Books for the Wine Lover
Looking for a good wine book to give as a gift? The more you learn about wine, the more you’ll love it and there’s always more to learn. Here’s a roundup of my favorite wine titles sure to please any wine lover no matter where they are on their wine journey.
The wine Novice
Wine: A Beginner’s Guide
Wine: A Beginner’s Guide won’t be available for delivery until January 14th but it’s well worth waiting for and giving to anyone starting off in wine. I’ve known Master Sommelier Ken Fredrickson for over twenty years and he’s always been a passionate advocate for making wine more approachable and less intimidating. Ken has wanted to write a book for years and I’m glad he finally put pen to paper because we are the lucky recipients of a book that I wish I had when I was new to wine and couldn’t tell the difference between Pinot Noir and peanut butter. He breaks down how wine is made, where it comes from, how to taste and pair it with food. There are plenty of photos and easy-to-understand charts and diagrams. This will be my new go-to title to recommend to anyone looking to learn more about wine but isn’t sure where to begin.
Next Level Enthusiast
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Guide
They’ve purchased a wine refrigerator and special wine glasses and you may have even spotted a copy of the Wine Spectator on their coffee table. Things are getting real with this wine lover and they are ready to take it to the next level. Give them this gorgeous James Beard Award-winning book. It’s filled with beautiful color coded photos, a guide to over 100 different grape varieties and regions, expanded detailed maps, a guide on how to taste wine like an expert and pair it with food.
The Hardcore Wine Geek
Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine
If I was banished to a desert island and I could bring one wine book with me, it would be the Oxford Companion to Wine. It is considered the Greatest Wine Book ever published with over 4,000 entries on different wine regions, grape varieties, soil types, wine making terms and more. It is the definitive book on the subject and I could not have passed my Master Sommelier exam without it. I liken it to the Physician’s Desk Reference for Wine. Plus, it’s from Master of Wine Jancis Robinson who I absolutely idolize. I can’t say enough good things about this book, it will be cherished by any hardcore wine geek.
The Budding Sommelier
Vignette: Stories Of Life And Wine In 100 Bottles
Jane Lopes tells the story of her life in wine through a 100 bottles in this brilliantly written memoir that takes you deep inside the world of sommeliers and our obsessive ways, in particular those of us who choose to pursue the Master Sommelier exam. The reader walks away having learned more about wine along with an intimate understanding of what really drives sommeliers to do what we do. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in wine or those who enjoyed the SOMM documentaries. I’m also looking forward to future books by Jane Lopes, she is an incredibly gifted and thoughtful writer.
True Crime meets wine
In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire
Author Peter Heller details the crazy yet fascinating story of Rudy Kurniawan, the twenty-something wine prodigy who infiltrated the upper echelons of wine society and was convicted of forging millions of dollars of wine. There’s an accompanying documentary on Netflix called Sour Grapes which I highly recommend as well. I remember hearing about Rudy in the 2000’s and wondering how was he able to have access to such incredibly rare wines but never did I suspect he was faking it. Needless to say, I could not put this book down — it’s the perfect marriage of true crime meets wine.