Mapping the wine world

A classic guide from the 1970s changed the way we think about wine

Hugh Johnson’s Wine Atlas, published first in 1971, became the core reference work for the wine trade, wine lovers and wine education Pic: Getty

How did we come to understand the world of wine? At first, and for thousands of years, the route to wine knowledge was through religion and myth. The gods Bacchus (of Ancient Rome) and Dionysus (of Greece) each explained wine as a glorious gift from the gods, transforming benign fruit into a delicious, transformative elixir of life.

Many religions bring wine into their central texts, including wine-making rituals. The Catholic Church placed the ...