Robinson’s Wine Grapes wins Andre Simon Award

Wine Grapes, Jancis Robinson's 'illuminating' guide to 1,368 grape varieties, has won the prestigious Andre Simon Memorial Drink Book Award.

The encyclopaedic work, described by Andrew Jefford on Decanter.com as ‘colossally informative, illuminating and intriguing’, was co-authored by Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz, and published by Penguin books last year.

The winner was announced at an evening presentation on 14 April in London. Julia Harding MW collected the prize on behalf of the two other members of the triumvirate.

Describing Wine Grapes as an ‘exceptional, groundbreaking’ work, Harry Eyres, this year’s assessor for the wine books, said that in a normal year all of the five shortlisted books would have been worthy winners.

The Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin was the first recipient of the John Avery Award for his definitive book Pomerol. The award was presented by Sarah, widow of John Avery, who died of a heart attack a few days after last year’s award presentation.

Eyres said thar Pomerol is a ‘remarkable and exuberant book on a Bordeaux region that has only relatively recently come to prominence’.

Wine critic and Decanter writer Kerin O’Keefe was shortlisted for her book Brunello di Montalcino, published by the University of California Press; other shortlisted works were Sherry, Manzanilla & Montilla by Peter Liem and Jésus Barquín, and How to Love Wine by New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov

Caroline Conran won the Food Book Award for Sud de France.

In the course of selecting the shortlist judges assessed 20 drink books and 120 food books.

Written by Jim Budd