Recommendations for wine reference books

I'm sure this has been discussed many times previous, but I'm fishing around for suggestions for useful and informative reference books on wine and wine regions. Right now I have Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Johnson and Robinson's World Atlas of Wine, and I was looking for suggestions for books that cover individual regions in more detail (or any general reference books which are particularly excellent).

So many choices out there, so I'd like to know which ones are worth investing time in . . . thanks!

Also similar reference works on beer and liquor also appreciated!

Which individual regions are you interested in?

I recommend Clive Coates on Burgundy. I own both "Cote d'Or" and "Wines of Burgundy: revised ed." I could use a more up-to-date book on German wines myself and I recently bought one on Italian wines but don't have the specifics with me. May report on it tomorrow. I notice that California wine books are becoming more region-specific--Central Coast, etc. and one just on Zinfandels. Tom Stevenson writes about Champagne.

It's a very introductory but I love Karen McNeil's "Wine Bible". Not a week goes by where I don't peruse it.

Vino Italiano. It could use an update but is still the best reference on Italian wines I have found.

Robin Garr's 30 Second Wine Advisor - The book. http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20071116.php

I've found these two useful-
The New Italy by Danielle Cernilli & Marco Sabellico;
The New France by Andrew Jefford

I quite like most of Coates' books. They are true reference works. I paid good money for his latest Burgundy one and am in the middle of reading it. But I also managed to pick up 3 other thick tomes very cheaply, and they sit there waiting to be referred to!

Tom Stevenson's Wine Encylopedia is often recommended, but I don't have it as I think I have most of the information covered elsewhere - in books you mentioned Keith.

One you might not have come across that I would recommend is The Wine and Food Lovers Guide to Portugal, by Metcalfe and McWhitter. Interesting, not expensive and recently published. The problem with many area-specific guides is that they are rather old.

Paul Strang..Wines of South-West France.

I second Karen McNeil's "Wine Bible". I also really like the Johnson/Robinson "World Atlas of Wine".

I would say you're off to a great start with the Companion and the Atlas. In addition to the regional references that have been mentioned here, there are also more geeky books about winemaking or soils, for example, it depends how far into it you've fallen.

Notice I did not mention "Science of Wine" eventhough it is a great geeky read from Jamie Goode.

tom stevenson's sotheby's encyclopedia of wine; but don't buy it now; he is working on a complete revision to be out in 18 months or so. the only thing you need.

Jefford is a wonderful writer. "The New France" is worth owning just for the meditation on biodynamic wine-making that appears in the chapter on The Loire.

Keith,
If you are interested in an in depth book about the Barolo region, "A Wine Atlas of the Langhe" is worthy. Many excellent photos, it's organized by commune and covers all of the major cru vineyards for both Barolo and Barbaresco zones. A very fine reference book for these wines. Available from Amazon for about $30.

FWIW, I get much more use out of the wine reference books that can answer the questions that suddenly pop into my head - Where exactly is Echezeaux? Who makes Spiegel Reserve? - than I do from formal wine texts. Unless you are ITB the detailed works can become a real snoozer, in my opinion.

Which individual regions are you interested in?

The above gives me a good start, but something on Austria would be very helpful as I didn't find the Oxford entry very useful . . .

Which individual regions are you interested in?

The above gives me a good start, but something on Austria would be very helpful as I didn't find the Oxford entry very useful . . .

Falstaff prints some very useful producer guides by Peter Moser that cover both Austria and Südtirol. I believe you read German? Amazon.de will ship it for a couple of dollars. The Wines of Austria by Philipp Blom is good but could stand an update. BTW, if you are interested in European history, Mr Blom has written a fantastic book covering pre-WWI Europe called The Vertigo Years. Nothing in it about wine, though.

Cheers,
Bill

What, no love for the estimable Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth's tomes on the Rhone Valley? He's as thorough and thoughtful IMO as any writer on any region and has a decent palate to boot. And anyone who proposes STGT (Soil to Glass Transfer) as his highest accolade is doing something right. Coates is also good.

Mark Lipton

What, no love for the estimable Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth's tomes on the Rhone Valley?

Quite cited in the Oxford Companion to Wine, so already on my list--but now I'll put a double-checkmark!

Interesting there are no specific suggestions for California or the American west coast . . . any books out there that capture the history (especially recent) and climate and winemaking practices out here? (I mean besides TomHill's posts, which are a tome in and of themselves . . . )

"Wine Atlas of California and the Pacific Northwest," by Bob Thompson, is becoming dated (published in the 90's) but still had some helpful reference materials on geographical and historical data on individual wineries. You might check out "North American Wine Routes: A Travel Guide to Wines and Vines from Napa to Nova Scotia" by Dan Berger and Tony Aspler (a new book published in May.) I haven't seen it yet but Dan Berger is an established wine writer. As the title and subtitle indicate, it is meant more for those who are planning visits to the wine regions and tasting rooms. Matt Kramer's "New California Wine" came out in 2004. IT COVERS MODERN CHANGES IN THE AVAS IN CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY. ( You say you are looking for some recent history.)

The book that gets the most workout here as an easy reference is the paper back: Concise Wine Companion by Jancis Robinson.

Yet another suggestion: Wine by Alexis Bespaloff, published by Signet. This is a really complete paperback book for anyone, especially someone just getting into wine. Very readable and only 160 pages. I hope it's still in print as mine has a last printing date of 1985 - just when I was awakening to wine.