An extraordinary amount of information is packed into this little  pocket-sized reference, a constant companion for wine buffs and novices alike ever since it was first published 43 years ago, including food and wine pairings, vintage reports, grape varieties, some very good general bons mots from the author himself, and quite a lot of “a little learning”.   The wines of the world are covered in this single slim volume – the lion’s share goes to France – making it a whirlwind tour of the world of wine in engagingly breathless shorthand.  Entertaining snippets of information also find their way on to these pages (‘Meursault’ derives from Muris Saltis …), though no answer is given to the conundrum on the “R” page just above the Rives-Blanques entry : “Egg-shaped wine tank: coque au vin … or vin à la coque?