A truly useful and well presented book. Its full of information about grape varieties, wine making techniques, the producers and the wines themselves. I have read both Oz Clark and Parker and will no doubt continue to refer to them again but they are a bit dry in comparison to this book.
The Wine Encyclopedia is a joy to pick up and read at anytime, with detailed maps not just showing the road layouts but the soil conditions and the vine concentrations and the extents of the prime areas. There are some beautiful photographs and details of the main producers and their labels. The author's recommendations are also included at the end of each section.
Far better than a wine atlas. If you have only one book about wine in your house and you enjoy drinking wine I would recommend this book most highly.