The Best WINE BOOKS to read in 2021
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
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1. The World Atlas of Wine by Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson 8th Edition: amzn.to/3n0QMG1
2. Essential Winetasting by Michael Schuster: amzn.to/2WOnRub
3. The Science of Wine by Jamie Goode: amzn.to/3n5v9o4
4. Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, and José Vouillamoz: amzn.to/3n5e79E
5. Noble Rot: noblerot.co.uk/magazine
6. Drunk by Edward Slingerland: amzn.to/3BLJMkb
Books and wine go hand in hand. The thing that first got me interested in wine was tasting wine but the next thing I did afterward was to buy a book on wine. Things have changed quite a bit since I got into wine and today there are far more online sources, we can use to find up-to-date information on producers, vintages, and regions on Blogs, Websites, Podcasts, and even Social Media. That said: For me, there is no real alternative to reading a well-researched and well-written book by an insightful author. I am not somebody who likes to own a lot of things and I often feel regret when I spent money on something I do not need … but I have never felt guilty about buying another book and I have a lot of wine books - good ones and bad ones. Here I want to share some of my favorites with you - this is by no means the whole list of great wine books but a pretty good selection for all knowledge levels. All the books are referenced below as many of you have suggested for my tasting videos.
Love those recommendations! Aldo Sohm’s Wine Simple is a great quick reference book and a great unpretentious start for anyone looking to start their wine journey
The book I use the most is wine folly. It really comes in handy for the basic information.
Thanks for the review. I know what will end up on my Christmas wishlist 🙂
The Wine Atlas is pretty hard to beat. I also really like Hugh Johnson’s pocket wine book which is updated annually and is a great first reference when you encounter a wine or producer you don’t know much about. I also like his food matching suggestions in the same book.
Wine Atlas is a classic of course. When starting my hobby, Oz Clarke's books were favorites of mine.
Great list! Having read WineFolly, this is just what I needed.
Great video! In the future would be interesting for you to do a video like this for the major wine regions, ie best books on French wine, Italian wine, American wine etc
Love your suggestions, Konstantin, I personally love the wine atlas that it is really useful to understand the geography!
Yes! thank you for making this video. My favorite wine books are Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil (the first book on wine I ever read) and Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch.
Hardcore fan of Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Grapes too!
Wine by Jancis Robinson turned me on to wine in the mid 70s. Neither I nor my flatmates came from wine drinking background but this got us interested. We have never looked back. Jancis must have been still a student at Oxford when this was published. She's still an idol of mine.
Wow. Thanks Konstantin, I was just looking for wine books yesterday !
Perfect!
Good video Love to see the prints you bought from noble rot. Favorite wine book Hedonist in the wine cellar.
Thanks for that! I have the wine atlas and the red book on grape varieties. I also love The Oxford Companion To Wine, probably my favourite wine book of all time!
Klaus
Great list, Konstantin! Thanks for sharing it!
I would also look at few additional books:
"The Wine Bible" by Karen MacNeil: it is an easy-to-read, yet informative book about wines from the key wine-producing countries and a good introduction into the local cuisine;
"The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting" by Neel Burton: a useful book for wine tasting;
"Understanding Wine Chemistry" by Andrew Waterhouse et al: a nice introduction into the organic chemistry relevant to making, ageing and tasting wine.
Just picked up Essential Wine Tasting. The Jancis Robinson ones I already had, and pretty much essential reference material imo. Great recommendations. Thanks!
Love your videos! One of my favorite books is Wine Folly
Thank you for the recommendations
I just finished reading Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker and Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch. Great starting point for a wine newbie.
Great topic. Congrats. My firs and favourite book about wine is THE HOME WINEMAKERS MANUAL by Lum Eisenman. It gave me the basic of how wine is made and I find it very practical.
Such a great video, great suggestions
Amazing video, thanks for the info
I have two favorites. Bianca Bosker's Cork Dork and Raj Parr & Jordan MacKay's Somm Atlas of Taste.
I still have an old copy of the 1985 "completely revised" 3rd Edition of The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson which I believe would be a great all around book for someone getting interested in wines even though it's a bit outdated, it still offers a lot.
