The world of wine is as complex as it is enjoyable. Learn a little bit more about the grape in your glass with these classic and current books.
This post originally appeared in our October 2019 issue‘s cover story. For more food & drink stories, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Virginia Wine Travel Journal (2019)
By Nancy Bauer
This is an indispensable companion on any trip exploring Virginia’s many wine countries. The spiral-bound book is a primer on grapes, trends, top talent, best bottles, a directory of all the wineries in Virginia and how to tour each region. There’s also some sage advice: Don’t be afraid to spit. “Since almost no one spits, one of the unanticipated benefits is that the staff will assume you’re a wine aficionado.” (Virginia Wine in My Pocket, $15)
The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine
By Karen Page with Andrew Dornenburg
If you’re familiar with this married couple’s encyclopedic tomes of food knowledge (see: The Flavor Bible), then their cunning use of adjective-heavy lists will feel just right when it’s used to help dissect varietals. Regions (there’s a Virginia entry!) and styles are also sliced into tidbits of information ranging from flavors and textures of grapes to food pairings and world-class producers. (Little, Brown & Company, $35)
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course (2018)
By Kevin Zraly
The industry-approved essential reading for beginners learning about wine, Windows on the World’s 400 pages are a compilation of classes Kevin Zraly taught from the wine school inside the restaurant 107 stories in the sky at the top of the World Trade Center. The book has been updated numerous times since its publication in 1985, and remains the final word on wine. (Sterling Epicure, $28)
The New Wine Rules
By Jon Bonné
Wine doesn’t have to be fussy and precious and intimidating. Sure, there are a lot of grapes and grape-growing regions around the world, but mostly, drinking wine should be about pleasure. Jon Bonné, the former wine editor and critic at San Francisco Chronicle wrote a slim, assured guidebook with rules that are just as funny as they are dead-on (“Not every new-wave wine is cool. Not every classic wine is uncool.”) and just plain helpful (“Don’t save a great bottle for anything more than a rainy day.”). (Ten Speed Press, $15)
Grasping the Grape
By Maryse Chevriere
Understanding wine is a mix of two things: the variety of the grape and where the grape grew. Maryse Chevriere takes the importance of grapes to the extreme, filling in a backstory and persona, a parable, really: “There are those who are bright, easy and cheerful; excited and ready to welcome you … And then there are those who are more guarded and reserved … who require time to open up and reveal the complexities of their personality. Nebbiolo is very much the latter.” She completes each lesson on grapes with pairings, flavors and textures and a whimsical illustration of its personification. (Hardie Grant, $15)
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition
By Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack
Built for the visual age, flush with infographics and bullet points, Wine Folly is a comprehensive guide not just to types of wine, but the entire process from how much water to drink to avoid a headache (a glass of water to match each glass of wine) to winemaking techniques, pairing methodologies and full-page explainers on each grape with illustrations of flavors, scales for body and tannins, growing regions, decanting time and how much money to spend. Besides its use as a teaching tool, Wine Folly is a master class in how good design is just as important as clear writing. (Avery, $35)
