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- Reflections of a Wine Merchant by Neal Rosenthal
(food and cooking)
"It's not unusual to pick up a wine book that reads like a journal. But Neal Rosenthal's Reflections of a Wine Merchant reads like it could have been the personal journey of a score of young folks who entered the wine industry 30 years ago, me included. The confluence of experience was so uncanny at times that I started thinking this guy had climbed inside my head. He may be a celebrated and accomplished fellow in the world of wine importers now, but in the early days many of us traveled the same wine paths and met many of the same people. This book was like finding a shoe box of photographs that had been put in an attic and forgotten. What a treat to open and enjoy." - Heard it Through the Grapevine by Matt Skinner
(food and cooking)
"I regularly get asked to recommend entry-level books on wine, and I think I occasionally offend people, or at least come off as a snob, by saying I don't think there are any very good ones. But the next time someone asks, I'm going to be both relieved and happy to point them to Heard it Through The Grapevine." - Wines and Wineries of Californias Central Coast by William Ausmus
(food and cooking, history)
"Wines & Wineries of California's Central Coast should be more than an address book for the traveling wine taster. At a minimum, it needs to be more complete, providing a full profiles and recommendations for all wineries listed. Given that a book is a lot lighter and can take a lot more abuse than a laptop with wireless broadband, this one may be of some value to the wine vagabond who would rather thumb a paperback than Google a winery." - The Widow Cliquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo
(food and cooking, history)
"On the whole, the book is a good introduction to the early history of Champagne. It's very readable: Mazzeo is equally adept at describing the fabrics of the wealthy elite or detailing the complex processes of making sparkling wine." - American Vintage by Paul Lukacs
(food and cooking, history)
"Paul Lukacs' book American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine was inspired by the author's realization at an Italian wine event that U.S. wine has become not only the best in the world (as measured by critics' ratings), but that U.S. wine -- fruit-forward, big-bodied and high in alcohol -- is changing the style of wine throughout the world. Even those who vehemently oppose the former idea must concede the latter." - The Battle For Wine And Love by Alice Feiring
(food and cooking)
"In many ways, Alice Feiring has achieved with a memoir what so many aspiring literary novelists hope to achieve with their novels: she gets you to think for yourself. Of course, like so many of my favorite old novels, the book isn't without its shortcomings. I wanted romance and heartbreak and honest admissions of failings on both ends. I got honesty on the wine side, but I only felt whispers of it on the personal side. Still, the book is a swift, easy read with some fabulous wine recommendations (if you can find them) and frankly, I have always had soft spot for flawed things -- both old, slightly broken wines and real, imperfect people. I think it's something - if I may be so bold - that Alice and I have in common." - The Geography of Wine by Brian J. Sommers
(food and cooking)
"This is a very useful, though not very exciting book. No rhapsodies about mind-bending encounters with memorable wines, no personality portraits of wild and crazy winemakers, no dirt on the owners of winedom's most precious pieces of dirt." - Passion on the Vine by Sergio Esposito
(food and cooking)
"There are stories that are meant to be true and stories that are intended to stir one's enthusiasm. In reading Sergio Esposito's highly engaging Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy, how can you not want to have your very own Neapolitan family? While some of the anecdotes may not be the gospel truth, the book follows in the tradition of the Neapolitan, who are known as the story tellers of Italy. An extra pinch of salt, one more clove of garlic, and what does it matter, when the tales transport you to an Italy that is so full of gusto?" - To Cork or Not To Cork by George Taber
(business books, food and cooking, science)
"I'm not sure which is ultimately more stupefying -- that after 2500 years we haven't found a foolproof way to seal up a bottle of wine or that no one bothered to write an explanation of the reason why, until George Taber published To Cork or Not to Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle." - Biodynamic Wine, Demystified by Nicholas Joly
(food and cooking, science)
"If you haven't had a Humanities 110 refresher for a while, read this book. If you want to understand the nitty-gritty of natural winemaking techniques in the vineyard and the cellar, keep browsing." - Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean
(food and cooking)
"Do readers really care about active yeasts and secondary fermentation? Or do they long to understand wine's seductions, and its otherworldly sense of place? Do they care about a region's production, or would they rather hear how a glass of juice resembles a curvy redhead, and why it makes them feel the way it does? You know, drunk.
This is among Natalie MacLean's first points in Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. A descendent of Celtic alcohol-lovers and livers, MacLean, a sommelier, writes first and foremost from a sensual place, dispelling many commonly held myths about wine writers: she doesn't spit a whole lot, and she loves the buzz just as much as she loves obsessing over the grape. The book is entertaining, informative and ideally suited for someone who has a working knowledge of wine." - House of Mondavi by Julia Flynn Siler
(biography, business books, economics, food and cooking)
"If Robert Mondavi's legacy amounts to a few hours of joy for thousands of penny-pinching picnickers, or even 750ml of enjoyment for supermarket wine buyers everywhere, that's worthwhile. His life -- and Siler's chronicling of it -- are interesting enough to give The House of Mondavi readers a few hours of joy as well." - First Big Crush by Eric Arnold
(food and cooking, science)
"First Big Crush leaves the reader with an abiding respect for the particular constellation of forces—the people, ideas, science, tradition, blood, sweat and Mother Nature—that make great wine possible and the fantasy of it interesting to dispel. Unpretentious, fun and a refreshing departure from the glut of technical and stiffer titles on the wine category bookshelf, anyone thinking of freeing his or her inner winemaker should pick it up." - The Oxford Companion to Wine By Jancis Robinson
(food and cooking)
"I've now owned all three editions of the Oxford Companion to Wine, and while I expect that the recently released Third Edition will be my last made from dead trees, I will continue to purchase every edition that is ever released. Why? Because it is the single most useful book on wine ever written in the English language." - A Wine Miscellany by Graham Harding
(food and cooking)
"Did you know that the world's oldest single vine is in the Slovenian city of Maribor? Or that the Italian Ministry of Justice supports a Roman jail's production of Novello wines to the tune of $600,000? And how about this: the world's largest wine list belongs to Bern's Steak House in Florida. The restaurant stocks half a million bottles and employs ten wine waiters.