Thanks for this selection, I was looking for books to get right now! I didn't read yet the ones you quote about wine tasting, but I recommand "Le goût du vin" maybe the wine taste in English from Emile Peynaud, a masterclass book about tasting
Michael Schuster is an excellent teacher and it has been a great privilege to have attended his classes. The book is superb and I’m proud to have my copy signed by him.
Nice list. My favorite is "Great Vineyards and Winemakers"
Very interesting! Yesterday I found your channel and I've seen most of your videos and ordered some bottles of wine (MONTE BELLO,...) and I'm going to buy some of your recommended books. Greetings from Austria (Styria)
Great video! I would add for the wine student, Understanding Wine Technology by David Bird
And Wine Grapes is amazing if you download it to your book application on your phone. Great for when you come across interesting wines in the wild and want to look up details.
For fun:
The Dirty Guide To Wine
Natural Wine For The People
French Wine: A History by Rod Phillips
The Widow Clicquot
All the Kladstrup books
And my recent favorite, Wine Girl by Victoria James
For French readers:
The 12,5° (180° Édition Spécial Vins) magazine is an amazing independent wine publication.
'Vinyards, Rock ans Soils', also a suggestion of yours, I believe. Excellent book!
A great book!
Another vote for The World Atlas - & a plug for anything written by Hugh Johnson- always good reading, & can count on learning something!
Yeah, I have an old 1985 edition and it still has some great all around information.
The wine atlas was one of my first two wine books that I read but I no longer have my original copy. The other was The New York Times Book of Wine by Terry Robards, it was the Wine Bible of its time and about the same size. Don't have one favorite but read Remington Norman's Grand Cru recently and loved it. Oz Clarke's History of Wine in a Hundred Bottles was a fun read. Vino Italiano by Lynch and Bastianich and Stephen Brook's Sauternes are two others I really enjoyed and got a lot out of.
I've really enjoyed Rajat Parr's and Jordan McKay's "The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe"
Much more introductory, but Windows on the World of Wine by Kevin Zraly is outstanding and was my first deeper dive. Each section has quiz questions and tasting exercise associated with the respective chapter which makes for an interactive text.
Great video as always Konstantin!
Just wondering what your thoughts are on the Noble Rot book, Wine From Another Galaxy?
Also, is it worth buying both the book and quarterly magazines? Or is this just a double up of information?
Wine Folly by Madeline Puckette. I’ve learned so much from her book and blog.
Thanks for following up on my question with a video. The Science of Wine looks like what I'm after. Ever consider doing a video on vermouth? It's a mystery to me.
Great summary! I think that for the vast majority of us, who are not MW level wine drinkers, but who would just like to have a bit more insight, a criterion for the ideal book would be the inclusion of a substantial chapter on The New World, also California, as so much of the popular product hails from these places.. I note the frequent inclusion of Jancis Robinson in this. She appears on Radio 4 quite often speaking on wine, and is very good indeed. Salut! 🍷👍
Great video as usual Konstantin. Which book about wine and food pairing would you recommend? I'm looking for something broad rather than specific wines/vintages paired with fancy dishes. I'd be specially interested on a book focusing on Spanish wines (not necessarily paired with Spanish food). It'd be amazing if you or anyone on your community could recommend a good one.
Not really ... there is a good one that is only available in German and there are a few books that also talk about food and wine matching
Great video!
A few hundred wines! Gosh, I hope you have a good dental plan :)
Thanks so much for this most excellent video. I will be looking up:
Essential Winetasting and The Science of Wine.
For someone in Asia, it can be challenging sometimes to relate to the flavour profiles, as we have very different fruits - tropical ones (mangosteens, papayas, mangos).
All the best Sir!
Sounds good!
I have Jancis Robinson’s book. Worth every penny. Elizabeth Schneider has an excellent book also
Just finished "Cork Dork" by Bianca Bosker, and would certainly recommend it. Very easy read, but informative nonetheless.
I'm currently reading 2016's 'New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, the People'. Amazing story and a primer for any visit to kiwi wine country.
Definitely out of my league, but my first wine book was Wine for Dummies. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t admit that; but the Wine Atlas is on my wishlist. Thanks, Konstantin, for the great list. Cheers!
