What better place to start reading The 24-Hour Wine Expert than on a 24-hour flight from Australia to Europe, the homeland of vitis vinifera? British author Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, defines vitis vinifera in "Wine jargon", the glossary section of her easy-going volume, as "the European vine species responsible for almost all of the wine made today".

The 24-Hour Wine Expert describes the principal grape varieties, or cultivars, of vitis planted throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the places where they're grown and wines are made, and how wines should be – or can be – acquired, served and enjoyed.