Oz Clarke once again takes the reader on an exhilarating tour through the world of wine. His book condenses a vast amount of wine information into an easily accessible A-Z format with concise and vivid descriptions of the world's leading wines, wine regions, producers and grape varieties. The book begins with an introduction to the major wine countries of the world, local grape varieties and wine-making practices, as well as the various classification systems used throughout the world. The practical section then teaches the reader how to identify different wines through bottles, labels and corks and how best to store and serve them. The gazetteer forms the core of the book and provides an up-to-date and comprehensive listing of the world's best-known wines, wine regions and producers. Finally, 40 special features on the world's leading wine-producing regions are included and cover the latest developments in the world of wine today.