Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Book: The World of Wine from A-Z

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Oz Clarke

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Pages: 320 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 0316859621

Pub: Little, Brown Book Group

Pub date: 2002-10-03

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 356225

Editorial Review:

One of the most useful portable all-round guides to wines, vintages, producers, grapes and wine regions, Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Book has always been a fount of down-to-earth wisdom and good sense. The 2001 edition comes along and is no exception. Seasoned punters who have gone the course with Oz will know what to expect--trenchant views, clearly expressed; encyclopaedic knowledge lightly worn; and second-hand access to what is said to be one of the finest noses in Europe. For an expert of his standing, Oz Clarke can be very refreshing at times. (On fizz: "I sometimes think it doesn't matter what it tastes like as long as it's cold enough and there's enough of it".) Ease of use is among the great virtues of this little book: there's no point flicking back and forth among the cross references when you're standing in a crowded supermarket wine department. It's simple to find what you want among the 1,600 entries once the single page of How To Use rules has been absorbed. New sections added for 2001 include a fascinating and highly eclectic selection of personal favourites, and a series of Wines of the Year categories--in effect, Top Tips, such as "World Class Wines that Won't Cost the Earth", "Regions to Watch" and so on. Self-recommending, therefore, as always. --Robin Davidson

Reader Reviews:

No Nonsense Wine Guide (0/0 people found this helpful)

This book is written in an useful no nonsense A to Z style. If you know the name of a wine, but don't where it's from; you can quickly locate it and find more information on the wine quality and vintages. It is an useful adjunct to Hugh Johnson's pocket guide, which sets out wines in regions. The accompanying "Wine Buying Guide" unfortunately is full of adverts and seems suspiciously commercially driven. But overall - not bad at all.

Vintastic! (0/1 people found this helpful)

I love a bargain and this double act represents real value for money. Oz Clarke, in my book, is far and away the best wine writer - vivid descriptions, extraordinary breadth of knowledge, strong opinions. If you want to branch out and try some new and exciting wines, follow Oz's recommendations. I've just enjoyed a bottle of Tim Adam's Shiraz (The fruit is a miraculously fresh marriage of blackberry, prunes and sloe, awash in basketsful of licorice and black chocolate, and the sensual thick texture is spiced up a bit with a haunting perfume of eucalyptus and mint, says Oz.) Quite!

The most useful wine reference published? (3/4 people found this helpful)

This book looks so stylish in its matt black jacket - at least it did a few weeks ago; I've already used it so much it's beginning to look ragged around the edges.

Because it's written as an A to Z, it's really easy to use: you don't have to know whether Saxenburg is in Germany or South Africa, or where in the world you would look for Selaks - all the information you need is under S.

The index of producers points you to thousands more recommendations, and the book is small enough to take on holiday; I'm taking it to New Zealand with me.

It just gets better and better! (4/5 people found this helpful)

I have been a confirmed fan of Oz Clarke for a long time and the Pocket Wine Book just seems to get better and better each year. The facts and figures included in the book are easy to find and to understand. All entries are listed alphabetically regardless of where in the world they come from so you don't have to be an expert to find the entry you want - everything from the wine-growing region of Abruzzo to the varietal Zinfandel covered. Recommended vintages give a clear indication of when the wines will be ready to drink or whether they will keep for a few years so you know whether to drink and be damned or try to show a little restraint.

A really useful guide to wine (1/1 people found this helpful)

Here's a pocket guide made for me. Down to earth, concise and all A-Z, which is important to me. It doesn't matter if I forget where a wine comes from - I'm still able to find out all about it. It really is small enough to carry around with me, too, for wine shopping or going out.

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