You have to start somewhere. I'm sure not everyone would admit that.
From the one's you didn't mention Oxford Companion and Aldo Sohm's Wine Simple are also great general wine books. Jancis Robinson's 24h Wine Expert is an excellent kick-start.
Wine Folly, which is often mentioned here, I found very sloppily done on the content side and generalizing too much. Great approach though.
For personal interest I like Madeira from Alex Liddell, Legeron's Natural Wine and also all wine guides like Gambero Rosso, Slow Wine, Eichelmann and others. I mostly get used older versions to get a general overview of a certain region and do not care too much about the single wine ratings.
Also, can't skip What to Drink with What You Eat. Its a great reference guide for all levels
Great videosss
I liked your video quite a lot, I will get a copy of the World Atlas of Wine, I really like Jancis Robinson
I see how you would think the name José Vouillamoz is spanish and should be pronounced as this, but it's not. José is a pretty common first name in french speaking countries (you pronounce the J like the name Jean). And Vouillamoz ("vous-ya-mo") is a last name which finds its origin in the swiss canton of Valais/Wallis (he's born in Saillon, Valais). You surely heard of Valais, since it's a wine-producing region. By the way, are you going to make a video about swiss wines eventually?
8:13 recognized that KXCD comic, it was a pun on Balmer peaks (peaks in hydrogen emission spectrum) + Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO at the time of the release of Windows ME). There's also a kind of an easter egg in that comic, the peak is at 0.1337%
Interesting. I am a coder and I actually didn't know it was also about hydrogen emissions, I thought it was just a joke about Steve Ballmer.
There are two books I really like but I think both are only available in German but I am not really sure about the second one. The first one is "50 einfache Dinge die Sie über Wein wissen sollten" by Wolfgang Staudt which gives you a great introduction when you are starting your "career" as a wine lover and the second one is "Portwein" by Axel Probst which is rather specific because its about port only but it never gets boring and its maybe the best book on this topic.
By the way, I am reading the World Atlas of Wine at the moment and I also like it very much. Its not just a book to look up things but also interesting for reading continously!
Last but not least I think the next book about this topic that I gonna buy will be "Drunk" because it sounds really interesting so thank you for telling us about it!
Let me know whether you liked it.
My first wine book was "der kleine Johnson". I hope I cited the title correctly. I actually have only 2 wine books (they come in pairs): It's the "Oxford Companion to Wine" , German edition from 1995. I am using it on a regular basis.
Du hast ein kleine Johnson
The World Wine Atlas is nice. I also just read The New Wines of Mount Etna by Benjamin Spencer.
I have started on Nick Jackson MW book on tasting blind which is quite good and interesting approach.
Hey Konstantin! I am a sucker for book lists and often look at social media and book sites just for recommended lists in a particular subject area. Since you are recommending some of yours, I will share some of my favorite titles in more particular order of preference. Confessions of a Wine Lover by Jancis Robinson, Champagne by Don and Petie Kladstrup, The Perfect Glass of Wine by Ben Canaider, Bacchus and Me by Jay McInerney, French Wines by Robert Joseph (DK Publishers), Wines of the World (DK Publishers), Champagnes & Chandeliers, Grand Dining Celebrations by Bernadette O'Shea. Cheers!
Thanks for your suggestions!
Confessions of a wine lover is an absolute classic, the wines and tastings Jancis describes are incredible 🍷👍
World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition is excellent. I also love Foot Trodden: Portugal & the Wines Time Forgot, and Amber Revolution: How the World Learned to Love Orange Wine, both by Simon J. Woolf.
The Wine Bible definitely deserves a shout. Awesome book
Excellent video! I have nothing to add to it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@Konstantin what English language reference book would you recommend for the wines of Germany?
Did you ever use the Le Nez du Vin kit, or anything similar, during your wine journey?
Agree, World Atlas of Wine is THE book if you only want one book.
For ratings of producers and wines I found André Dominés "Wine" useful as a complement to World Atlas.
For region specific books that gives you deeper knowledge my favourites are:
Inside Bordeaux - J. Anson
Inside Burgundy ed. 2 - J. Morris
Champagne (with vineyard maps) - P. Liem
Jamie Goode is my favourite author of all! Highly recommend:
I Taste Red - how we perceive wine. For example the pshycholigal effect of color or price.
