Book Reviews
The Cote Chalonnaise is what you could call a “low-key” wine region. There are no famous names. No exorbitantly priced wines (as opposed to other parts of Burgundy). No famous cities. It’s just a normal wine region. This book is exactly a reflection of that. It is a low-key wine book. Four Seasons in Cote […]
For those of you who really want to know how a biodynamic wine producer work in the vineyard, and also in the cellar, this book is indispensable. Monty Waldin is a specialist. He believes in biodynamic agriculture and although you, as a reader, may doubt some of the things he write, there is no denying […]
“The Finest Wines of Champagne” by Michael Edwards is an excellent introduction to the bubbly wines from northern France. The book focuses primarily on presenting a number of the most famous producers, many of the famous houses are included and some independent growers. The selection is not overwhelmingly original, it’s mostly old classic acquaintances, but […]
A few years back China became Bordeaux’s biggest export market. Over a few years the Chinese market grew from almost nothing to become the market that Bordeaux could not live without. How this happened is the subject of a new book, Thirsty Dragon, China’s Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World’s Best Wines, […]
[pullquote position=”right”]This book about Sherry is a classic[/pullquote]. It is now in its 6th edition (first published 1961!), so just imagine how many wine enthusiasts and wine professions that have learned about the Spanish wine through this book. And probably enjoyed learning too. This book is thorough. No stones are left unturned, all aspects are […]
The making of a wine is much about chemistry. Without knowledge of chemistry it becomes difficult to really understand what is going on inside the winery. It is hard to find good literature about wine chemistry written by people who really know their subject. If you have poor knowledge of chemistry yourself, the books or […]
The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwest Spain is written by three Spanish authors Jesus Barquin, Luis Guitierrez and Victor de la Serna. This is possibly the most thorough and up-to-date book on the wines of the Rioja and the neighbouring wine regions. For anyone who wants to know more about Rioja it is absolutely […]
James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia has recently been published in a new edition. This is a substantial book on all the wine regions of Australia. It is a must for anyone who plans to travel around the Australian wine regions but also a valuable reference for anyone who wants to know about Australian wines. […]
There is a vicious power game going on behind the beautiful chateaux façades of Bordeaux. At least according to Isabelle Saporta, a French journalist who has written an intriguing book about this particular subject. Among the most famous and prestigious chateaux, vino business is deadly serious and, just as in love and war, all methods […]
The book Jura Wine by Wink Lorch has all the information that you may ever need on wine from the Jura wine region in eastern France. It contains wine producer profiles, detailed information about the vineyards, the history, the grape varieties and much, much more. It is self-published and available online. It is an impressive […]
If you want to know a little more about cognac you could do worse than getting yourself a free copy of Nicholas Faith’s Guide to Cognac. You can buy it printed on paper or get the electronic version at no cost. Nicolas Faith is an expert on cognac and has written extensively on it over […]
Title: Wine (full title: Wine, the basics of wine) Author: Filip Verheyden, Romana Eschensperger, Fiona Morrison Publisher: Tong Magazine Wine is a new wine book with great ambitions. It wants be an introduction for the beginner and also something for the avid wine enthusiast. It wants to cover almost everything in the field of wine: […]
Wine writer Stuart George and best-selling art crime expert Dr. Noah Charney has recently published “The Wine Forger’s Handbook”. Here is what Stuart says about the book: “Fine wine is a multi-million dollar industry and is fraught with peril. From fake bottles to fraudulent contents, from mislabelled wine to misled consumers, wine has been faked, […]
In the last Brief we wrote a review of the new book on Tokaij wines, Tokaji Wine – Fame, Fate, Tradition by Miles Lambert-Gócs. We also speculated in for whom it might have been written. The author sent us a mail and explained: ”I feel obliged to respond to your question about ‘the intended reader.’ […]
Biodynamics in Wine By: Beverley Blanning MW A Monograph published by the International Wine & Food Society (IWFS) This little book tries on 60 pages to explain what biodynamic wine production means. It is not an easy task. Beverley Blanning manages to do it in a fairly objective way. She describes the different biodynamic methods […]
