Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson
Robinson at a charity wine dinner in 2010
Born	Jancis Mary Robinson 22 April 1950 Cumbria, England
Occupation	Wine critic
Nationality	British
Subject	Wine
Notable awards	Order of the British Empire

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com. She also provides advice for the wine cellar of Queen Elizabeth II.^[1]

Biography

Robinson was born in Cumbria, studied mathematics and philosophy at St Anne's College, University of Oxford,^[2] and worked for a travel company after leaving university. Robinson started her wine writing career on 1 December 1975 when she became assistant editor for the trade magazine Wine & Spirit.^[1] In 1984, she became the first person outside the wine trade to become a Master of Wine. She also served as British Airways' wine consultant, and supervised the BA Concorde cellar luxury selection.^[3]

As a wine writer, she has become one of the world's leading writers of educational and encyclopedic material on wine. The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Robinson, is widely considered to be the most comprehensive wine encyclopedia in the world.^[4] The first edition was published in 1994, and took five years to write after she was signed on as editor in 1988.^[5] In addition, The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Robinson is one of the world's leading wine atlases.^[4]

In 1995, Jancis Robinson appeared in a 10-episode wine course on BBC 2 television. This series was later reissued on DVD.^[6] A book titled Jancis Robinson's Wine Course was written to accompany the series and has gone through several editions. She has an honorary doctorate from the Open University, and was made an OBE in 2003, among numerous other awards for her writing. Her accolades include multiple Glenfiddich Awards and André Simon Memorial Awards, and a selection as the Decanter "1999 Woman of the Year".^[1]

Following a difference of opinion with Robert Parker over the 2003 vintage of Château Pavie, the following media coverage frequently described a "war of words" between the two critics.^[7][8] Less dramatic than the predominant press view, Robinson and Parker currently have a cordial relationship.^[9]

In 2012, Allen Lane (Penguin) in the UK and Ecco in the US published a 1,200-page book called Wine Grapes co-authored by Robinson with Julia Harding MW and Jose Vouillamoz. The book provides comprehensive details on 1,368 vine varieties and won six major wine book awards.^[10]

Robinson is married to the food writer Nick Lander, author of The Art of the Restaurateur; they have three children, Julia, William and Rose.

Bibliography

• Robinson, Jancis; Murphy, Linda (2013). American Wine. University of California Press. ISBN 978-1-84533-528-1. ISBN 978-0-520-27321-4.
• Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia; Vouillamoz, José (2012). Wine Grapes. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84614-446-2.
• Johnson, Hugh; Robinson, Jancis (2013). The World Atlas of Wine (7th ed.). Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1-84533-301-0.
• Robinson, Jancis, ed. (2006). The Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860990-2.
• Robinson, Jancis (2003). Jancis Robinson's Wine Course (2nd ed.). Abbeville Press Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7892-0791-3.
• Robinson, Jancis (2008). How to Taste Wine (UK); How to Taste (U.S.). Conran Octopus/Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-84091-520-4.
• Robinson, Jancis (1997). Confessions of a Wine Lover (UK); Tasting Pleasure (U.S.). Penguin/Viking. ISBN 978-0-14-023529-6.
• Robinson, Jancis (1986). Vines, Grapes and Wines. Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1-85732-999-5.

See also

• List of wine personalities

References

1. Archived 14 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
2. Robinson, Jancis. "Jancis Robinson - the long version". JancisRobinson.com. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
3. Hall, Lisa Shara, Wine Business Monthly (3 March 2002). "Wine Flies".
4. Asimov, Eric, The New York Times (1 November 2006). "A Master of Wine Takes a Fresh Look".
5. Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Jancis Robinson's Wine Course ~ Complete Collection 2 Disc Set PAL ALL REGIONS: Amazon.co.uk: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
7. Styles, Oliver, Decanter (14 April 2004). "Parker and Robinson in war of words". Decanter.com.
8. Voss, Roger, San Francisco Chronicle (27 May 2004). "Robinson, Parker have a row over Bordeaux". The San Francisco Chronicle.
9. Robinson, Jancis (31 March 2008). "Parker and Robinson in clinch". Jancisrobinson.com.
10. "The most complete guide to vine varieties and their wines ever". Wine Grapes. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-11-25.

External links

• Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages
• Jancis Robinson articles in Financial Times
• Podcast of Jancis Robinson discussing "Writing about wine" at the Shanghai International Literary Festival
• An interview with Jancis Robinson