Enjoying wine is a simple matter for anyone who can work a corkscrew, but becoming truly knowledgeable about the subject requires many years of tasting and study. Roughly 55,000 different bottlings are available in the United States alone, and if you wish to understand the many factors that account for variations in character and quality, you'll need to keep your nose in a book as well as in a glass.
This may sound more like work than like fun, but the best wine books are a pleasure to read and they will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the juice. Winter is the perfect time to settle in with a book and a glass, so here are my recommendations on the best books published in 2005. I've broken them into four qualitative categories, within which they are ordered alphabetically:
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The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste, by Elin McCoy (Ecco/Harper/Collins, hardcover, $37): Given the extraordinary influence wielded in the world of wine by Robert Parker, a book on The Parker Phenomenon was inevitable, and the only suspenseful issue was whether the book would be an obsequious paean or a hatchet job.
Thankfully, it turns out that the book is neither of these, but rather an extremely thoughtful, artfully balanced account and assessment of Parker's rise and reign. It is a warts-and-all treatment, yet one that seems thoroughly fair in its intentions, as McCoy fully appreciates Parker's prodigious talents and impressive personal characteristics.
Although I suspect that there are particular episodes or conclusions that Parker would wish to contest (and perhaps he has already contested them someplace...I don't keep track of such things), this is a terrific book. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written by a woman who is an authority in her own right regarding both wine and wine writing, this is so well done that it will prove interesting not only to wine lovers but to almost any literate person.
The Great Wines of America: The Top Forty Vintners, Vineyards, and Vintages, by Paul Lukacs (W. W. Norton, hardcover, $30): Full disclosure requires that I identify Paul Lukacs as a close friend and business partner of mine, but I have exactly no fear that anyone who buys this book on my recommendation will be disappointed with their purchase. Lukacs takes on an inherently controversial task in identifying 40 wines as the American greats, and though any wine lover will want to quarrel with this or that choice, that is part of the fun of this book.
When I sat down with it, I found myself attracted first to the eyebrow-raising chapters on relatively unlikely wines such as the Merlot from Long Island or the sparkling wine from Michigan. Lukacs offers good reasons for his more surprising choices, and in cases where inclusion is obviously merited (like Joseph Phelps Insignia or Mondavi Reserve Cabernet), he always recounts something illuminating about the how and why behind the wine's greatness.
Although the book is divided into freestanding chapters dealing with each wine, you'll come away from your reading with a lot more than just additional information regarding 40 wines and the people who make them. You'll also have deepened your understanding about what it takes to make great wine per se, and about the remarkable process by which the United States has quickly become a global power in high-end wine production.
A History of Wine in America: From Prohibition to the Present, by Thomas Pinney (University of California Press, hardcover, $45): This is a work of serious scholarship, as you'll know when first thumbing through the book to find 135 pages of endnotes and bibliography. However, before you start nodding off at the prospect of "serious scholarship," you should know that it tells a fascinating story--and tells it quite artfully.
Pinney and The University of California Press were wise to push the lengthy scholarly apparatus to the back of the book, since footnotes would otherwise have chewed up a quarter of each page. As things stand, Pinney's narrative offers very engaging reading.
This volume is a continuation of Pinney's History of Wine in America: From the Beginnings to Prohibition, which was published in 1989 (also by The University of California Press). Both books energetically address the history of wine in America as a whole--not just California--and do so not just in viticultural terms, but social and cultural ones as well. They are impressive accomplishments, and not least among their virtues is the fact that they are such pleasures to read.
Wine Style: Using Your Senses to Explore and Enjoy Wine, by Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW and Ed McCarthy (John Wiley & Sons, hardcover, $25): Wine is a an inherently complex and intimidating subject, and since each year sees millions of potential readers attaining an age at which they want (or need) to deal with it, the publishing world issues a constant stream of introductions to wine. Most of them are pretty much the same, with this or that cute little twist. This one is different.
Ewing-Mulligan and McCarthy (authors of the hugely successful Wine for Dummies series of books) provide a point of departure that is at once simple but audacious: readers should approach wine based on what it tastes like. Not where it comes from. Or what grape it is made from. Or how many points some critic has awarded it.
They express the somewhat audacious underpinning of this approach quite straightforwardly in the concluding section of their first chapter, which is entitled, "Style Trumps Quality." They contend that, "quality alone is a silly reason for buying a wine. A wine's style--what it tastes like--is more critical to your enjoyment of it than its quality is. A wine's style determines what foods it goes well with, whether it's appropriate to the occasion at hand, and whether the wine is to your taste."
I've encountered scores of novices who nervously fixate on the inadequacy of their knowledge, and I often try to persuade them to settle down and proceed on a basis they know with certainty: what tastes good to them. Now, at long last, I can also direct them to a book that introduces wine from this sound premise.
