In late 1988, Jancis Robinson, MW, was faced with a monumental task: writing the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine. An undoubted success, the first edition went on to become one of the Oxford University Press (OUP)'s top sellers, second only to their dictionary, and a much-needed resource for the wine industry. With thousands of entries that range from the origin of viniculture to climate change and NFTs, the impressively comprehensive work is regularly referenced by enthusiasts, professionals, and students—whether beginners or working towards the Master of Wine title.
With few places to find this depth and breadth of authoritative knowledge on the vast, ever-changing world of wine, keeping the work up to date is imperative. Last month, nearly 30 years after the publication of the first edition, the revised and expanded fifth edition made its debut, thanks in large part to the now lead editor Julia Harding, MW, and assistant editor Tara Q. Thomas.
How has The Oxford Companion to Wine evolved over the last three decades—and what does that signify about the greater wine industry? SevenFifty Daily caught up with Robinson to discuss the evolution of The Oxford Companion to Wine, its impact on the wine industry, and what industry professionals can expect from the latest edition.
What was it like to undertake the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine?
Absolutely terrifying. I knew I had to fill 800 pages with two columns each, which were blank when I started in 1989. The original contract is dated November 31, 1988 (which probably makes it invalid as that date doesn’t exist!) and was amended in 2011 to take account of electronic rights which are, like the other rights, jointly controlled by the OUP and the editor.
This was in the era before email so all contributions came in on paper. And I had no assistant editor for the first two editions. I remember OUP insisted that I provided them with at least one printout of the text. You can imagine how long it took to print.
How did the project come about?
My literary agent of 45 years, Caradoc King, apparently proposed it to the publishers at the OUP, unbeknown to me. I felt it was a real compliment to wine that OUP were prepared to devote their precious series of Companions—which began with one to English literature in the 1930s and continued through art and music, for instance—to wine. I had a salutary visit to Alan Davidson who had been commissioned ages before me to come up with an Oxford Companion to Food and had taken so long that he had to start updating entries he’d already written. So I realised I had to get a move on. Though five years is a long time … Our younger daughter Rose was born while I was working on it.
I studied Math and Philosophy at Oxford so it felt like a personal honor, too. And, unlike many writers, I have always had a very healthy respect for science, which helped. Also, the bridge between those two subjects is logic, and a logical brain was certainly needed to divide the complex world of wine into categories, topics, and entries.
Click HERE to read the full interview.