What wine books can you simply not do without in your reference library?
Do you have a “Top Ten” List?
Are there any wine books that have made a great impression and are special to you?
The World Atlas of Wine by John and Robinson is my only indispensable book in terms of reference.
Yes, that’s one of my top ten as well, together with Jancis Robinson’s “Oxford Companion to Wine”.
Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch is a good read.
I loved The Judgment of Paris and even have re-read it. Not nearly so much because of the California vs. France part (which is only a smaller part of the book, though that is colorful reading and good fun), but I found the stories of wine pioneers before and after the 1976 tasting to be very moving and informative.
I also enjoyed The Billionaire’s Vinegar, about the Jefferson bottles and all, though I did think the magazine article offered most of the same substance as the book did.
I get continued use out of “How To Pronounce French, German, and Italian Wine Names” by Diana Bellucci. Good bathroom reading to catch up on those producers, regions and so forth that you don’t know how to pronounce correctly.
I keep going back to the most recent Clive Coates tome on Burgundy. Great reference book.
Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route
Scruton, I Drink, Therefore I Am
Nossiter, Liquid Memory
Theise, Reading Between the Wines
De Villiers, The Heartbreak Grape
Dawson, Summer in a Glass
Wallace, The Billionaire’s Vinegar
Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar-Book
Healy, Stay Me With Flagons
Liebling, Between Meals
Shand, Book of French Wines
Kramer, Making Sense of Wine
Kramer, Making Sense of Burgundy
Kramer, Matt Kramer on Wine
Lambert-Gocs, Desert Island Wine
Gabler, Passions
Duijker, The Great Wine Chateaux of Bordeaux
Duijker, The Great Wines of Burgundy
Meadows, The Pearl of the Cote
Norman, The Great Domaines of Burgundy
To Keith’s excellent list I would add Jasper Morris’ new tome, Inside Burgundy.
-Steve
Methinks Keith reads too much. References are going to vary based upon tastes. For my tastes, the essential references are “Making Sense of Burgundy” by Matt Kramer and “Burgundy” by Anthony Hansen. I have added to my Burgundy library lately, but have not yet read some of the other recommended books. Also useful for European regions are the various wine atlases (Wine Atlas of Germany, Wine Atlas of Italy, etc.). For enjoyment, I will add to the list of recommendations for “Adventures on the Wine Route” by Kermit Lynch. One not mentioned yet that I enjoyed reading long ago was “Napa, the Story of an American Eden” by James Conway.
cheers,
fred
Morris, Insite Burgundy
Coates, Cote d’or
Jefford, The New france
Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
“Wine” by Andre Domine
Wine by Hugh Johnson.
Morning all,
Even given my undeniable penchant for being a shade pretentious I have to say I found Liquid Memory to be eye-wateringly up its own arse (I’m rather rude about it here). I think Mr Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route is a much less infuriating and better thesis on the joys of decent booze and charismatic winemakers.
Good old Clive Coates does a decent enough job in his Burgundy tome but I am really taken by the top geezer Jasper Morris’s Inside Burgundy. Jasper is one of the loveliest (and most florid) people I know and his passion for and incredible knowledge about Burgundy make the book a real must buy for any lover of wines from that region. I keep my copy by the bath so as I soak I can ponder which vineyard I should be seeking out next. Seriously, its a great book and Jasper is probably the most ultimately reasonable, reliable and mirth-infused wine-merchant the world has ever known.
John Livingstone-Learmonth’s The Wines of the Northern Rhone is a frighteningly detailed and incredibly useful volume for Syrah lovers, he makes the effort to examine plots of vines within the Northern Rhone appellations with the precision normally only found in Burgundy vineyards. I often dip in.
I think there is a gap in the marketplace that I hope someone more erudite than me can fill: there is no definitive book about Riesling. I thought Riesling Renaissance was dire. As Riesling is the way forward with white grapes there should be a book that does it justice.
Cheers,
David.
Making Sense of Wine, Matt Kramer
North American Pinot Noir, John Haeger
World Atlas of Wine of course
Terroir by fellow Texan James E. Wilson
Cote d’Or and it’s follow up Burgundy by Clive Coates
Adventures on the Wine Route, Kermit Lynch
Windows on the World Wine Course, Kevin Zraly
Keith has me interested in the Scruton book, if for no other reason than I’ve enjoyed both his fantastic work on the aesthethics of architecture as well as his autobiography Gentle Regrets.
Clearly in the enjoyment category…“Wine and War” and “Billionaires Vinegar”
+1 on this, never heard of the author before, does a very good job with many of the more relatively unknown AOC’s of France too, along with good coverage on the usual suspects. Great photos too for the more casual reader.
These to me are all fantastic reads.
The Wines of the Northern Rhône - John Livingstone-Learmonth
The New France - Andrew Jefford
The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book - Harry Karis and Phil Karis
The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass - Jamie Goode
Reading between the Wines - Terry Theise
Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy - Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch
Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia: - Tom Stevenson (new edition soon)
The Oxford Companion to Wine - Jancis Robinson
Rhone Renaissance: The Finest Rhone and Rhone Style Wines from France and the New World - Remington Norman
Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink Like the World’s Top Wine Professionals by Rajat Parr, Jordan Mackay and Ed Anderson
What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers by Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page
Understanding Wine Technology: The Science of Wine Explained by David Bird
This. Squared. Best single (and petit) book on all facets of wine. Reading it will greatly improve your enjoyment and information-gain from other books.
A.
“Wine” by Andre Domine is a great overall reference book.
I enjoyed “Napa, The Story of an American Eden”, by James Conaway, for some history of Napa Valley and stories of some of the wineries & people there.
I can see by reading these posts that the single biggest difference between old world & new world people is:
OW: read about wine and wax poetically.
NW actually drinks wine and wax poetically.
