Book Review: Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2026
There are very few constants in life: death and the arrival of Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book; now in its 49th year of serving as a sobering reminder that you really do not know as much about wine as you think you do. The guide has become as dependable as sunrise, albeit slightly denser and printed in a font size calibrated for the eyesight of a 15th-century monk. Glasses are a requirement, a magnifying glass is strongly recommended, and if you have a spare headlamp, no one will judge you.
Because once you crack it open, you realize this is no joke or lighthearted romp: Laughter ends at the inside cover, featuring an incredibly dense, highly coded vintage reference chart one can easily decipher and enjoy with the assistance of the zoom function on your phone’s camera. But getting to the meat of the guide: there are over 300 pages of serious scholarship, listing thousands of growers, painstakingly arranged across nearly every wine-producing region imaginable. Burgundy? Of course. Uruguay? Naturally. Tasmania? Please do not insult this editor. If there’s a vineyard anywhere from Oregon to Outer Mongolia, odds are editor Margaret Rand has squeezed it in here somewhere. Think of it as wine’s answer to the Oxford English Dictionary, except it fits in your bag or possibly a front pouch if wearing overalls.
Like its predecessors, this edition isn’t just a hefty slog through names and regions. The editors know to sneak in a treat, rewarding faithful returning audiences. This year, the prize is an afterword on the economics of wine: how wine is priced, the production costs of operating a winery and its vineyards, wine as a luxury commodity, and more. Rand also selects 12 wines to look out for in 2026, all priced sensibly and featuring a wide range of varietals and countries. To her credit, Rand’s tone keeps the book from drowning entirely in its own earnestness. She sneaks in warmth and wit between statistics and sub-regions: good-natured moments to remind readers written for humans by humans, and not catalogued by robots.
This is also not the kind of book for casual skimming while binging the latest season of Slow Horses. It demands patience and attention. In the age of endless algorithm-driven recommendations, the reference guide feels a bit defiant: the opposite of a website where listicles like “We Asked 40 Bartenders At Gunpoint To Name 100 Boxed Wines That Taste Like Autumn Leaves In A Trashbag” reign as the supreme source of content. Here, there are no shortcuts. Want to learn? You’ll work for it. And grow from the effort.
So yes, the font is still too small, the heft still considerable, and the subject matter remains stubbornly unglamorous. But it is also indispensable. For students, professionals, or anyone wanting to stretch beyond boxed wine or supermarket deals, this guide continues to feel less like a book and more like a rite of passage. Year after year, it reminds readers that wine is vast, complicated, and maybe just a tad bit absurd in its pageantry. All this to say: The Pocket Book earns its keep and your coin for another year. You’ll grumble at it, mock the font size, and swear up and down that the same information can be located online. But when you actually need answers, the kind the internet won’t deliver without a fight, you’ll be back, and thankful.
A- / $18
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