''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' is a reference work on

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

written by

Tom Stevenson Tom Stevenson (born 1951) is a British wine writer and critic. Described by his colleagues as one of today's most prolific wine authors, Stevenson is regarded as the world's leading authority on Champagne.christies.coChristie’s Champagne Mas ...

and published since 1988 by

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...

, selling over 600,000 copies in 14 languages.''The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia'', 2007 edition ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' has a stated aim to map and describe "every appellation, official and unofficial",''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'', 2005 edition of which there were more than 4,000 in total by 1997,''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'', 1997 edition making it an industry standard wine reference and required reading for the

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Master Sommelier The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwid ...

and

Cape Wine Master {{external links, date=November 2018 The title of Cape Wine Master is one of the most sought after formal qualifications in the wine industry. The qualification was first instituted in 1983, and over the last 38 years only 106 candidates (55 men an ...

examinations. The contents include hard data, technical information, tables and ancillary explanations are compartmentalized from the flow of mainstream text, with profiles of nearly 2,000 wineries, and recommendation of more than 6,000 producers. Frequently compared to ''

The Oxford Companion to Wine ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'' (''OCW'') is a book in the series of Oxford Companions published by Oxford University Press. The book provides an alphabetically arranged reference to wine, compiled and edited by Jancis Robinson, with contribution ...

'', ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' along with ''

The World Atlas of Wine ''The World Atlas of Wine'' by Hugh Johnson and (since 2003) Jancis Robinson, MW, is an atlas and reference work on the world of wine, published by Mitchell Beazley. It pioneered the use of wine-specific cartography to give wine a sense of place ...

'', is often cited to be among the most notable books on wine today.

Tim Atkin Tim Atkin is a British Master of Wine, and a wine journalist, broadcaster and commentator. He is also a judge of several international wine competitions and a photographer. Career Atkin writes for a number of publications, including: a monthly co ...

MW, wine correspondent for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' considers it to be one of the two most essential wine reference books in English. Weighed in by ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' at 5 pounds, 11 ounces, its review states, "What makes it enjoyable to browse is Stevenson's openness as well as the almost hidden inclusion of short, provocative essays".

Editions

First published in 1988 as ''Sotheby's World Wine Encyclopedia'', there have been alterations with the succeeding editions. The largest revision took place in 1997 when the book increased in size from 480 to 600 pages. In 1995 the title was altered to ''The New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'', while the current title has been in use since the 2005 revision, which also contained a vast number of upgradings to winery ratings, and for the first time incorporated symbols to identify wineries that are

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

or biodynamic.

Criticism

While it is the opinion of some that ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' is "as academically comprehensive as ever",

South African wine South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Produc ...

writer Neil Pendock of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' expressed criticism over the omissions, inaccuracies and outdated material concerning wine from the region of South Africa in the 2007 edition. Among the statements in contention is Stevenson's quote, "The development of /nowiki>Pinotage.html" ;"title="Pinotage.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Pinotage">/nowiki>Pinotage">Pinotage.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Pinotage">/nowiki>Pinotage/nowiki> was supposed to provide Burgundy-like elegance in the baking vineyards of North Africa". In his 2008 book ''Sour Grapes'', Pendock described ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' as "spectacularly error-prone".

References

''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' information
Dorling Kindersley ;Footnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia, The 1988 non-fiction books Books about wine DK (publisher) books Sotheby's 20th-century encyclopedias Specialized encyclopedias