Gems like these make up Graham Harding's A Wine Miscellany: A Jaunt Through the Whimsical World of Wine. Harding, chairman of the Oxford Wine Club and director of a specialist wine importer, compiles a thorough and entertaining collection, sprinkling facts and lore on the history, culture, business and science of making and savoring wine." - Love by the Glass by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher
(food and cooking)
"As good as this book might be for those who don't know enough about wine to love it, it is a better reminder to even the most hardcore wine geek about where their passion really comes from: the heart. If you really love wine, you should read this book." - The Botanist and the Vintner by Christy Campbell
(food and cooking, history, science)
"Christy Campbell's The Botanist and the Vintner: How Wine Was Saved for the World, recounts in vivid detail the events that would unfold over the following forty years as France, and soon the rest of the wine regions of Europe, grappled with a foe they could hardly see, let alone understand. These events, and the various personalities that emerged to both explain and do battle with the insect that would eventually kill nearly every single grape vine in continental Europe make for an epic drama that is as fascinating as it is important for our understanding of the wine that we enjoy even today." - I'll Drink To That, by Rudolph Chelminski
(economics, business books, food and cooking, history)
"Chelminski's book is an entertaining and educational read for anyone interested in wine or France, although I did find it a little long-winded in parts. While I appreciated the context, scope and depth—and the fact that, to its credit, much of it reads like a travel book—I found that by including so much and so many details, it dragged for me here and there. But in the final analysis, reading Chelminski's book made me want to go to the Beaujolais to drink some of the wines right there in the French countryside." - Washington Wines and Wineries by Paul Gregutt
(food and cooking)
"For those who want to gain an education on the country's second largest wine region (as well as become infected by the author's enthusiasm for it), this is a seminal book. There is nothing else available today that explains from a local expert's point of view just why American wine buyers should look beyond California for great wine." - Sweet Wines by James Peterson
(food and cooking)
"There are not a lot of references out there for sweet wines, and Peterson ably covers the landscape in an accessible way. I turned to it time and again while researching sweet wines for my own wine and dessert cookbook. This is a good place to get a grounding in the sweet end of the wine spectrum, as well as the inspiration to go out and try them." - Hip Tastes by Courtney Cochran
(food and cooking)
"For those curious about winemaking and its various umbrellas, Cochran offers clear explanations of everything from extraction and lees stirring to malolactic fermentation without losing her fresh, light voice. It's just enough technical lingo to entice a person to further their wine studies but not too much to send them running to a tequila tasting." - At Home in the Vineyard by Susan Sokol Blosser
(food and cooking)
"Still, it's an impressive and well-told tale. The rise of Oregon wine is beginning to generate a small body of books that go beyond tasting notes and tour guides. At Home in the Vineyard is a solid addition to that literature. " - Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy by David Lynch
(food and cooking)
"Vino Italiano is one comprehensive book—so much so that you'll never make your way through it in a single sitting, and wouldn't want to. Still, it reads very enjoyably, makes people and places come alive, provides enlightening commentary, and offers useful guidance for planning your wine tours of Italy or of your local wine shops." - North American Pinot Noir by John Winthrop Haeger
(food and cooking, history, science)
"Last summer Haeger told me he was working on a second edition of North American Pinot Noir. One can only hope it will appear soon. Haeger's relish for research and detail, his accessible style that is neither dogmatic nor opinionated, and the overwhelming value to wine lovers--as reference and as entertainment--of North American Pinot Noir demand an encore." - What to Drink With What You Eat, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
(food and cooking)
"If you have ever anguished over what to serve with your perfectly poached salmon, or what to prepare for your dinner guests toting wines they brought back from South Africa, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg have advice for you. 2007 International Association of Culinary Professionals "book of the year" winner 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 is the current sine qua non of wine and food pairing, with 230 pages listing over 1500 pairing suggestions in two chapters—one starting with the food and the second with the beverage." - Decantations, by Frank Prial
(food and cooking)
"Frank Prial is one of the most influential wine writers of the last few decades, and despite their frustrating brevity and occasional anachronism, these essays show a masterful hand. Read them on your commute, while standing in line, or whenever you have a little time that you want to fill with wine." - Educating Peter, by Lettie Teague
(food and cooking)
"Entertaining and easy to read, it is an ideal ride for the budding wine enthusiast: After the basics (40 pages of everything from grape varietals and sensory evaluation to wine vocabulary), Teague opens each chapter with a wine region's brief history, significance, and contributions to the larger wine world. She drops a few names, suggests key producers in each region, and gets out. Folks who thirst for more than just two pages on Austrian wines, however, may want to look beyond Peter's education." - The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass, by Jamie Goode
(food and cooking, science)
"You could read this book cover to cover; you can just as well dip into particular chapters as the mood strikes you, or when some wine geek drops a string of terms you aren't familiar with. Either way, if you want to understand the science behind what's in your glass, this is the place to go."
Source:
http://www.vinography.com
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