How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine

by Jancis Robinson

The award-winning wine expert uncorks the secrets of her craft, offering readers an accessible, illustrated guide to a wide variety of vintages and grape varieties.

Genres: Wine, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food and Drink, Food, Reference, Food and Wine

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2001

About the author

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com. She also provides advice for Queen Elizabeth II's wine cellar.

Robinson studied mathematics and philosophy at Oxford University and worked for a travel company after leaving university. Robinson started her wine writing career on December 1, 1975 when she became assistant editor for the trade magazine Wine & Spirit. In 1984 she became the first person outside the wine trade to become a Master of Wine. She also served as British Airways's wine consultant.

As a wine writer, she has become one of the world's leading writers of educational and encyclopedic material on wine. The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Robinson, is generally considered to be the most complete wine encyclopedia. In addition, The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson is one of the leading wine atlases. In 1995, Jancis Robinson appeared in a 10-episode wine course on BBC 2 television. This series has later been reissued on DVD. A book titled Jancis Robinson's Wine Course was written to accompany the series and has gone through several editions.

She has an honorary doctorate from the Open University, and was made an OBE in 2003, among numerous other awards for her writing. Her accolades include multiple Glenfiddich Awards and André Simon Memorial Awards, and Decanter's "1999 (Wo)Man of the Year".

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative and pleasant read that helped me get started on understanding different wine varieties. Robinson goes over the basics of tasting and identifying different wines. She has sections on the major grape varieties and wine producing regions. The book is well-illustrated with a number of photographs. I am definitely hanging onto this one and referring to it from time to time. At this point I have no plans to become a connoisseur, but, thanks to this book, I do have a better understanding and appreciation of wine, and that, ladies and gents, heightens the enjoyment, does it not? If it is your goal to learn a bit about wines in order to improve your understanding of what makes a good wine, then you will not be disappointed.

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly when I was first starting out with wine I wish someone had told me to pick up this book. It is well written, easily approachable, uses standard english instead of jargon and defines things as you go. It also manages to avoid the pitfall of unintentional arrogance that can come through with wine books. Rather than listing off general ideas of what to explore where and leaving the rest up to the reader, specific wines and regions are mentioned. Variation in flavors are mentioned. Winemaking processes that are responsible for flavors rather than the grapes are mentioned. Everyone should read the chapters on red and white before going wine tasting. Wonderful read.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful introduction to the world of wine tasting. Jancis Robinson starts with a tutorial on how to see, smell and taste wines with suggestions for tasting notes. Then she does quick chapters on most of the varietals and describes various tasting exercises. Well written with updated information. I know I'll come back to this book for reference.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and approachable read to just dip into or to read cover-to-cover. It includes exercises to teach yourself to taste and appreciate the nuance of wine. This would be an excellent guide for planning a wine tasting party. L

[Corrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, as always from this author!

[Tonia Mccutchan · Rating 4 out of 5]

trains even the most uneducated and novice wine enthusiast how to become an expert wine taster. Enjoyed reading and using the at home "practice" workshops provided for additional training.

[Mandy Nash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of good information in this book, written by "wine queen" Jancis Robinson. There's no doubt Jancis knows what she is writing about, but I had a hard time following along with her writing style. Perhaps it's because she is a British wine critic and I'm as American as they come, but in any case, the information was good. Best for the newbie just getting into wine.

[Kat Stromquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! This was a Christmas gift that I never finished reading years ago. But it’s for the best, because I know so much more about wine than I did then.

Looking forward to trying some of the tasting exercises.

[Thiago Lacerda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"É extraordinário como sabemos pouco sobre algo que fazemos com tanta frequência como comer e beber. Assim que o alimento e a bebida entram em nosso sistema digestório, tantas coisas podem dar errado que a medicina já descobriu muito do que acontece ali. Surpreendentemente, porém, pouco se sabe sobre o processo de degustar que precede tudo isso, mesmo que devêssemos, em teoria, estar muito mais envolvidos conscientemente nele do que na digestão." (pg. 11)

Curso de vinho com muito conteúdo e uma abordagem simples, sem pompa. Desfaz mitos, ajuda a otimizar a escolha de um rótulo, a combinação com a comida etc. Ideal para usar em grupo, considerando a variedade de vinhos sugerida nos exercícios práticos. Também funciona bem individualmente em uma leitura panorâmica e para referência, bastando ser mais seletivo nas degustações, conhecendo as variedades sem pressa.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This looked like such a great book. I bought it quite a while ago and was so looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately it was just okay. There is a lot in the book that could easily be cut out and the info it did have was not all that helpful. I don't think it really taught much at all about tasting and analyzing wine. The best part of the book was the grape profiles. Bot overall I expected a lot more from Jancis Robinson who has such a great reputation. Maybe a different book from her would be better?

[Gwen Brophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very easy to read, very approachable for people who don't know anything about wine. I enjoyed it and find myself looking at wine differently when we go out, all sniffing it and swirling it around in the glass. I still can't tell a Burgundy from a Bordeaux, but I think that's probably my fault, not the books.

It got a bit overwhelming towards the end when she started going into individual wine types. I suspect, over time, it will become more apparent.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but well done "course" in how to taste wine - almost requires a couple of cases to open and sample, but it gets you thinking about more than good/bad, it helps you figure out what it tates like.

[Roblyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supposed to be an unpretentious look at how to taste wine - probably hard to be an expert in a subject like this without sounding pretentious. I did enjoy parts of it and did learn a few new things - mildly interesting if you're interested in wine at all.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first part. Jancis Robinson teaches readers how to taste wine. I like the "Practice" sections. Mrs. Robinson teaches you how to taste/recognizes sweetness, acid, tannins ...

The second part, is on the different grape varietals. Good, quick introduction to the world of wine.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic!

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview. Good exercises.

[Soso Done · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference book