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Dream On: A Demi-Memoir
Author: David Smith
ISBN: 0704371995
Publisher: Quartet Books
Price: £18.50
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This is a curious book. David Smith is a journalistic and political heavyweight, as former war and foreign correspondent for ITN and then Director of the United Nations Information Centre. But a suspected cardiac arrest in Washington DC caused him to reassess the frantic pace of his life and, along with his Argentine wife, Sonia, he decided to plant a vineyard in Mendoza and become a winemaker - just as the global downturn stacked all of the cards against him. So all the pieces are there to assemble a riveting story that takes in not only the great big wine adventure as he struggles to make a great wine and bring it to market, but Smith's many, many front-line stories from some of the world's most profound news events of the past few decades. And therein lies the problem with this book: Smith adopts a cinematic device to tell his story by including many flashbacks to his past, triggered by events in the present. Thus, waking up to a freak rainstorm that threatens to ruin his first ever grape harvest sends him spinning back 30 years to famine in drought-ridden Uganda, and several pages follow on how his story brought the situation in Africa to the world's attention. Both are fascinating stories, but for me the book loses all of its tension and much of its rhythm by this constant seguing between his various lives. It is not just his subject matter that changes constantly, but it seems to me his writing style and tone. The wine chapters really capture his obvious excitement and nervous anticipation, whilst he must present the political and war chapters with more gravitas and formality. With amusing anecdotes from his past thrown in too, there are at least three separate books in here. For me that's just how this material should have been treated, as Smith's fascintating former life seems to have little that informs his new one. As I say, a curious book, but one I still enjoyed reading.

French Vineyards (Special Places to Stay)
Author: Patrick Hilyer
ISBN: 1906136262
Publisher: Alastair Sawday's
Price: £19.99
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I don't suppose author Patrick Hilyer had any idea that Staying at the Châteaux, a feature he wrote for wine-pages in 2007, would end up spawning this terrific guide to staying in gîtes, guesthouses and châteaux across rural France. Part of a range of titles under the banner 'Special Places to Stay' published by Alastair Sawday, it is a lovely and extremely well thought-out book that takes each of France's main wine producing areas in turn, and introduces each with a map showing major roads and locations of the properties, background and main attractions of the region, and finally detailed appraisals of a dozen or so special places on working wine estates where guests are welcome. In a nice touch, restaurateur and wine-lover Patrick also recommends the best wines of the estates for you to enjoy whilst you are there. But like all of Sawday's books, this is really about the places to stay and the people behind them, so the assessments concentrate not only on the practicalities - numbers of bedrooms, facilities and proximity to local attractions and so on - but on trying to capture the spirit and ambience of each location and its owners (almost all are family-run). So the furnishings, gardens, style, food, even resident pets are described in detail, and unlike many guide books, there's a strong feeling that the person writing really has been here and observed, perhaps even absorbed, a little of what makes each place special. Highly recommended for those planning a visit to France.

Been Doon so Long
Author: Randall Grahm
ISBN: 0520259564
Publisher: University of California Press
Price: £24.95
buy at Amazon for £18.81

Those who've read the label notes on a bottle of Bonny Doon or Ca' del Solo, the twin labels of Californian winemaker Randall Grahm, will already know that things work a little differently on planet Grahm. This weighty, hard-backed book is subtitled 'A Randall Grahm Vinthology', and as Hugh Johnson says in the foreword "I was baffled at first. Then I saw his feelings about Chardonnay turn into biting satire and his views on scoring explode into righteous wrath, while all the time he was laughing - sometimes hysterically - and I laughed too. Then I started to ponder. So, I promise, will you." This is a singular new addition to the annals of wine writing, flitting between prose and poetry, comic strips and serious research, celebration and invective. Learning how Randall dealt with not being invited to participate in the 'New York Wine Experience' is hilarious, and typical of the off-the-wall but incisive mind of one of wine's great originals. Fabulous stuff, and a beautifully produced and illustrated book.

Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine
Author: Simon Hoggart
ISBN: 1844007421
Publisher: Quadrille
Price: £12.99
buy at Amazon for £6.87

Guardian readers will know Simon Hoggart as the most acerbic parliamentary sketch-writer in the business. He is also wine correspondent of the Spectator, and runs its wine club, giving it a couple of energetic plugs in this book. It's an alphabetical list book of the author's hundred favourite wine estates or types of wine (not wines, despite the subtitle '100 Wines for the Discerning Drinker', since there are no specific vintages). Entries range from Spain's Albariño to a generic entry on German wine to a host of individual producers, and there is an all-time Top Ten, again without any particular vintages. This is Hoggart's first wine book, and it falls, as many first efforts do, between two stools. On the one hand, it aims to introduce keen wine-buyers to some very illustrious names while, on the other, giving them much entry-level advice about what the labels say, how not to be afraid of sommeliers, how to open fizz, and so forth. Hoggart isn't much of a one for florid wine-speak, as he honestly avers, but relies more on gestural approbation - 'terrific', 'incredible', 'glorious'. That said, most of the advice is sound, there are plenty of entertaining personal anecdotes, and only the odd silly solecism. 'The test of a great champagne is its flavour after it's gone flat'. Try that with your next bottle of Pol Roger. (review by Stuart Walton)

Andrew Jefford's Wine Course
Author: Andrew Jefford
ISBN: 1845977238
Publisher: Ryland Peters
Price: £19.99
buy at Amazon for £12.25

OK, first thing to say is that this book has been out for several months but I just never got round to reading or reviewing it. Covering similar ground as existing books by the likes of Jancis Robinson and Michael Schuster is not an easy task, yet Jefford is a hugely respected writer and one of the world's deepest thinkers on the subject of wine, so anything to which he puts his name will have merit. Here 20 chapters split into sections called 'The Tools', 'The Elements' and 'The Journey' which cover both the mechanics of how to taste and what to look for, but also as befits a writer like Jefford, much background information and more in-depth analysis of why wines from various grapes, regions and cultures taste as they do.

Absolute Corkers
Author: Ned Halley
ISBN: 1845298535
Publisher: Constable
Price: £7.99
buy at Amazon for £4.74

Having had the pleasure of spending a week in Ned Halley's company on a trip a couple of years ago I can tell you he is great fun with a whimsical and often outrageous mind that has turned itself to writing over 30 books, including many for children. But in that time he has also been a wine columnist and writer, and this excellent little paperback is an amusing and very easy to read collection of anecdotes and funny stories with a vinous bent. One of those terrific little books for dipping in and out of, it nevertheless is well-researched and reveals something surprising - even illuminating - on every page.

The Best Wines in Supermarkets
Author: Ned Halley
ISBN: 0572035357
Publisher: Foulsham
Price: £7.99
buy at Amazon for £5.04

Mr Halley has been busy, and the second of his Christmas books is a much more orthodox, and I have to say, much less successful wine buying guide. That's not to say there is anything wrong with his choices or opinions, it's just that the days of wine recommendation books in print really are long gone. The jacket says "offers enough wines of character to last you a whole year", but event a cursory bit of research shows that many recommended wines are already out of stock or have changed vintage. Such is the reality of print publishing lead times: the web is the only way forward for this genre.

Pocket Wine Book 2010
Author: Oz Clarke
ISBN: 1862058636
Publisher: Pavilion
Price: £9.99
buy at Amazon for £5.56

Slugging it out each year with the Old Master, Hugh Johnson, Oz's version of the annual Pocket Wine Book probably wins on approachability. Johnson is erudite and essential, but Clarke's enthusiastic, passionate and fun style really does comes through even in a book such as this, essentially a densely-packed, A - Z treasure-trove of information on wines, regions, producers and styles. For an entry like 'Penfolds' for example, not only is there an update on the status and position of the company and its wines, but a run through of best wines, vintages and styles, all tersely packed into a quarter page. Great, great value and a useful companion.

Let me Tell you about wine
Author: Oz Clarke
ISBN: 1862058652
Publisher: Pavilion
Price: £14.99
buy at Amazon for £8.73

As the most prolific of the UK's wine book authors, it's no surprise to have a second title from Oz in my Christmas list, and it is really rather good. It's Oz at his best in many ways, demystifying wine and offering a beginner's guide that is sensible, useful, yet easy to read and delivered without any pomp or undue ceremony. Everything from how to open Champagne, to how to get the best from restaurant wine lists, to a run-through of the world's great regions is covered in this illustrated hard-back. There's nothing here that hasn't been covered before by others, but if you are looking for a general purpose beginner's or reference guide to wine, then look no further as this presses all the buttons.

The Finest Wines of Tuscany
Author: Nicolas Belfrage MW
ISBN: 1845134877
Publisher: Aurum Press
Price: £20.00
buy at Amazon for £12.48

Michael Edwards' The Finest Wines of Champagne (below) was my 'Book of the Month' for December 2009, and from the same series of titles co-published by The World of Fine Wine magazine comes this terrific look at the wines of Tuscany and central Italy. The format and structure is very similar, with Jon Wyand's excellent photography bringing each producer and estate to life, and Nicolas Belfrage's words so obviously coming from the heart of someone who so clearly lives and breathes these wines and the people who make them. Immensely detailed, this book - as befits a Word of Fine Wine title - packs an enormous amount into its 320 pages.

The Finest Wines of Champagne

Author: Michael Edwards
ISBN: 1845134869
Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd
Price: £20.00
buy at Amazon for £12.50

The UK can proudly boast two of the greatest living authorities on Champagne in the shape of Tom Stevenson and Michael Edwards. Not only are both men extraordinarily knowledgeable writers, but they are passionate lovers of Champagne too, and in Michael Edwards case, of grower Champagnes in particular. Of the 21,000 growers in the area, more and more are making their own Champagnes rather than simply handing over grapes to the local cooperative or selling to large houses, and Michael Edwards' book is a wonderful celebration of a region that in many ways is one of Europe's most dynamic, and yet deeply traditional. Published in conjunction with Fine Wine magazine, the book's 320 pages are beautifully illustrated by photgrapher John Wyand, but Edwards' writing and passion for the subject are what drives it. He takes a terroir-based approach, moving geographically through the region, with 90 immensely detailed profiles of the best small growers. These are as thoughtful as they are incisive, revealing something of the personalities behind the wines. Due space and respect is devoted to the great houses too of course, and for all there are tasting notes on the best wines and vintages. Edwards' writing style is authoritative but easy and discursive, and the love he has for these wines and this region screams from the page. The growers and houses featured are simply the author's favourites, and his regular travels through the region lead to dining and travel sections, vintage guides and a personal 'top 100' list of favourite Champagnes. This is an important work, not just for the detailed information it contains, but in the way the author's obvious joy for his subject is captured on every page. It left me anxious to discover these wines for myself. Bravo.

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Book

Author: Harry Karis
ISBN: 9789081201711
Publisher: Kavino Publishing
Price: €69.00
Buy this book direct from Kavino Publishing

The name Gilbert Kaplan will be familiar to some readers. Kaplan is the amateur music lover who became so obsessed with just one work - the complex, sprawling second symphony by Gustav Mahler - that after devoting years of intensive study to it, he began to conduct it with orchestras. Not only did he manage to get through one of the world's most complex musical works, but critics and Mahler authorites recognised his interpretation as a profound one. Kaplan went on to become the recognised authority on the piece, to perform it around the world with major orchestras and to record the best-selling version of all time. The parallels between Kaplan and the author of this book, restaurateur Harry Karis, are obvious. Karis is a true amateur du vin, who's discovered the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape relatively late in life, becoming so engrossed by the wines that he devoted years of his life to studying the region, finally producing not just a book on the subject, but one which is already being touted as the definitive study. In his introduction to the book Robert Parker says it is the book "I wish I had written in my wildest dreams". This is a monumental work, the size and weight of a small tombstone, its 488 lavishly presented pages are every inch the equal to the second symphony's 90-piece orchestra, two choirs and assorted soloists. But a magum opus needs more than just scale; it needs quality too, and Karis' book is an extrordinary feat. It has hugely detailed content, terrifically clear and useful maps, and masses of technical information on soils, geography, vintages and more. Domaine profiles form the bulk of the book, and this family affair is completed with some fine photography by Karis' son, Phil. This is not just an extraordinary book that delves deep into even the most obscure corners of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but it is a truly remarkable acheivement. Gilbert Kaplan stayed true to his love of Mahler's 2nd, devoting his life to refining his understanding of this one work. It would not surprise me if Harry Karis' epic is the start of a similar lifetime obsession.

Title: Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, 7th Edition

Author: Robert Parker
ISBN: 1405326395
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Price: £60.00 (buy at Amazon £35.97)

30% off - £ The new edition of the single most influential wine book in the known universe. Parker is a phenomenon: his seal of approval can make a winery, but even a mild expression of disappointment can have a devastating effect on sales - such is his influence. It is a massive tome, now split into two volumes, bound together in a card slip cover; a comprehensive round-up of the world's wine output, with scores awarded to all wines tasted as well as full notes. Each of the world's wine regions is taken in turn, and all the important producers listed alphabetically with a run-down of their wines. Parker has broadened his horizons considerably with this edition, for the first time supplementing his usual focus on France and California to allow more than a brief paragraph or two on Austria, Australia and New Zealand. The Guide remains the essential reference work for those seeking guidance in buying or drinking fine wines.

How to Drink

Author: Victoria Moore
ISBN: 1847080200
Publisher: Granta Books
Price: £15.99
buy at Amazon for £7.19

It's not easy to come up with a new book format or novel take on the subject of wine. Wine has been covered so well and so often, that attempts to do something 'different' often fall flat. But Victoria Moore and her publishers have cracked it here, with a genuinely fresh approach that is not only entertaining, but informative and occasionally challenging. This is a book about drink - not just wine, and not just alcohol. It attempts to give the liquid part of a meal, if not centre stage, then at least equal billing. Drinks in this book - from the best gin gimlet, to the best Mocha coffee, to the best wine with Manchego cheese - are always put in a context of the food to be eaten, the occasion to be marked or the season to be celebrated. Essentially it attempts to point you to the best, most authentic, most satisfying example of just about every drink in the known universe. Moore guides you to the best rum and cigar combinations, how to make your own elderflower cocktail or the best white wines to drink with a platter of fruits de mer. It is liberally sprinkled with food and drink recipes, snippets of history, and words of wisdom that puncture drink shibboleths or explain exactly why some things work, and others don't. The book is arranged in snappy sections and bite-sized sub-sections for easy dipping, but there is enough quality information to also give the book a meaty substance. Well done Victoria Moore and Granta.

The Wine Report 2009

Editor: Tom Stevenson
ISBN: 1405332956
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Price: £9.99
buy at Amazon for £6.49

As usual I declare an interest here, as I have contributed to every edition of this annual guide since it appeared in 2003. I am thrilled to be involved with what remains the most innovative of the annual wine guides for the serious wine lover. Compiled by over 40 writers, specifically hand-picked by Tom for their authority on their subjects, it presents a round up of news and opinion on their specialist regions. This most authoritative book is as indespensible a reference work as any, and packs a mass of expert information into a massive 351 pages. Many commentators regard it as the essential guide, complete with detailed region-by-region vintage assessments and run downs not just on producers and wines, but on the factors that are shaping and influencing the wine output of the world's wine regions. Where else is the wine scene of Switzerland, Luxembourg or Missouri give such detailed attention? This depth of expert information is available nowhere else that I know of, from writers including Clive Coates, Huon Hooke, David Peppercorn and Nicolas Belfrage. Each chapter also includes the expert's top 10s for Best Quality, Fastest Improving and Best Value producer. Astonishing value this book given the huge amount of love, care and knowledge on every page, and yes, it justifies the title of 'indispensable'.

The Oxford Companion to Wine 3rd Edition

Editors: Jancis Robinson
ISBN: 0198609906
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Price: £40.00
buy at Amazon for £25.99 (free delivery)

The extensive updates (hundreds of brand new entries and all remaining text completely revised) must have been a massive task for Jancis Robinson and her expert team of contributors. This is an absolute bible for the serious wine enthusiast. More than 4,000 entries cover every aspect of wine, from history and evolution, to viticulture, to explanations of the most obscure technical wine terms. Everything is imbued with a tremendous sense of authority but carries a lightness of touch that bears testimony to Robinson's vast knowledge and ability to distil and present complex subjects clearly and concisely. The book is fully illustrated with maps, technical diagrams and photographs. It is always digestible, despite the minute detail which some subjects deserve, and are given. Essential.

Château Monty

Author: Monty Waldin
ISBN: 1906032289
Publisher: Portico
Price: £16.99
buy at Amazon -40%

Given the TV series and book it would be easy to assume Monty Waldin is a work of fiction. In fact, Waldin is a serious journalist and author who has a long-standing committment to organic wines and who has published other, less 'celebrity' books on the subject in the past. So there is genuine enthusiasm for the subject and credibility for the main star here, yet nagging doubts remain - not just about this book - but about the whole project. Ostensibly Waldin is presented as a dreamer and a passionate advocate of organics and biodynamics, who is living the dream and putting his money - indeed his whole life - where his mouth is. He takes over a vineyard in the Roussillon, and sets about converting it to Biodynamic farming to make the best wine he can. My first problem is with the book itself, which falls somewhat uncomfortably between text-book and amusing autobiographical yarn. That makes some of it seem contrived, like a whole treatise on biodynamism presented as a conversation between Monty and his girlfriend Silvana, that could simply have never have happened. The whole packaging of 'Monty the product' makes me feel a bit uneasy too: how does this great idealistic biodynamic quest square with the book, the TV show and wine all being launched simultaneously, the camera crew flying out to France to film, the PR machine in full swing, etc. So why Book of the Month? Well, despite all of this the book is a worthwhile read, and in bringing such an esoteric subject to a mainstream audience, is achieving something few other wine-related titles have managed.

Tokaj

Author: David Copp
ISBN: 9638752432
Publisher: PxB
Price: £10.95
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It is pretty clear from the moment you open the jacket of this colourfully illustrated and passionately written book that the author has a deep love not only for the wines of Tokaj, but for Hungary's Tokaji wine country. The first double picture spread may be a detailed map of the wine region, but then the people, places and sights of Tokaji gain just as much importance. The first third of the book is a thorough primer on the wines of Tokaj, covering everything from history and geography, through discussion of Tokaj terroir, and extensive explanations of Tokaji's viticulture, winemaking and styles. Food matching and vintage guideliines are all present and correct. The middle section of the book is a wine and food-related travel guide pure and simple, with practical advice, addresses and itineraries. Finally, the producers are discussed in detail, with all their contact information, but also assessements of their operations and the wines produced. Remarkably comprehensive, there is also guidance on experiencing the best of Hungarian food and wine for the visitor to Budapest, and a suggested list of further reading. This is one of those boks that will obviously have most appeal to anyone planning a visit to the region, but it is highly readable in its own right. The author's obvious committment makes it an easy recommendation.

Wine Brands

Author: Evelyne Resnick
ISBN: 0230554032
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Price: £25.00
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Subtitled 'Success Strategies for New Markets, New Consumers and New Trends' I found marketing expert Evelyne Resnick's new book totally absorbing. Resnick is the perfect hybrid to understand how wine brands can be successfully marketed to the 'new consumer'. French-born, Resnick gained a PhD at the Sorbonne, then married an American and began teaching at the University of California in Los Angeles, before founding a company in charge of the online marketing strategies for famous wine names including châteaux Haut-Brion and Palmer. This scholarly but very readable book examines what is needed to market wines not just in new markets, like Russia and the 'Tiger Economies', but to a new generation of wine lovers who have grown up with the Web, iPods and Satellite TV. As someone who has not only made my living through writing about wine on the Internet, but commentating on the ups and downs of selling wine on the Web, I found the book's plethora of charts, tables, statistics and facts to be fascinating. But even more intriguing are the interviews and case studies that make up the bulk of Resnick's research. In chapters like 'Birth of the New Wine Consumer', and 'Traditional Marketing verses Web Marketing' she goes deeply into how wine communication and marketing have each adapted and fed from each other, studying online advertising and the influence of magazines, blogs and the rest. Though I'm not in the wine selling business, I found this book to be packed with interesting information and new ways of thinking not just about wine marketing, but about how wine information is communicated and how it fits in today's culture and society. Wine Brands really is a valuable new resource.

A Traveller's Wine Guide to France

Author: Christopher Fielden
ISBN: 1905214367
Publisher: Chastleton Travel
Price: £12.99
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In these days of Blackberries, Google, online maps and a host of travel-related web sites this book is somewhat old-fashioned, both in its concept, and its execution. It is massively detailed and meticullously researched, and somehow its proper, well-educated, and very English voice invokes the travel guides of a different era. Yet for all that, there is something deeply likeable about this book, as Fielden takes you on a journey through the vineyard roads of a France that he so obviously loves. From Alsace to Corsica, and from Bordeaux to Savoie, there are thorough chapters that will guide you through towns, villages and famous vineyards, with suggestions along the way of not only wineries to visit, but things to do, restaurant, hotels, and important historical and geographical attractions. Facts are plentiful (addresses, opening hours, roads and directions) and there's plenty of background information and opinion on the "must sees" of each region. You will undoubtedly manage a summer holiday in the wine regions without this guide, but I can also throroughly recommend it as a useful and amiable companion, and who know - perhaps the last of a dying breed.

The Wine Diet

Author: Roger Corder
ISBN: 1847440037
Publisher: Sphere
Price: £9.99
buy at Amazon for £6.49

'The Wine Diet' might sound like one in a series of fad diet titles, but unlike other 'diet doctors' (whose academic titles turn out to have been bought on ebay for a fiver), Roger Corder is the real deal: a research scientist whose life's work has been the study of food and its impact on health. Corder's particular focus has been wine in recent decades, and this book is an approachable distillation of his findings and beliefs, gathered together and expressed in plain English. It is a diet book - complete with eating plans and pages of recipes - but it is also an enthralling look at the particular properties of wine and their beneficial impact on health, and how that manifests itself in cultures around the world. Corder gets down to specfics too, with a chapter of wine recommendations, country by country, where he rates regions, grapes, producers and even individual wines on his own one to five scale. Although this scale is actually for the wine's effectiveness in preventing disease and promoting health, principally on its level of Procyanidins, Corder obviously knows his wines and he tends to favour the better producers whose wines fit the profile. Chapters on other foodstuffs that are also rich in Procyanidins (like quality dark chocolate and cranberries), on debunking some food and health myths, and his holistic but rarely 'preachy' approach to nutrition and health make this book thoroughly enjoyable and convincing. Is this the holy grail for wine lovers? Well it is an excellent book that is very readable - and I will report back on the diet's effectiveness at some point!

The World's Greatest Wines

Authors: Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve
ISBN: 1584795573
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Price: £24.95
buy at Amazon for £16.46 (free delivery)

"Lavish", is descriptor for a new book (on any subject) that can be bright red warning flag, where the quality of glossy paper, even glossier photography, and heavyweight hardback binding cannot compensate for inadequacies in the content. But to be fair on the hugely influential authors of this book, world authorities Bettane and Desseauve, although The World's Greatest Wines is a more coffee table browser than serious reference tome, it is a most enjoyable book to flick through at one's leisure. In it, the authors choose their favourite wines from amongst the world's elite estates, and tell us something about the place, people and wines. 600 elegant pages and 170 colour plates.

Need to Know? Wine

Author: Julie Arkell
ISBN: 000720468X
Publisher: Collins
Price: £9.99
buy at Amazon for £6.59

Julie Arkell is a hugely enthusiastic communicator on wine, and here she brings her unstuffy, approachable style to bear in a book for Collins' 'Need to Know?' series. This is a practical guide to wine, not dealing with the esoteric, and aimed more at the newer enthusiast with a thirst for learning about how wine is made, how to recognise a wine's aromas and flavours, how to taste, wine and food matching and so on. This sort of book has been done a thousand times before of course, but Julie's style and the user-friendly layout and illustrations of this series make this one of the better attempts at the genre.

Windows on the World Wine Course

Author: Kevin Zraly
ISBN: 1402726392
Publisher: Sterling
Price: £16.99
buy at Amazon for £11.42

This US book is regarded as a classic in the States, and is one of the all-time best-selling wine books. This new edition is being made available in the UK for the first time, and is a refreshing and welcome addition to the wine bookshelves. Zraly is a sommelier who created one of the world's best wine lists and a whole business around it, at the Windows on the World restaurant, destroyed in the tragedy of the World Trades Centre collapse in New York. The book, a thorough course on understanding and appreciating wine, may be slightly US-centric in some of its material, but it is a terrific and successful wine course by any measure. Zraly peppers each page with nuggets of anecdote, information and amusing facts that not only make the book a breeze to work through, but cleverly instil lots of knowledge as you do so.

A Matter of Taste

Editor: John Hurley
ISBN: 0752434020
Publisher: Tempus Publishing
Price: £20.00
buy at Amazon for £13.20

Sub-titled 'The History of Wine Drinking in Britain', I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would, fearing initially that it would be bone-dry in style. Instead, author Jon Hurley (who works in the wine trade but who's previous book was on the history of bare-knuckle fighting) has written a very thorough and comprehensive history book, but has peppered his text with irreverent tales of dirty goings on in the wine trade, frauds and back-firing marketing ploys, that keeps it engaging and easy to read. There are nicely done illustrations, from paintings and photographs to labels and advertising materials that bring many of the points in his timeline to life.

Champagne

Editor: Don and Petie Kladstrup
ISBN: 006073793X
Publisher: Tempus Publishing
Price: £16.99
buy at Amazon for £5.28 (paperback)

The Kladstrups also wrote 'Wine and War' a tale I really enjoyed that looked at how winemaking survived the Second World War. This book follows in a broadly similar vein, being sub-titled 'How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times'. Here, the timescale spans from Attila the Hun up to 1945 again, meeting as it does notable characters who influenced, or were noticeable champions, for Champagne, from Dom Pérignon to Louis XIV of France, to Napoleon Bonaparte. This is a worthwhile follow-up to Wine and War, though perhaps with a slightly narrower appeal.

John Platter's South African Wines 2009

Editor: Philip van Zyl
ISBN: 0958450676
Publisher: John Platter SA Wine Guide
Price: £11.45
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There can be few more exciting and fast-changing wine countries in the world than South Africa, with new producers, wines, and even whole new territories springing up in a constant stream. There is also no wine area in the world that is so well-served by such a minutely detailed and all-encompassing annual guide. John Platter is now the figurehead of this guide only, with a dozen tasters and contributors responsible for the content. That is not surprising; even in the five or six years that I have been buying the guide, it has thickened remorselessly, to its current 612 pages. There are thousands of wines listed with a quality assessment, tasting notes for all their recent releases, and useful background information including contact details. The book also has maps, production figures, grape guides and a lot more.

Cork Jester's Guide to Wine

Author: Jennifer Rosen
Publisher: Emmis Books
Price: £7.84
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Jennifer Rosen, a.k.a The Cork Jester, is the wine columnist for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, and declares amongst her other interests belly dancing and part-time trapeze artist. She appears to be a 'colourful character', which in my sceptical mind often translates as 'irritating'. However, I have nothing but praise for this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and which not only raised a smile on every page, but actually taught me a few things as well. Rosen certainly has a witty, pithy and occasionally acerbic style, that is given carte blanche in this collection of essays that covers all aspects of wine and wine controversy. Rosen clearly knows her stuff inside out on topics like biodynamics, vine diseases, cork vs screwcap and the rest, but it is the refreshing and opinionated style of the writing that carries the reader along enthusiastically. Combining 'entertainment' with interesting, factually accurate information is a marriage that often doesn't work out, but Rosen's book is a little cracker that's a breeze to read and would be of interest to the relative novice or more experienced wine lover.

Cracking French Wine

Author: Hugh Thurlow Baker
Publisher: Cracking It Ltd
Price: £9.99
buy at Amazon for £6.59

Cracking French Wine is a small, slim, pocket diary-sized volume that aims to be an "A-Z for French wine". Whilst most books aiming to make sense of France's myriad appellations, producers, grapes and classifications are weighty reference tomes, this little book is succinct, but very cleverly arranged so that access to useful information is easy to find. The entire wine map of France is dissected region by region, and within each, grape by grape. So the page titled "Languedoc Roussilon" and sub titled "white: Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc" goes on to describe the style of wines made from these grapes in this region, and then to a handy list of appelations in the region and their general price points. There is a list of "also try" alternatives from neighbouring regions, or just wines in a similar style from other French regions. Each chapter starts with a map of the region under the spotlight, and the end of each chapter has a list of recommended producers. This appears to be a list of the generally accepted top performers rather than a hugely insightful list of discoveries, but those finding themselves in Irouléguy and wondering whose wine to try, will still find that very useful.

The Emperor of Wine

Author: Elin McCoy
Publisher: Grub Street
Price: £20.00
buy at Amazon for £13.20

Even though some ephemeral popstars are onto their second "life story" before they are 20, it is still surprising to see that a wine critic can be the subject of a biography. But Robert Parker is no ordinary critic, and more ink has been spent analysing him, than all other wine tasters put together. The first thing to say about McCoy's book is that it is a brilliant read and terrific piece of research. Is it unbiased? I'm not so sure about that: Parker certainly cooperated with the author, but whilst the more contentious episodes of his glittering career are not shirked, his side of the story is presented quite forcibly. But this intelligent and searching book paints a vivid picture of the man that is not always flattering, and looks at how a changing world of wine created Parker, before Parker went on to change the world of wine. There are references to juicy episodes were players in scandals, arguments and hissy-fits surrounding Parker get to put their case, and there are very measured assessments of Parker's influence and the effect he has had on wine today. The book is written in page-turning style, and in chronicaling events throughout Parker's life McCoy has managed to give the reader a much greater insight into the personality of Parker, and what makes him tick. But more than that, this book touches on the entire development of wine over the past 30 years - indeed it is a book that explores wine's role in a broad social context through the last decades of the 20th century.

The Vine Garden

Author: Alex Dingwall-Main
Publisher: Ebury press
Price: £7.99
buy at Amazon -20%

Not my usual 'hard core' wino choice, but a delicious book that is just a really good read, like a flower-filled and more genteel update of the movie Sideways. In this case we swap the fictional Miles, for the factual Dingwall-Main, a highly successful landscape garden designer living and working in France for the past seven years. Dingwall-Main is at a crossroads in his life: not certain that his life in France was what he really wanted, and flirting with a professional and emotional mid-life crisis (one suspects). A wealthy and insightful client gives him an empty wine case as a gift, with a list of Châteaux with wonderful gardens. The client suggests that Dingwall-Main gets on the road, to discover more about the gardens of France, wine, the French way of life and, ultimately, himself. His challenge is to fill the case with one bottle each from his most memorable visits, upon which the client will meet him, pay for the wine, and drink it with him. There follows a diary of the journey, which is full of amusing stories and beautiful evocations of the gardens featured. A very readable book, with a poignant sting in its tail.

Wines of Lebanon Author: Michael Karam Publisher: Saqi Books Price: £25.00 buy at Amazon -30%

Guide to Israeli Wines Author: Daniel Rogov Publisher: Toby Press £9.95 buy at Amazon -30%

What a coincidence that this fascinating pair of books about Middle Eastern wines should appear within a few months of each other, even though the books themselves are like chalk and cheese. Michael Karam's Wines of Lebanon is a large-format hardback, luxuriating over several hundred glossy pages, and comprehensively illustrated with full-colour photography (in fact, photographer Norbert Schiller shares the front cover credits). It is a celebratory book that tells the story of wine in the Lebanon during its 5,000 year history, both in terms of social, cultural and religious history, and with individual profiles of the country's estates and wines. Château Musar, the Lebanon's most famous name, receives 20 in-depth pages, but in fact 16 estates are brought alive with knowledgeable and passionate writing, and Schiller's resonant photography. Daniel Rogov's terrifically comprehensive little book is a pocket-sized reference guide, that aims to be both comprehensive and definitive in its coverage of the Israeli wine scene today. It will be an annual edition. Yes, it has introductory chapters that briefly tell the history of wine production in Israel, but the meat of this book is given over to explaining the current state of play for wine in Israeli culture, and then on to assessments of all the producers, small, medium and large, and detailed assessments of their current vintages, complete with tasting notes and scores. .

Understanding Wine Technology

Author: David Bird
Publisher: DBQA Publishing
Price: £25.00
buy at Amazon for £22.50 with free delivery

David Bird is an analytical chemist who joined the wine trade in the 1970s, graduating as a Master of Wine in 1981. This book is very well-constructed, and the breakdown of its myriad topics into concise, digestible chunks of no more than a page or two each is extremely well thought through. This book is just packed with information that answered lots of questions I had about winemaking, and shed light on aspects of the science that I hadn't previously considered. Bird's writing style is friendly and easy going, so that even the weightiest chapters are clear and easy to read. This is not a book that looks at the philosophical or moral impact of wine technology. Though contentious subjects like reverse osmosis and cork taint are covered in some depth, it is in the context of factual, explanatory information. It is a very nicely produced book, and I found plenty of interest on evey page.

Treading Grapes

Author: Rosemary George
ISBN: 0593053451
Publisher: Bantam Press
Price: £15.00
buy at Amazon for £10.50

Rosemary George is well-known to wine-pages visitors as one of our key columnists, and for this, her latest book (subtitled " Walking Through the Vineyards of Tuscany") she combines her passion for the wines of Tuscany with her love of walking. Rosemary walked over 300 miles of Tuscany's most beautiful wine country in nine visits to the area, compiling as she did a diary not only of her adventures, but of addresses she could recommend for food, wine, sightseeing and general enjoyment of the area. Her focus in each, was wine of course, and visits to a multitude of producers in dozens of Tuscan regions form the core of the book. Here, the book comes into its own for wine buffs, as Master of Wine Rosemary covers much more in-depth information than most "touring the wine country"-type publications. This is expert guidance and assessment at its most open and accessible.

Wine into Words

Editor: James Gabler
ISBN: 0961352558
Publisher: Bacchus Press
Price: £40.00 (imported from USA)
buy at Amazon for £40.00 P+P Free

This huge tome of a book is subtitled "A History and Bibliography of Wine Books in the English Language" and that is aexactly what it is: an academic work of reference stretching to 500 large-format pages indexing 8,000 wine and wine-related books. All bibliographic details are included, as well as Gabler's short pen picture of author and content. It is an exhaustive and extraordinary compilation for those with a serious interest in wine litertature.

The Complete Guide to World Beers

Editor: Roger Protz
ISBN: 1844428656
Publisher: Carlton Books Books
Price: £19.99
buy at Amazon for £13.99

Roger Protz's all-new edition of The Complete Guide to World Beer has recently been published by Carlton Books. It is a brilliant and important book, but let me quote an independent source: Andrew Martin's review in the Guardian newspaper: "For a long time it bothered me that I didn't know how beer was made. Roger Protz is certainly the man to provide the answer. The Complete Guide to World Beer includes "The Art and Science of Beer Making", a "World A-Z of Beer", an analysis of the beer business, chapters on the culture and history of beer and more. The sheer beeriness of this book cannot really be overstated. There are recipes, supplied in many cases by beer experts, for dishes to be made with beer and eaten while drinking beer. The A-Z is relentlessly illuminating...This is a highly enjoyable guide, one that will bring power to the beer drinker's elbow, and some justification, too".

Peat Smoke and Spirit

Author: Andrew Jefford
ISBN: 0747227357
Publisher: Headline
Price: £18.99
buy at Amazon for £13.29

Andrew Jefford is best known as a wine writer, and as one of the most thoughtful and insightful communicators in the field. His book "The New France" won every literary drinks award going, and now he turns his attention to the island of Islay, possibly the most distinctive production area for Scotch Whisky. But this book is also about the land and the people of Islay: an affectionate, very readable history and travelogue, as well as being a thorough investigation of the island's distillers and whisky expressions.

Title: Oz Clarke's Australian Wine Companion

Author: Oz Clarke
ISBN: 0316728748
Publisher: Websters
Price: £14.99 (buy -30% at Amazon)

This new guide is a fabulous production. It is, if you will excuse the cliché, "lavishly illustrated" with quality photographs and the best wine region maps I've seen: relief panoramas that really give a sense of the contours and lie of the land for all of Australia's wine regions. The book begins in Oz's trademark chatty style, as we eavesdrop on tales of his love affair with Australia, before moving on to a terrifically thorough examination of the Australian wine industry, from grape varieties ("classics" and "future classics") to portraits of the movers and shakers of the industry, to dedicated chapters on each of Australia's regions. Qualitative analysis of all the major producers, wines and vintages are very stylish and contemporary, with label images and interesting facts in "Quickview" side panels. The guide ends with a great fact-file section on visiting the regions, and a useful breakdown of who-owns-what in the complex web of Australian corporations and their hunger for takeovers. A must for Aussie wine fans.

Title: I don't know much about wine...

Author: Simon Woods
ISBN: 184000844X
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
Price: £4.99 (buy at Amazon)

To get away with writing a book like this - hip and aiming to puncture many bits of wine myth and snobbery - takes a writer who is able to simplify rather than dumb-down, and who has the nous to chop his way through the thicket of politics and reverence that surrounds the subject. More than anything else, it takes a writer who really knows his stuff - well enough to forget much of it, and boil wine truths down to a simple, but concentrated essence. Simon Woods is just the right man for the job, and his track record gives him the necessary authority. This inexpensive little volume is bright and breezy in both design and presentation of material. Unlike some other attempts to sex-up the subject of wine, this one just works, partly because of Woods' chatty, informal and often very amusing writing style, and partly because the standard text-book explanations of grape growing, wine making, and even tricky concepts like terroir are done so lightly, yet so thoroughly. Such educational chapters are punctuated with top-ten lists, blunt opinion pieces and irreverent side-swipes at over-hyped wines, jargon and wine bores.