Flawless - wine flaws
As Wine Science they have a scientific aproach so not for everyone.
The Hugh Johson classic. But there was a World of Wines paperback I bought in the 70s that was factual and comprehensive. That's how I got my start. It even covered Pineau Charentes.
My favourite to pick up from time to time is the wine encyclopedia.
Winefolly book is my go to! Really approachable.
I only have the atlas, but considering the wine grapes book, that one looks awesome.
Honestly I love the wine altas book and have a lot of other wine books. That wine grape book looks fantastic in the shelf and is crazy well made/high quality but fairly useless for the average wine buff. If you are like most people you drink/focus on 4-5 wine grapes and this book has like 1200 lol… it’s also about 250 dollars
@@danielplainview4778 That is true for most people, but some of my favourite wines that are not Riesling, objectively the best grape variety in the world ;), are 100% Romorantin, or Savagnin, I also found a new copy of the book for less than EUR 130.- So I'm thinking about it.
I kind of went on a shopping spree and also bought the science of wine and Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian D'Agata.
Inside Burgundy by Jasper M.
Highly recommend it.
And “Inside Bordeaux” both are excellent
Thank you for the tips. Since I obviously watched too many MW channels, I was considering getting "The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting" by Neel Burton. Any view how that compares with your recommendation of the Michael Schuster book?
I have not read the Concise Guide so I cannot really compare the books.
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine Thank you, I guess I'll have to buy both then ;-). Less money to spend on other stuff though, I've been considering Robinson's Grapes for ages but compared to the Atlas it's darn expensive.
Hey Kons, what do you think about the book made by Wine Folly?
It is not my favorite wine book but I like the approach
Wie hilfreich ist der kleine Johnson wirklich im Vergleich zu bspw. Vivino?
Ich nutze ihm, um Weingüter zu filtern, die ich im nächsten Frankreichurlaub besuchen will, während ich Vivino wirklich regelmäßig kurze. Hat der kleine Johnson noch den Stellenwert wie früher?
Can you reccomend a good wine book about Italian wine regions?
Defitnetly The World Wine Atlas.
True, its so stacked with important information and you with the maps you get really good overview about all the regions ;)
Agree
Wine - A Life Uncorked by Hugh Johnson would be up there for me..
Hello Sir love your content I'm studying wine and wine making in Croatian I'm on 4th year of university this list is going to help me with goal of becoming MW one day... Blessings and keep the good work 🙏👍😁
On a narrower lane, A Scent of Champagne, by Richard Julien, if you are, or
may become a Champagne lover this book is amazing, highly recommend
thanks for the recommendation! May I ask if there is any difference of the book "Essential Winetasting by Michael Schuster" on 2017 and 2009 version?
I had to update this comment because Michael Schuster send me these informations about the new version: This new edition has been enlarged (32 new / 20% more pages, and over 80 new images), and much has changed. It has been redesigned, and updated throughout, with the central section on Grapes and Their Wines having been substantially rewritten and now, sensibly, in alphabetical order. Completely new are a number of Essays, many on issues pertinent now in a way they were not 20 years ago: Climate Change, Organics, Biodynamics, Natural Winemaking, Closures, Alcohol levels; plus Wine Gadgets, Scores, Carbon Dioxide, Aromas as Complexity, and Comparative Tasting Technique. And there is a sizeable new section on Blind Tasting. The DIY Tastings section has been made more complete, with the addition of preparatory reading suggestions from the book, plus subsequent check-and-reinforce questions; and there is a new, higher level, final tasting on Quality Calibration.
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! I’ll get the latest edition then :)
What do you think about “Inside Bordeaux” by Jane Anson?
Do you usually take a tea day (a day or two off from drinking wine) every week or was today special because you tasted so many wines this week?
I try to take a few tea days per week. This time I really had to...
I have The Wine Bible and Kevin Zraly's Windows of the World Wine Course. No clue if they are any good, but they are my favorites because its what I have.
Nice. Wine Science is only 4 dollars for a digital copy.
