Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson
Robinson at home in 2010
Born	Jancis Mary Robinson (1950-04-22) 22 April 1950 (age 66) Cumbria, England
Occupation	Wine critic
Nationality	British
Subject	Wine
Notable awards	Order of the British Empire

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She also provides advice for the wine cellar of Queen Elizabeth II.

Robinson was born in Cumbria, studied mathematics and philosophy at St Anne's College, University of Oxford, and worked for a travel company after leaving university. Robinson started her wine writing career on 1 December 1975 when she became assistant editor for the trade magazine Wine & Spirit. In 1984, she became the first person outside the wine trade to become a Master of Wine. From 1995 until she resigned in 2010 she served as British Airways' wine consultant, and supervised the BA Concorde cellar luxury selection.

As a wine writer, she has become one of the world's leading writers of educational and encyclopedic material on wine and was described by Decanter magazine as 'the most respected wine critic and journalist in the world'. The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Robinson, is widely considered to be the most comprehensive wine encyclopedia in the world. The first edition was published in 1994, and took five years to write after she was signed on as editor in 1988. In addition, The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Robinson is one of the world's leading wine atlases.