Title: Noble Rot - A Bordeaux Battle

Author: William Echikson
ISBN: 0393051625
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Price: £14.07

Noble Rot is a serious, contemplative look at the state of Bordeaux today in terms of the wines being made, the players involved, the influences that shape the wines, and the commercial forces behind them. Echikson gets under the skin of Bordeaux, contrasting the "new breed" of winemaking personalities against the aristocratic old-guard, and the influence of Robert Parker. It looks at what has changed in just a couple of decades, from centuries of much more slowly evolved tradition. It also unpicks the complex financial stiching of Bordeaux's suppy chain, and the history of how it was created. What Echikson seeks to do in the book is burrow to the core of Bordeaux, through inter-linked stories that weave through the book, like the battle over Château Yquem, the arrival of new-money upstarts in the shape of garagistes Michel Gracia and Gerard Perse, and the all-pervasive influence of Parker. Part history book, part pot-boiler, part forensic examination, the book is not always the lightest of reads, yet it is causing quite a stir amongst Bordeaux-lovers on both sides of the pond.

Title: Bordeaux

Author: Robert Parker
ISBN: 1405305665
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Price: £45 (buy at Amazon - 30%)

This has been one of my main reference books since I bought the 2nd edition in 1991. There are comprehensive reports on each vintage, the quality of individual appellations is assessed and the top wines within each are detailed. The bulk of the book is then given over to assessment of individual châteaux with extensive tasting notes on their wines. This new edition contains 400 extra pages, with new properties added and, of course, all the most recent vintages. Conclusions: There is considerable variation in Parker's updating of old notes, but if you are serious about this most famous of all wine regions and want reliable guidance to the vintages, châteaux and wines, then Parker really is a must.

Title: Beyond Baked Beans - Real Food for Students

Author: Fiona Beckett
ISBN: 1899791833
Publisher: Absolute Press
Price: £8.99 (buy with 20% off at Amazon)

Fiona Beckett is a passionate writer on food and wine, with a mission to improve and expand our cooking horizons, but with an approach that recognises real world constraints. The target audience for this book is students who want to eat well, but with a limited budget and limited time to spend in the kitchen. To that end, the book is split into sections to help first-time chefs set up a kitchen, shop for food, and master basic cookery techniques. Three chapters of recipes follow: Fuel, Favourites and Feasts. Fuel is a selection of one-pot, 30-minute recipes, but all using good quality inexpensive ingredients, fresh herbs and low fat cooking methods. Favourites is a selction of tried and trusted recipes ideal for students who cook on a rota basis. Feasts is where the real adventure begins, with everything from a full Sunday roast, to authentic Thai and Indian banquets. Wine and other alcohol is covered in "Beyond Bad Booze" which offers advice on wine, beers, spirits and cocktail recipes.

Title: Christie's Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine

Author: Tom Stevenson
ISBN: 1899791892
Publisher: Absolute Press
Price: £35 (buy at Amazon -30%)

Multi-award winning Champagne writer and wine-pages columnist Tom Stevenson has completely revised his seminal fizz encyclopedia for this new edition with 13,000 new wines tasted. The Wine Spectator said of this large format, full colour book "Stevenson's steely, critical eye makes this the definitive book on the world of vinous fizz", and nothing in this new edition seems to have blurred that focus. There are terrific reference sections including Champagne history, how sparkling wines are made, soil and climate, and storing and serving sparkling wines. Then the meat of the book begins; some 300 pages of immensely detailed and honest assessments of just about every Champagne and fizz producing house on the planet. Stevenson's relentless attention to detail means that, for example, 41 different New Zealand producers are scrutinised (about 25 more than I even knew existed) and one gets a real sense of what each house is about in terms of their philosophy and ultimate quality. He certainly pulls no punches in his descriptions and ratings. Highly recommended.

Title: Vintage Wine

Author: Michael Broadbent
ISBN: 0316859648
Publisher: Little, Brown
Price: £30 (buy at Amazon -20%)

Subtitled "50 Years of Tasting the World's Finest Wines", the irrepressible Michael Broadbent shows no sign of slowing down merely because he is in his 76th year: he is still a Director of Christie's wine auctions, still travels incessantly around the world to taste, and still communtes across London by bicycle. This book is a wonderful guide to 50-years worth of fine wine, region by region, wine by wine, but it is also warm and human, with a delightful anecdotes and wine wisdom sprinkled throughout. Broadbent is arguably the world's greatest living expert on fine and rare wines, and make no mistake; this is a serious and comprehensive tome with thousand upon thousand of reviews from this most educated palate. Who else would - or could - include a dozen full tasting notes for clarets of 1899! This is just a wonderful journey through a lifetime of tasting. Broadbent presents a charmingly old-school assessment, where wines are rated and judged on levels of structure and charm, each in the context of when they were tasted, and with whom.

Title: Wine and War

Authors: Donald and Petie Kladstrup
ISBN: 0340766786
Publisher: Coronet
Price: £7.99 (buy at Amazon -20%)

As a complete change to my usual diet of wine text books comes this life-affirming book that looks at the role played by France's vignerons in the second world war. When Hitler's personal cellar was opened at the end of the war, it contained half a million bottles of France's very best wines, from Latour, Lafite, et al. A stockpile of literally billions of bottles had been ammassed by the invaders to help finance the future of the Riech. The Kladstrups employ a style midway between historical novel and crime thriller to tell the tales of the ingenious ways the French fought, tricked and bribed their occupiers to retain this liquid gold, which was so vital to their economy. These range fro the owner of Paris's Tour d'Argent restaurant, who built false walls to conceal his most precious bottles, to inventive cellarmasters who covered their cheapest vin de table with fancy labels, dust and cobwebs so the Germans would make a beeline for them. All in all it is a terrific read for the wine lover.