Bummer World Atlas is hardcover only. I did get the Wine Bible though for 2 dollars once. It's decently systematic with its regions.
How about Larousse?
Konstantin, I did not see your list of books mentioned in the video. Can you please list them in response to my question? Thanks!
You have to go to the description right below the video!
I know what to do with my Amazon Voucher now
I just bought Michael Schuster - Essential winetasting. At 4 euro's for the eBook its also quite inexpensive :)
very nice and extremelly interesting chanel. Here is some recoomendation for video content. you are comparing 1.59 wines with 30-100euros wines. I am drinking mostly 5-7euros wines from Edeka and i am interested to buy some more expensive ones. nevertheless i would like to be sure that the wine is not scam. therefore i would suggest you to do testing also for 5-7euros wines and you could also give reccomendations. After that you can give reccomendation for 10-15euros wines and finally for more expensive wines. I personally love Deutsche Weintor from Edeka. you could review it and reccoment a bit more expensive one. if i buy it and i see thar you are right i wouls trust you to buy 30 or more euros wines.
BTW love your Keller :)
Have you read “Windows on the World” by Kevin Zraly? A friend has recommended it to me as a great starter book and I’m wondering if you’ve read it and might have some thoughts?
Honestly unless you literally are just getting into wine and know nothing it will be too basic for you. I found it online super cheap and ordered it and thumbed through it for an hour and never went back to it again. Very short basic book that tries to cover the entire world of wine in few words and doesn’t explain anything well enough to be useful. just my two cents
No, I have not - yet!
Good afternoon! Any new books you’d add to the list now? Thank you.
My favorite wine book is the majestic catalogue 😉
Checked out the comments below and your stack and found that I already have Essentials of Wine Tasting by Michael Schuster. Zraly, too.
This was a great video thank you, my favorite wine book is 99 Bottles: A Black Sheep's Guide to Life Changing Wines by André Hueston Mack
The World Atlas of Wine is practically my bible, as well as Wine Grapes!
I will award myself this Xmas Drunk, The Science of Wine and Essential Winetasting!
I learnt a tonne early in my wine journey from "A good nose and great legs" by Robert Geddes MW.
Great video. I have a passion for books. My favourite wine book is "Pomerol" by Neal Martin and I also love "Bordeaux and its wines" from 1899. A really great book I have is "Mouton Rothschild Paintings for the Labels 1945-1981" signed by Baron Rothschild.
Sounds great!
Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Wine. Anthony Hanson's Burgundy. Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route, if only for the classic chapter on Lulu Peyraud (RIP at 102). The wonderful Edmund Penning-Rowsell's book on Bordeaux; though a tweedy Englishman, he was a Marxist and a founding member of the William Morris Society. James Conaway's Napa trilogy. Hugh Johnson's Story of Wine. MFK Fisher's Musings on Wine and Other Libations; Fisher has at least a dozen books worth owning. I'm currently reading Bordeaux/Burgundy: A Vintage Rivalry by Jean-Robert Pitte; so far so good.
Was hältst du von Jens Priewes „Wein: Die große Schule“?
Ja, das ist auch ganz gut.
For German wines, Hugh Johnsons book of the same name is an excellent resource.
Okay... I already owned couple of the books you recommend... But I had to become subscriber to Noble Rot.
Now - I used your recommendation, which leads me to believe you should use mine too!
Check out "The Dirty Guide to Wine: Following Flavor from Ground to Glass" - focusing on soil. Amazing, right? ;)
Sounds good!
Für Deutschsprachige (wobei es durchaus sein kann, dass es auch übersetzt wird): mir gefällt "Wein - die neue große Schule" von Jens Priewe - auch sehr empfehlenswert. Soweit ich weiß, wurde auch vor kurzem eine neue Auflage herausgebracht.
Gruß
I really want to read a book called "Champagne in Russian culture", but the book isn't new (2007) and the tirage is 3000 units. Out of stock everywhere. Maybe one day I would find it, but still not sure.
Tip: I bought the book Wine Grapes as e-book. Will be very handy to have all that information on my mobile.
How to Taste by Jancis Robinson
Fear of Wine is kinda fun
French Dirt by Goodman is a nice story