What would be some of your favorite wine related books, not books about how wine is made per se, but more of education resources about terroir, types, styles, etc.?

I guess my most referred to books would be:
1. Bordeaux by Robert Parker
2. Oxford Companion to Wine. edited by Jancis Robinson
3. Wine for Dummies--McCarthy & Mulligan

wine and war

If and when James Suckling or another credible port taster publishes an updated guide to vintage ports, with TNs on how they are drinking now, it will be my favourite book!

'the great domaines of burgundy' norman

Bordeaux : A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines by Robert M. Parker

The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine by Andrew Jefford

The New Italy : A Complete Guide to Contemporary Italian Wine
by Daniele Cernilli

Michael Broadbent's Vintage Wine by Michael Broadbent

Languedoc-Roussillon : The Wines and Wine Makers by Paul Strang

Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy by JOSEPH BASTIANICH, DAVID LYNCH

The Accidental Connoisseur : An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World by Lawrence Osborne

Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer

A Traveller's Wine Guide to Italy (The Traveller's Wine Guides) by Stephen Hobley, et al

Italian Wine for Dummies by Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Ed McCarthy

Brunello to Zubibbo: The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy by Nicolas Belfrage

Italian Wines 2004: A Guide to the World of Italian Wine for Experts and Wine Lovers (Italian Wines) by Dario Cappelloni, et al

North American Pinot Noir by John Haeger

The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson

Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson

Vine, Grapes and Wine by Jancis Robinson

The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil

Bacchus and Me by Jay McInerney

The New Wine Atlas by Oz Clark

The Oxford Comapnion to Wine edited by Jancis Robinson

California Wine by James Laube

Wine From Grape to Glass by Jens Priewe

Wine Companion by Hugh Johnson

Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch

Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer

The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverant Journey Through the Wine World by Lawrence Osbourne

Nobel Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson

The Taste of Wine: The Art and Science of Wine Appreciation by Emile Peynaud, et al

French Wines by Robert Joseph

American Vintage: From Isolation to International Renown by Paul Lukacs

Barolo to Valpolicella by Nicolas Belfrage

Brunello to Zibibbo by Nicolas Belfrage

Burgundy by Anthony Hanson

The Wine Atlas of France by Hubrecht Duijker

Wine by Andre Domine

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly

A Wine and Food Guise to the Loire by Jacqueline Friedrich

Cot d’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates

Hey, the question was about wine books. When they ask about poetry and fantasy, you can chime in.

James Suckling's "Vintage Port" book. Who else has written a book that discusses wine that will drink well for 50 years? I still use it to buy old ports, but it would be nice if it was updated. The lastest vintage listed was the 1988 Quinta de la Rosa and it scored a miserable 80. 1987 is the last full vintage listed and we all know what a rip-roaring vintage that was.

Come on James, you've written the producer histories and older vintages tastings. Update the histories and add your last sixteen years of tastings. Then produce it as an ebook, so I can access on my Palm Lifedrive like the other necessities of life.

I mean really, ebob has done Palm for several years and WS can't. What's that about? Maybe some of you can remember the review of every wine rated, but I can't. Join the real world and come into the 21st century.

All of the Bertie and Jeeves books by P G Wodehouse. Bertie consumes hair raising amounts of Champagne and Port, for which he has to beseech Jeeves for his hangover cure, and that is enough for me to include them.

In some of the early Bonds Ian Fleming has James holding forth on Dom Perignon, Sherry, Chianti and the like, which gets them in as far as I'm concerned.

Guilty! I have to find the time to redo my Port book plus one on Italy and Bordeaux would be nice...

The World Altlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (5th edition) is an excellent resource about terroir and styles.
Together with the Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson you have the most complete information resource on wine that I know of.

Only if you wan't to get into more detail on TNs and horizontal/vertical tasting, you need to look elsewhere. Any publication on this by Johnson, Robinson, Parker, Duijker and not the least JS and other WS contributors go highly recomended.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jochems,

The port book first please James. It's the most overdue, and would serve the biggest current hole in the market. Lots of people write about Italy and bordeaux, but there are precious few good port books that provide reliable advice on drinking windows of older (15+ years) port vintages.

Pauly:

Board-O you are definitely scaring the hell out of me What a treasure trove of information from one simple post - thanks SO MUCH to all of you.

And James, I always enjoyed your writing so I too must express my hope that the port book is indeed updated first. My family gave me a copy and it is yellowed and dog eared as well. Not to mention stained from the various "tastings" attributed to it.

Again, thanks to all of you for your help with this

World Atlas of Wine - Robinson/Johnson This is probably what I look at the most since I love maps and learning about the geographic relations of different wines.

Bordeaux - Parker.

quote:

Originally posted by sfiorare:
wine and war

that's a great book - read it last year

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
Bordeaux : A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines by Robert M. Parker

The Accidental Connoisseur : An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World by Lawrence Osborne

Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer

The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson

Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson

Wine by Andre Domine

Bacchus and Me by Jay McInerney

The New Wine Atlas by Oz Clark

The Oxford Companion to Wine edited by Jancis Robinson

Wine Companion by Hugh Johnson

Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer

The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverant Journey Through the Wine World by Lawrence Osbourne

Nobel Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly

Cot d’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates

We must shop at the same bookstores as I have all of the above and have enjoyed them all.

Other wine related books I love.....

Bordeaux - People, Power and Politics by Stephen Brook

Grand Vins - The Finest Chateau of Bordeaux and their Wines by Clive Coates

The Emperor of Wine - The Rise of Robert Parker and the Reign of American Taste by Elin McCoy

Robert Parker's Wine Guide 1st Edition by Robert Parker (Fun to look back to when RP said things like 1982 Le Pin was a sleeper wine and worth the $20 per bottle. )

I have that first edition also.

I liked the Windows on the World Wine Course book. However, after reading Board-O's post, I keep thinking of that John Cougar Mellencamp song with the words, "...I'm uneducated, my opinion means nothin'!"

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by James Suckling:
Guilty! I have to find the time to redo my Port book plus one on Italy and Bordeaux would be nice...

James-
Any chance you'll find the time/opportunity for this any time in the foreseeable future?

Numero Uno - Oxford Companion
Wine for Dummies
Parkers Bordeaux
World Atlas - Jancis/Johnson

Although already mentioned, The Wine Bible is a classic.
I thought the Billionaire's Vinegar was a great read as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Keeno:

I thought the Billionaire's Vinegar was a great read as well.

Good to know. A friend just gave it to me.

I really enjoyed:

Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine by George M. Taber

As a pleasurable, cover to cover read... either 'The New France' by Jefford or any of Kramer's books.

As a reference, Parker's books are hard to beat (although the latest Wine Buyer's Guide suffers for lack of specific tasting notes).

quote:

Originally posted by Keeno: I thought the Billionaire's Vinegar was a great read as well.

I'm about half way through Billionaire's Vinegar. Very entertaining, but it makes me feel embarrassed to be a wine lover.