I’ve been asked this question by an aspiring wino but it’s been way too long since I’ve looked at “Wine 101” type books. In my day, it would have been books like Zraly’s “Windows on the World Wine Course.”
I see that a 35th edition of that work was published in 2020. Is it still the one to get? Any other contenders?
Thanks!
Aldo Sohm’s “Wine Simple” is less dense than Zraly but pretty good.
I’m probably newer to the wine world than many of you and while I’ve enjoyed wine for years, I probably wouldn’t say I nerded out about it until Covid left me with some extra time to dig in. I read a few books and Windows was probably my favorite. The other thing that I did as I was learning more was the Wine Challenge. I didn’t follow the rules exactly because I didn’t purchase the exact same bottles, but it was the first time I tried so many different varietals and took notes on the wine I enjoyed and the ones I didn’t and forced myself to articulate the flavors or reasons why. Also, what I loved about the wine challenge was it was a weekly date with my husband where we intentionally drank a bottle of wine, and talked about it together. It expanded both our pallets and was a fun way to learn more.
When people try to understand taste and flavors, I find Andrea Immer’s Great Tastes Made Simple an easy access point to Wine.
The wine bible… 
Wine Folly, Magnum Edition
I was going to say the same. Even her website is filled with lots of good basics.
It’s actually a good introductory book. It covers a massive amount of information, warts and all.
I haven’t seen the current 3rd edition.
The second addition is online here.
I was just thumbing through my edition of “Windows on the World” and, while now realizing it’s 24 years old, even my edition would be a great 101 book today. I think i got it as a textbook for an expensive wine class I took back in '99.
Also, Wine for Dummies was great for me in 1998, and still seems very comprehensive as i thumb through it right now. Latest edition I would think would be very good.
Well! As a current avid wine book searcher and reader, here is a varied list:
Overall winner would have to be The Wine Bible by Karen McNeil, it covers the most information as pleasantly as possible while allowing the reader the space to either skip, jump, reference, dive deep, etc. as much as they desire. Covers all the major regions.
Wine Folly very nicely covers the principles of wine without the risk of over-educating. Most will find a way to interact with it enjoyably.
The University Wine Course by Marian Baldy is an older book now that covers tasting in an extensive way, it was literally written for university courses. Only for the nerdiest, but extremely knowledge-driven.
The Science of Wine, also only for the nerdy, I would not recommend for an early wine enthusiast unless they have a Chemistry background.
The World Atlas of Wine by Jancis Robinson really is quite accessible, but does not inherently provide a natural leaping-off point to regions. Nonetheless, the 80-ish page introduction to wine and its make-up is an easy read, and thoroughly helpful.
Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm is very similar to Wine Folly while being a little less structured and providing some "current trends’ education. I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel as though there were many major “gems” of information. You can tell it was written by a sommelier who isn’t there to tell you what you’re “supposed to be drinking,” which is kind, but also ends up creating some vagueness around certain topics.
For goodness sake, this is not necessarily for novices, but anyone who reads this, please buy Monseigneur le Vin: The Art of Drinking Wine (like the French do). (Amazon.com)
Originally written in 1927 for a French distributor, this reproduction is incredible. Quite frankly, I think that book is what convinced me to start regularly participating on this site. It’s hilarious in a way one could only be seriously funny about wine.
Hope this helps!
Nice!
Now find your way over to the cycling thread in the Asylum
Jancis Robinson’s How to Taste was the most influential for me when I was getting into wine. More recently, I know people who have enjoyed learning from Wine Folly’s book(s).
Ha, will do!
No. It’s visually wonderful and has lots of good stuff, but there’s way too much incorrect information to be a truly good 101 book.
I’ve heard so many times people say things that are plain wrong and when I’ve asked where they’ve heard or read this, they’ve given Wine Folly as a source.
Wine Folly isn’t completely accurate, or it oversimplifies things to the point of bing inaccurate, but there is still a lot of good info in there, and it just works. It’s incredibly digestible, even for someone who knows nothing about wine. I’ve had multiple people who were not remotely wine geeks come over for a tasting, use the book, buy a copy for themselves, and get into wine.
World Atlas of Wine has taught me 10x what every other book and critic has, combined. The cornerstone of wine education is learning how wines align with geographic origin and terroir. That’s what makes wine unique and wonderful. The best way to learn is, for every wine you drink, look up its geographic origin and take a few mins to learn about the area and terroir. What grapes are grown there? What’s the history? Who are the major producers? What are the common characteristics? Iterate repeatedly and you will have a deeper understanding than 99% of wine lovers.
Agree that it is good for those purposes.
I just wish it were better. Getting things right and correct isn’t such a hard thing to do.
new book in town - just released this month
Got a copy of Rebel School of Wine and it’s a pretty well done book encompassing every single subject I could think of when it comes to wine. It’s a tome of information with great illustrations to boot.
I’m probably a quarter through but I’ve flipped through it quite a bit, mostly opening to a random page and seeing if it has anything to teach me, even at a rudimentary level.
It’s like a very updated version of the Wine Bible but with even more information of the things working in the outskirts of wine (labor/Marketing/3tier system etc).
I just want to reiterate this. Both the book and the website have so many glaring inaccuracies that I don’t think they are good sources of information, even for beginners. I understand that they’re easy to read through, but that isn’t a benefit when so much is wrong.
The Wine Bible is still the best, in my opinion. Yes, some things are oversimplified, so not totally correct, but it doesn’t have the blatant misinformation that Wine Folly has. Windows on the World is still solid too.