The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that time is an elusive commodity, especially in this day and age. So when preparing a presentation, a training session or researching my next video blog, the last thing I need is to break the creative thought process to go hunting through volumes of reference material . For this basic reason, I need a ‘shortcut’ that lets me get back to being creative before losing my train of thought.

One work I have come to depend on is The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson. With almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable arranged alphabetically at my finger tips, I can look up whatever term or definition I need without my train of thought being derailed. Whether I am looking up the acronym ABC – Anything but Chardonnay – or zymase – a group of enzymes which encourage the conversion of glucose and fructose into ethyl alcohol – I find exactly what I am looking for, written clearly and concisely. This, in turn, gets me back to my train of thought long before it leaves the station.

Whether you are a connoisseur, taster, or just an enquiring mind, The Oxford Companion to Wine may not be the only reference book on wine you’ll ever need, but it does come pretty well near. To add this work to your collection of “grape literature,” click on the book.