Title: Greek Wines - A Comprehensive Guide

Author: Geoff Adams
ISBN: 0954203305
Publisher: Winemaster Publishing
Price: £7.99 (buy at Amazon -20%)

Geoff Adams is clearly a man possessed by the charms of Greek wines. His exhaustively well-informed book is aimed specifically at the UK market with comprehensive lists of UK stockists and importers of those wines currently available in this market. Greek winemaking has made huge strides in recent years, and many consumers have already discovered how good modern Greek wines can be through innovative retailers like Oddbins. Adams' book is an invaluable guide to seeking out the best Greek wines of the moment, and I'd thoroughly agree with his recommendations for those wines I've had a chance to try. Seventy-five producers are profiled in depth, with notes and ratings for their wines. There are also guides to Greek grapes (many of which are unfamiliar names) and to all of Greece's regions, including the many island wine areas. For those holidaying in Greece this summer, there is information on visiting, and there's even a selection of wine-friendly Greek food recipes.

Title: The Wines of the South of France

Author: Rosemary George
ISBN: 057119267X
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Price: £30.00 (buy at Amazon -20%)

Wine Pages columnist Rosemary George's new book on the wines of Southern France must have been a delight to research. She confesses to no less than 16 different visits in two years to this beautiful, historic and, above all, exciting wine region. The South has been the most explosively dynamic in France - perhaps Europe - over the past decade or so. This is a heavyweight book; literally with its 750 pages, and conceptually, with its comprehensive cataloguing and comparitively academic approach. There are few illustrations other than maps, and it is not a buying guide as such: no detailed tasting notes of various vintages. What it is, is a beautifully written exploration of the intricacies of the region, its people and the influences that have shaped and are shaping its wine industry. Hundreds of estates, winemakers and wines are lovingly described, and Rosemary's descriptive style conveys her enthusiasm vividly with excursions into history, geography and politics.

Title: The World Atlas of Wine

Editors: Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson
ISBN: 1840003324
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
Price: £35.00 (buy at Amazon -30% - £24.50)

It is astonishing how many of the truly indispensable wine reference books have been penned by Hugh Johnson or Jancis Robinson. For this new edition of the wine atlas the two have come together, creating a happy blend of erudition, passion and wonderfully clear style. With 30 pages more than its predecessor, there are new and expanded entries, and superb new maps. Completely re-drawn, these alone bear hours of study. The extent of updating since the previous 1994 edition touches all areas of the book. Whilst the entries for some regions, like Madeira, have been tinkered with to reflect a slow-changing scene, others have been completely revised: Chile for example has been re-written from scratch, and, having been summed up in a paragraph in 1994, Argentina now enjoys its own chapter. Old World sections also reflect a decade of change. Some have criticised a bias towards classic European regions. France luxuriates in 101 pages, whereas Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are covered in 22 pages - combined, but this remains an absorbing book

Title: Best Italian Wine

Author: Burton Anderson
ISBN: 0316857033
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Price: £18.99 (buy at Amazon -20%)

This charming little book is very desirable, with numerous illustrations, high-quality paper and a chunky feel in a compact format. It is fairly straightforward in its purpose: to introduce you to Burton Anderson's personal selection of over 200 of the best wines in Italy today. Anderson is undoubtedly one of world's great authorities on Italian wine, and in this most complex wine country it is also a celebration of the vast strides Italian wine has made in the past 20 years or so. It begins with a well-presented introduction to the Italian wine scene, then the vast majority of the book's 450 pages is devoted to double-page spreads on each of his chosen wines. There's a large photo of every bottle, and immensely detailed technical information on vineyards, vinification, serving and cellaring. On the opposite page is a vivid potted-history of the producer and the wine, contact details, vintages, prices and tasting notes.

Title: Concise Wine Companion

Editor: Jancis Robinson
ISBN: 0198662742
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Price: £9.99 (buy at Amazon -20%)

What a brilliantly simple and brilliantly obvious idea, yet no one has thought of it for the past decade! The wine nut's bible that is the Oxford Companion to Wine has been distilled into a handy paperback size that doesn't give you a hernia trying to lift it, yet retains its comprehensive authority. In the preface Jancis says editing down the original work was a formidible task, but it has been done very successfully. A large part of this has been the complete removal of the sections on wine-based spirits (brandy, eau-de-vie, etc) and fortified wines (sherry, port, etc). This leaves the book to cover the world of wine and winemaking in detail. Conclusions: Great idea beautifully executed. At under a tenner, an absolute must-have.

Title: Essential Winetasting Author: Michael Schuster ISBN: 1840002050 Pub: Mitchell Beazley £20.00 (buy at Amazon)

Title: Wine Tasting Workbook Author: Jancis Robinson ISBN: 1840911395 Publisher: Octopus £16.99 (buy at Amazon)

There are differences in approach taken by these authors: Schuster plays it very straight, getting down to business immediately with an explanation of how the book works and what you will learn from reading it. Robinson, on the other hand, sets out to entertain as well as educate: "drinking wine is a lot more fun than reading about it...this is a book for the thirsty". Essential Winetasting is a large-book, liberally illustrated with photographs and maps. It has extensive information on wine-making, geography and understanding labels, but the bulk of the book is focused on equipping the reader with winetasting skills: identifying faults; words to describe wines; training your palate to recognise sweetness, acidity and alcohol. The book finishes on a high-note, with a set of nine tasting practices using a selection of recommended wines. The Wine Tasting Workbook also contains much general reference material on wine grapes, styles, etc. but whilst Schuster's book treats these as a scene-setting exercise, this book is more integrated in its approach. For example, in the section on the Riesling grape, theoretical explanations of the grape's character are married to practical tasting tasks which illuminates the theory through sniffing and sipping. The book is peppered with tasting practices and games, fine llustration and photography. Both are recommended.

Title: Winetasting

Author: Michael Broadbent
ISBN: 1-84000-091-0
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
Price: £8.99 (buy at Amazon)

This is the classic wine-tasting reference book, regularly revised since the 1968 first edition. Broadbent's astute judgement and legendary palate has been proved in the harsh light of the commercial world, latterly as Chairman of Christie's International Wine Department. Information is densely packed into this little book to form a comprehensive, methodical guide to the subject. It is a detailed instruction manual that covers every aspect of organising a tasting event, from checklists of equipment, to suggested pouring orders, to the design of tasting-note sheets. Subjects such as scoring systems and blind-tasting are explored in depth. A superb reference point for beginner and expert alike.

Go to Part II of wine book reviews

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