This year’s cover of Hugh Johnson’s ubiquitous guide has a special addition: this is the 40th anniversary edition.
Yes, for 40 years we have been buying Hugh’s slim volumes, perhaps not every single year, and toting them around as we go to restaurants and wine shops. It’s light, tight and packed with information.
I’ve actually started reading this 2017 edition, not just looking up wines. Reading it for the perspective that Hugh can provide with his many decades of wine experience. And that perspective is very informative.
If you see the rise of wine stores and all the new wine brands arising — hundreds a day — you know we are in a massive wine boom. Except, Hugh, notes we are not. Wine consumption is down, just a bit, and has flattened in the past decade. Fewer acres around the world are devoted to wine grapes. Fewer, not more.
What is happening? Well, just like climate change is blamed on cars, so cars are Hugh’s explanation for the wine decline. We drive. Everywhere. And we can’t drive with all that wine in our systems. Countries where wine was drunk like water, particularly in Europe, have changed. 40 years ago, some countries had per capita consumption of 130 liters a year. That is now down to a mere 50 in France and falling.
Not to fear. Great wine is upon us. In the section Vintage Report 2015 Hugh points to which harvests were successful and the conclusion that, early worries aside, 2015 has produced great wines. In the section A Close Look at 2014, Hugh can now dissect specific regions and wines to point out which are fine, which need some time and which vintages might disappoint you.
And in the final introductory section, If You Like This [then] Try This, Hugh offers interesting ways to expand you wine horizons. If you love Southern French reds, then you need to cross the border and try Barbaresco. Surprisingly, if you favor Chianti, then it is time to sip a Greek red.
You can spend hours and hour pouring over the facts and comparisons in the Pocket Wine Guide. Was that a pun by the way? Well, it is all true. This is a book you’ll use often and with enjoyment. Keep it next to the car keys. Don’t drink and drive but do drive and read. Not, not at the same time, of course.