One of the most useful portable all-round guides to wines, vintages, producers, grapes and wine regions, Oz Clarke"s Pocket Wine Book has always been a fount of down-to-earth wisdom and good sense. The 2001 edition comes along and is no exception. Seasoned punters who have gone the course with Oz will know what to expect--trenchant views, clearly expressed; encyclopaedic knowledge lightly worn; and second-hand access to what is said to be one of the finest noses in Europe. For an expert of his standing, Oz Clarke can be very refreshing at times. (On fizz: "I sometimes think it doesn"t matter what it tastes like as long as it"s cold enough and there"s enough of it".) Ease of use is among the great virtues of this little book: there"s no point flicking back and forth among the cross references when you"re standing in a crowded supermarket wine department. It"s simple to find what you want among the 1,600 entries once the single page of How To Use rules has been absorbed. New sections added for 2001 include a fascinating and highly eclectic selection of personal favourites, and a series of Wines of the Year categories--in effect, Top Tips, such as "World Class Wines that Won"t Cost the Earth", "Regions to Watch" and so on. Self-recommending, therefore, as always. --Robin Davidson