Oxford Companion still up to date?

WINE TALK
1

I was thinking about picking up the Oxford Companion to Wine since I understand it to be one of the classic resources. But I see the latest edition is 2006. First, do people think it’s still up to date enough to buy? Second, are there any plans for a new edition to come out soon?

Would the 2013 edition of World Atlas of Wine be a smarter pick if I were going to get one of these today?

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2

Are you looking for comprehensive topic reference or interesting wine region guide? If the former then Oxford. It is still totally useful despite being from 2006. If the latter then the World Atlas is the better choice.

3

Get it you will not be disappointed … It’s something you study and refer to cross reference with new science …your brain will need to expand, do like the Talmud says… ‘Too much information too fast is as bad as no information’… You read a little and learn… Don’t clutter your mind … This is the best way to retain the information …


Buy it if you want learn much of the esoteric detail… [cheers.gif]

4

Thanks. Maybe I’ll get both. I was initially thinking the Oxford but the detailed World Atlas maps kind of drew me in. It looks like it’s primarily the maps but with a few columns of info on each region.

5

Oxford contains a LOT more information than the World Atlas. I have both (previous edition of the atlas), and I’m glad I do as they work together nicely to answer a lot of the more detailed questions that I have. I would think there will be another edition of Oxford being released within the next couple of years, but that’s a wild guess on my part. A bunch of it is probably out of date material at this point, but that’s a minute percentage of everything that’s in there. In short, if you want something now, I think the Oxford Companion is still well worth buying.

6

If you subscribe to the Purple Pages, you can access the new Oxford Companion at jancisrobinson.com. Amazing resource.

Plus the new Wine Grapes is an incredible resource. We just received a new wine from Calabria made of Gaglioppo, and I have been totally sidetracked reading about the ‘parentage’ of the variety.