recommend a book on wine

[aliénor]

i am looking for a wine book to give to my husband. i would like it to have the following features. 1). some info on grapes and wine making, 2) a minimum of wine jargon, 3). up to date recommendation of wine to buy including description and prices, 4) not overly long, that is not a huge tome.

i hope that this is not an impossible task.

thanks for all the help

[djsexyb]

hmm, my first instinct is to say "The Wine Bible," but that is QUITE long and does not have prices. i think that the "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" its a very nice introductory wine buyers book, no prices, but alot of the suggestions are quality, often not expensive recommendations, but this book has very little grape adn wine making material within. "Wine for dummies" seems like a good start for you, but i would really just suck it up and get teh wine bible (it has everything yu need plus some minus prices, but a trip to the internet can find prices on any of the wines.)

Well, good luck

[Richard Kilgore]

As you already suspect that all your requirements may not be possible, I would suggest How To Taste by Jancis Robinson. It is a brief (200 page), informative introduction with overviews of grapes and the wine producing countries of the world. She writes in a casual manner with a sense of humor, and handles the wine jargon by explaining much as she goes, and by including a helpful glossary in the back. No prices, but I don't think any book is going to be able to keep up with new releases and with prices (that's what this forum and the rest of the internet are good for). More importantly, she gives a basic foundation of information that includes many recommendations that will help in making buying decisions.

It was the first wine book I have bought, and while it will not be the last, I feel quite comfortable recommending it to anyone as a first book.

[jelainemiller]

All of the above are great suggestions. Your husband also might like The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. It's got a very casual tone and also gives a bit of an idea on pricing. To get any specific pricing you'll need another type of book, like Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide.

Hope this helps,

[marty mccabe]

You might also consider combining something like Jancis Robinson's "How to Taste," with a subscription to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (my personal favorite) or The Wine Spectator. Buying suggestions are time sensitive (availibility and vintages change quickly) so a magazine subscription might make the most sense.

Good luck,

[tommy]

sounds like you're looking for a good intro. i always recommend Willie Gluckstern's book "The Wine Avenger". available here: http://www.wineavenger.com i think, as well as amazon and major book stores. it's about as brief and to-the-point as a book can get. and it's funny. not stuffy.

it doesn't have up-to-date producers and prices. i'm not sure if many books on wine do, though. a yearly wine buying guide from Food & Wine mag, or some similar publication, might be a good companion to Willie's book, which will serve as a reference for many years. 10 bucks at amazon, so you really can't go wrong: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068482257...5Fencoding=UTF8

Edited May 23, 2006 by tommy (log)

[aliénor]

thanks for all the helpful suggestions. it looks as tho i really have some work to do, but at least i have some ideas. thanks again.

[winewizard]

Get thee to your local bookseller and peruse a copy of Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course 2006. You may like it Another thought (in lieu of a book), I teach a course "Wine Tasting For Beginners" through a local community college. Six consecutive Mondays at a local restaurant. An hour lecture and following hour tasting of three wines and some food. Total cost $18. Several students have been given the course as a giftt. Perhap there is something similar in your area. Ther is also a book by Theresa Lust called Pass the Polenta" which has a chapter(Wine by the Numbers) that is brilliant. N ot a wine book, but a terrific story.

[ulterior epicure]

You might also consider combining something like Jancis Robinson's "How to Taste," with a subscription to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (my personal favorite) or The Wine Spectator.  Buying suggestions are time sensitive (availibility and vintages change quickly) so a magazine subscription might make the most sense.

Good luck,

←

I'm considering a subscription to a wine magazine. Can anyone help me with differentiating Wine Spectator from Wine Enthusiast... and marty mccabe also recommends Wine Advocate. What the advantages/strengths/weaknesses/featuers of each?

Thanks very much.

u.e.

[djsexyb]

You might also consider combining something like Jancis Robinson's "How to Taste," with a subscription to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (my personal favorite) or The Wine Spectator.  Buying suggestions are time sensitive (availibility and vintages change quickly) so a magazine subscription might make the most sense.

Good luck,

←

I'm considering a subscription to a wine magazine. Can anyone help me with differentiating Wine Spectator from Wine Enthusiast... and marty mccabe also recommends Wine Advocate. What the advantages/strengths/weaknesses/featuers of each?

Thanks very much.

u.e.

←

for me, this is purely a question of your pesonal tastes on wine. wine spectator and the wine advocate and decanter offer distinctly different opinions on wine in general, and on specific wines. while wine tasters should judge each wine without bias to personal preference, we all know that that does not always happen. Robery Parker is continually criticized for this (as well as others).

my suggstion would purely be to take a trip to borders or walden books and pick up a few issues of each mag and see what you like best. as you will see each mag offers a different reading experience and only you can decide which is more suitable to your reading style and your palate.

[ulterior epicure]

Thanks djsexyb.

I flipped through them (very) quickly on the newstand and was just a little over-whelmed. I was also in a hurry. My overall impression is that Wine Spectator offered writing beyond just wine - i.e. food and restaurant scenes, whereas the Wine Enthusiast seemed more focused just on the wine. I'll have to go back and do a little more looking.

Thanks for the advice... I just really didn't know if they offered different perspectives or if there was one that was simply better. At least, from what you seem to suggest, they're both good, but different.

u.e.