When you are learning about something you love (or simply very interested) , does it count as entertainment?
I am not so sure, but it is clearly not a chore, or a thing to blame!
A few good years I was buying wine books, some of them were consumed fully and rather quickly, and some of them were left on the bookshelf. Let me give you a quick snapshot which is which.
Wine opus – a reference to more than 4000 wineries and their wines. Geographically structured, beautiful pictures and maps. A good encyclopaedic reference, wonderfully presented. A respectable gift, a very heavy one as well!
The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson, – if you want a true encyclopaedia then look no further, this one will provide you answers and explanation so all wine related terms, country specific information, commentary on history and winemaking. A magnificent and robust work for the ones who study wines in more detail.
Life’s too short to drink bad wines by Simon Hoggart presents 100 wines for the discerning drinker. Apart from the wines which are not the most expensive picks, you can find warm commentary on how to buy wine, wine waiters and other quite entertaining short read.
Wine travel guide to the world by Robert Joseph is a picturesque guide, so you can pick where to go on holiday and combine some wine travel to your entertainment programme. It is quite basic as I have found just a short page on Priorat with one recommendation, but it is rather comprehensive in terms of all major regions in the world.
Grapes & wines by Oz Clarke: this book tackles grape varieties and thus explains why one wine is different from another in terms of flavours. A TV personality and this well written book, this one offers quite a few evening of flicking through the pages and ‘Aha’, ‘Eureka’ exclamations.
Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion, as it says on the cover it is an encyclopaedia of wines, vineyards and winemakers. It is geographically organised and provides additional colourful maps and some tips on enjoying and tasting wines. The focus is on winemakers, so you can ‘meet’ them through this reference book.
Wine by Andre Domine is a mixed bag of geographical reference, organised by regions and presenting some examples of winemakers, but also an introduction to viticulture and winemaking, so you can learn about things like pests and diseases, working in the vineyard, history of wine, and some tips on wine tasting.
1001 wines you must try before you die by Neil Beckett. This book makes me cringe a little bit- hoe many years do you need to spend on trying all of these and what exactly drink aware think about it? It is organised by sparkling, white, red and rose wines and presents these bottles with colourful pictures, description and recommendation on the vintages. Not my favourite, shall I say.
Food and wine pairing: a sensory experience by Robert J. Harrington is an example of what could be an amazing wine and food matching discovery and turned into a complicated and full of weird pyramids and graphs book. Some tips are very good though.
Essential winetasting by Michael Schuster is a practical winetasting course by newbies. It contains useful pictures, very easy to understand those sensory terms and start your own winetasting journey. It also offers a guide on major varieties, so you can match the vocabulary to particular wines. A very good place to start!
Wine Diet by Roger Corder. The idea for this site was born before I got this book, but it gave me an invaluable insight into the world of healthy wine lifestyle. The author is a Professor of Experimental Therapeutics and provides you with the nutrition plan on how to incorporate wine into your life in a more healthy way.
Finally, Wine and Spirits Education Trust study guide. It is surprising that a study guide is actually one of the most entertaining books here that offers a wealth of learning material in a structured, easy to digest way; so if you do not want to actually sign up for their course, you can simply buy this book for your reference and some very entertaining evenings, simply learning more about wine.
Enjoy!
