Recommended Books

There are many, many books on wine - some of them fascinating and some of them frankly extremely tedious! We have recommended a small selection of the best 'general' wine guides and our 'pick of the bunch' sorted by country - we hope you enjoy them, but remember - there's no substitute for tasting!

General Wine Guides

Essential Winetasting by Michael Schuster. One of the UKs best wine educators, his easy-going approach to the subject has made for a great first book on Wine Tasting. Loads of practical exercises that you can try at home with friends with a user-friendly wine-buying guide. This has to be our first choice for learning about wine by tasting - the only way to teach!

The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson. An ever-evolving classic written by two of the most easy-to-read wine communicators on the planet. Repleat with extremely detailed maps of the worlds wine regions together with concise exporations of the geography, climate, and a sprinkling of the best producers of each region.

Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson. Not as interesting a read as some but a superb reference book listing all of the Worlds wine regions, appellations, and producers. Each chapter ends with a list of the authors favourite wines/producers with detailed tasting notes for each wine.

Andrew Jefford's Wine Course by Andrew Jefford. Award-winning wine author Jefford has produced a great first-time wine book. It is structured around 20 projects, so you learn the essentials in a helpful order. The Tools focuses on the kit eg glasses, The Elements explains wine's components and profiles key grape varieties, The Journey, is a tour of the world's major wine-producing countries.

Pick of the Bunch - sorted by Country

The New Spain by John Radford. That rare thing - a good read, plus great reference book, with good maps and a real insight into the wine regions of Spain. Each section delves into the winemaking and the people, and gives authoritative recommendations as to the best bodegas (wineries).

The New France by Andrew Jefford. One of the UKs most talented wine writers, Andrew has a talent for weaving all manner of interesting and witty anecdotes into this refreshing look at the current state of French wine. If you want to truly understand the philosophy of the worlds leading winemakers - read this book!

The New Italy by Daniele Cernilli & Marco Sabellico. A refreshing look at what can be a confusing wine country to understand. The authors examine the unique grape varieties, climate, geography, and winemaking traditions of each of Italys wine regions. As with the other books in this collection it profiles the top producers in each region & tastes their finest wines.

Crush - the new Australian Wine book by Max Allen. A humorous yet authorative look at the current world of Australian wines. A journey through OZ, wine region by wine region - packed full with anecdotes & personal insights. This books manages to entertain but informs as well, with wonderful human profiles of the producers and their best wines.

More Reviews & Recommendations coming soon!