part of the limited offerings available near the Hospice.
Considering the size of the book, I decided to wait until I returned to the USA to purchase it.
The book offers a detailed review of everything from how wine is produced to the details of each terroir. I believe this book is a must have for wine enthusiasts.

I looked the book through in my friend's house long ago but could not read: this was Dutch edition. Now, I wanted to have this excellent book at hand in my home and in a readable form. To my great satisfaction, the book became even more rich in content and maps. So, I am happy to have now a possibility to locate not only any of my favorite wines but also wines new for me with which I got acquainted just recently.

Whether you want to become an expert, or your are just interested in wines this is a great book. Very well written, easy to read and remains useful as reference material

Last year I read Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. While that's an enthusiastic and fun introduction to wine, I prefer this book. Without ever being boring, it is much more thorough and cohesive. It's a great complement to Zraly's book because it answers much of the "why" that stirs up in one's head after reading the Windows on the World book.

The World Atlas of Wine does a wonderful job of showing what's fascinating about wine-- from the mysterious to the historical to the scientific.

This book was given as a Christmas gift to a wine lover and he was very impressed with the format of the book.

I absolutely love this book. However, the reason why I gave it only 4 stars is because this is the second time I've ordered it and it came without the CD. Otherwise, I find it fulfills all of my expectations. I often browse through it with my husband while opening a new bottle at the dinner table. This allows us to peak through sections of the book as desired. Most books this size make great coffee table props, which people don't even read. This one is meant to be read. Great text, great pictures, well organized!

Gave this as a gift to a developing oenophile. The book is beautiful, easy to read and understand, and filled with useful information. It makes a terrific gift.

This is an excellent work that should be part of every library. If you like this style of writing, I'd also recommend Natalie MacLean's Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. It's not a reference work, but is laugh-out-loud funny and makes an excellent companion to this book. Both Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson have recommended Natalie's book highly. She also publishes a free newsletter at www.nataliemaclean.com.

This is the book for those who wantthe in depth look at the world of wine. The maps and vineyard details along with the analysis of the various wines is extremely helpful.

Basically this is an indespensible text for anyone in the wine industry of wishing to expand their technical wine prowess. I am a Master of Wine student and this is one of the three cornerstones of my library including the Oxford Companion to Wine and the Sotheby's Wine Encylclopedia. The maps are a bit much for beginners but that is what the colorful Sotheby's maps are for. These maps highlight elevation and exposure as well as vineyard land and forested land, all are important aspects for advanced wine studies.

This edition expands upon the notable regions, including a massive increase in the US and Australian sections, Hugh Johnson giving a nod to the increasing popularity and success of these countries.

This should be one of the first three books purchased for any wine enthusiast.

Since the first edition in 1971, the World Atlas of Wine has sold more than 4 million copies and this new 6th edition promises to make many more wine lovers happy.

At 400 pages, British wine experts Huge Johnson and Jancis Robinson have created their most exhaustive edition yet, and a tremendous resource. The book is gorgeous - with a generous amount of color illustrations, photos, and maps, including 2 page spreads. All told there are 48 extra pages over the previous edition. Robinson has said this new edition took two years of concentrated effort. It was worth it!

The authors have expanded New World coverage, in keeping with expanded exposure and quality of the wine produced in these regions, for Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South America, and South Africa. These are additions, with nothing taken away from the previous fabulous coverage of Old & New World wine regions.

I'm happy to add this new edition to my library and enjoy looking up some background information on tonight's glass of wine.

This makes a great gift book for a wine-lover who enjoys reading as much as drinking fine wines. Lots of small print going into details of the region the wine comes from, including maps. Dry reading. High quality coffee-table book.