Mapping the world's wines 29 October 2007

The World Atlas of Wine reviewed by Angela Lloyd 

The World Atlas of Wine (Sixth Edition)
By Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson
With 400 pages 200 colour photographs, 50 colour illustrations, 1000 labels
Published by Mitchell Beazley 2007
Recommended retail price: R660; available from local internet dealers Loot at R426
and Kalahari at R497

Bordeaux was a destination on my first serious wine travels back in 1980. Unable to track down any decent maps of the area including the châteaux, we turned to Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine, which had been published in 1971. Although their purpose wasn't to guide the wine loving tourist, the maps had sufficient detail and clarity for us to successfully negotiate both left and right banks as well as Graves.

In the intervening 36 years, the Atlas has been completely revised and updated five times. Co-author with Johnson for the last two editions, 2001 and the current 2007, has been that omnipresent lady of wine, Jancis Robinson (who tells us on her website that this 'mega-work took up a very solid two years' of her life and of that of her assistant, Julia's Harding).

It tells you much about the speed with which the wine world is changing when a - considerable - re-vamp has been deemed necessary a mere six years after the last one. A wine world that's also changing in ways Johnson didn't deem possible back in the second, 1977 edition, when he wrote of China: `Clearly there is no reason why fine wines should not grow on Chinese soil … yet it somehow seems unlikely that the Chinese will suddenly take to viticulture at this stage in their history.'  

Oh no? In this sixth edition, the China entry begins: 'One of the more potent symbols of the westernization of China has been the extent to which the staggeringly numerous Chinese have taken to wine.' By illustration, it is already the world's sixth most important grower of grapevines. At this rate, don't be surprised to see a map dedicated to India in edition number seven!

As much as the information has been updated, the format has remained faithful to Johnson's initial vision, with the exception of the since-deleted Spirits section. The history of wine; detailed description of the vine, the vineyard year, international and regional varieties, making wine in the cellar, anatomy of a winery, wine and time - all survive the 36 year journey and along the way have been joined by the now inevitable section on terroir, as well as making wine in the vineyard, oak and alternatives and stoppering wine.

But the prime purpose of an Atlas is its cartography and the majority of the 400 pages are devoted to mapping the world's wine regions and describing the background to the wines grown within them. As the authors tell us, these maps are designed for the consumer, not wine bureaucrat. Appellations of no practical interest to the wine lover are omitted; on the other hand, some unofficially designated areas commonly referred to are included. Helderberg in the Stellenbosch district is an example, though one of the reasons it's never been officially demarcated is argument over boundaries, so the area included (from Spier to Vergelegen!) will no doubt cause raised eyebrows (and probably more from André van Rensburg, who insists Schaapenberg is a totally different entity from the Helderberg). While this unofficial demarcation is noted, the rather more important boundary separating Stellenbosch from Paarl isn't.  

These small carps aside, it is a tribute to the cartographer that, given the detail included, the maps are generally so comprehensible. They are also brought alive by the inclusion of wineries of major importance.

Reflecting the wine world's attention on ever more tightly defined areas, Rutherford, Oakville and Stags Leap District in Napa Valley all now have their own detailed coverage, as do the Barossa and Eden Valleys, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills and the Limestone Coast in South Australia. South Africa's presence is increased by the inclusion of a new specific section on Constantia, presumably on the strength of its wine quality as well as historic value.

The scope of the information in the accompanying text is broad, though necessarily general. As for correctness, there appear to be only two small errors in the South African copy - the maximum area for single vineyard status is six rather than five hectares and Villiera is officially part of Stellenbosch rather than Paarl - which suggests fairly sound reliability of the rest.

The recommended retail price of R660 might immediately seem considerable (and rather more than the British RRP of £35 and much more than internet prices), until one reflects on the thorough coverage, excellent cartography and evocative photographs this sixth edition of The World Atlas of Wine offers. A must-buy for the student, there is also much of interest for the more casual wine lover, even though tourists today needn't rely on the maps when exploring the world's winelands.

• See, on her free-access pages, the article that Jancis Robinson wrote to accompany the launch of the Wine Atlas: 'The expanding world of wine'