RED – Guide des vins naturels dans le monde – A guide to the World’s Natural Wines By: Michel Tuz Jean-Paul Rocher éditeur This small book is about natural wines. And what are natural wines? According to the author of the book it is organic and biodynamic wines and wines made in “a natural way”. […]
Viticulture – An introduction to commercial grape growing for wine production By: Stephen Skelton MW Self-published This is very detailed book on viticulture, written by Master of Wine Stephen Skelton, who lectures on viticulture to Diploma students at WSET. The book is recommended for these students as well as for Master of Wine candidates. It […]
Wines of Carcassonne – The Cabardès AOC By: Ryan O’Connell Self-published This is a book/ebook/Kindle book written by a wine producer about the wines of his region. Ryan (that we know personally) is a young and very dynamic winemaker in Languedoc. He is also a talented Web 2.0 marketeer, which helps when you make wine […]
What Price Bordeaux? By: Benjamin Lewin Vendange Press What Price Bordeaux? is an unusual and an interesting book. But let me start with two things that I find annoying, to get them out of the way. First, the title. The book is about so much more than “the price of Bordeaux” and the title makes […]
Tokaji Wine – Fame, Fate, Tradition By: Miles Lambert-Gócs Ambeli Press Miles Lambert-Gócs book is best classified as a reference book or encyclopaedia on the wines of Tokay (or Tokaji, or Tokaj). L-G is American but of Hungarian descent. The book is the result of many years of research into the wines, the region and […]
Inside Burgundy – The vineyards, the wine & the people By: Jasper Morris Berry Bro:s & Rudd Press I wonder what it is with Burgundy that makes so many of the books on the region come shaped like bricks. This one weighs in at 1957 grams and 656 pages, just about 100 g more than […]
The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy By: Nicolas Belfrage Photo: Jon Wyand Fine Wine Editions This is the personal selection of the best producers in primarily Tuscany (and a bit more) by a great Italian wine expert, Nicolas Belfrage. He has previously written several books on Italian wines. The book is nicely put […]
The Great Domaines of Burgundy By Remington Norman and Charles Taylor, photo Jon Wyand (mainly) Publisher: Kyle Cathie Ltd The key to finding good Burgundy wines is to find the right producer. There are few wine regions where it is so important to know exactly who it is who has made the wine, rather than […]
Wine Genesis / Wein Genesis By: Peter Oberleithner (design and photo), Karl Mayer (text) Kulinarium Verlag e.U. www.kulinariumverlag.at A massive and heavy book with lots of photos on vines and wine cellar equipment – that is, in short, what this book is. It is above all a picture book with illustrations from vineyards and wineries, […]
Chile: Country Of Mountains And Wines Chili, Pays de vins et de montagnes Chile : País de montañas y vinos By: Papianille Mura (text), and Matt Wilson (photo) Versant Sud This is a beautiful and inspiring book. It tells the story of the birth of the Chilean wine industry. It talks about the history, about […]
Wine Production – Vine to Bottle By: Keith Grainger and Hazel Tattersall Blackwell Publishing The book is part of what is called “Food industry briefing series” and that is well reflected in its presentation. It is short, and not particularly “consumer” oriented. The book covers the topics, just like the title indicates, from the vine […]
Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion – The encyclopedia of wines, vineyards, & winemakers By: Hugh Johnson, revised and updated by Stephen Brook Mitchell Beazley This book is now in its sixth edition. It is a tome that impresses by its scope and ambition. It does contain some introductory chapters on history, winemaking and wine styles in […]
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book By: Harry Karis Photo and design: Phil Karis Kavino Book Publishing, www.cdpwinebook.com It is a relatively easy task to review this book, in a way. It is likely to be the standard tome on Châteauneuf for the foreseeable future. It is has almost 500 pages and weighs over two and a […]
L’histoire du Crémant d’Alsace ou la genèse des bulles By: Nicole Laugel Publisher: Jérôme Do Bentzinger Editeur The story about the creation of the Crémant d’Alsace appellation is an entertaining success story. AOC Crémant d’Alsace came into existence not until 1975 and now they sell 30 million bottles per year. It’s the preferred bubbly of […]
Grand Crus Classés, Grands Chefs Etoilés By: Sophie Brissaud, photo Cyril le Tourneur d’Ison & Iris Sullivan, plus many contributing chefs and sommeliers Publisher: Editions de la Martinière It’s logical. This is a book made to impress, about wines made to impress, and about food designed to impress. It weighs in at 3 kg, almost […]
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