The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective, by Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $75): This is a very expensive book, but it is also a very attractive one including hundreds of photos. Nevertheless, the question remains: is the book worth the money? For many readers, the likely answer is "probably not."
Problems start from the fact that the book's title is rather misleading, as it has much more to do with Parker's favorite wines than the estates from which they originate. The volume has precious little to say about the techniques employed by the estates themselves or about the terroir of their vineyard sites. In the majority of cases, you'll come away from your reading on each estate having learned little about why it makes great wine, aside perhaps from the stock explanation that the producer is committed to quality by means of ruthlessly reducing crop yields. There are valuable exceptions to this (such as the interesting entries on Chateau de Beaucastel and Chapoutier), but in far too many cases (such as Leoville Barton or Leoville-Las-Cases), you'll learn exactly nothing about how the particularities of the estate figure into the character of the wine.
At least half of the book's content consists of reviews of specific wines, most of which are recycled from Parker's famous newsletter, The Wine Advocate. So, if you already subscribe to the Advocate, you've already paid for much of what this book provides. Those who are not subscribers may be quite disappointed to discover that many of the wines reviewed are no longer available, and since no prices are indicated, many readers won't know whether they could afford the wines even if they could find them. However, well-heeled Parkeristas who can pony up the price without flinching will probably enjoy owning the book.
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Balance: Matching Food and Wine; What Works and Why, by Lyndey Milan and Colin Corney (Thomas C. Lothian, paper, $30): Although this is tough to find in North America and curiously pricey for a paperback running to fewer than 150 pages, there is a real shortage of quality books dealing with the pairing of wines and foods. Australians Milan and Corney do a nice job of discussing the flavor properties of different grape varieties and how they work with food, and the entry for each variety includes a recipe. However, the usefulness of the book is limited by the apparent fact that it is only the Australian rendition of each grape that is being considered.
Drinkology Wine: A Guide to the Grape, by James Waller (Stewart, Tabori & Chung, hardcover, $22.50): Attractively designed and cleverly written, this is a useful and appealing general introduction to wine. Information and advice are consistently sound, and the book is affordable and irresistibly cute in physical terms.
Drinks: Enjoying, Choosing, Storing, Serving, and Appreciating Wines, Beers, Cocktails, Spirits, Aperitifs, Liqueurs, and Ciders, by Vincent Gasnier (DK Publishing, hardcover, $50): This book edges out the one by Andy Besch as winner in the category of most egregiously prolix subtitle. Nevertheless, that whopping subtitle accurately indicates the vast scope of the book, which runs over 500 pages and really does address all that it claims to cover. Coverage is intelligently tuned to the needs of the readership most appropriate for the book, namely, those with broad interests in libations but not too much experience. So, for example, the section on wine is organized primarily by wine style, with sections such as "Light, Crisp Whites" and "Full, Opulent Whites," with grape varieties and geographic locations addressed under those headings. Readers with entrenched loyalties to wine or spirits would be well advised to look to more specialized works, but this is just right for newbies with open minds and palates. Attractively illustrated and effectively executed, this is a great gift choice for relatively young recipients.
Rosé: A Guide to the World's Most Versatile Wine, by Jeff Morgan (Chronicle Books, hardcover, $25): Wine writer Jeff Morgan clearly loves rosé, and his zeal has now taken physical form in this book as well as liquid form in the dry rosé he produces under the SoloRosa label. The book offers a sympathetic guide to rosés from around the world (including sparkling ones), and provides helpful advice on topics such as appropriate glasses and ageing as well as an entire chapter full of rosé-friendly recipes.
Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide, by Michael Jackson (DK Publishing, hardcover, $40): This book bears a pretty daring title, and yet it manages to live up to its billing. In addition to lots of clear, useful background on the roles of technique and territory in lending character to the world's important whiskeys, Jackson (along with nine other contributors) profiles the most eminent producers in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the United States and Japan. More pages are devoted to whiskeys from Scotland than to those from the rest of the world combined, but that is appropriate, in my view. Tasting notes are provided for a great many whiskeys, and though I find many of the descriptors strange, they are often delightfully weird and funny.
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, 2006 Edition, by Kevin Zraly (Sterling, hardcover, $25): I have long since lost count of how many editions of this book have been released, but it looks somewhat different almost every year, and the 2006 edition purports to be "newly revised and expanded." Comparing it to the 2005 edition, I'd say that you'd be crazy to buy the 2006 if you own the 2005, and probably marginally crazy if you own any reasonably recent edition. However, if you know someone looking to get up to speed on wine, this is an excellent introduction. And though it competes in a very crowded field, it has one important distinction: it is a peerlessly good deal. At 276 pages in hardback with lots of illustrations, it is a minor miracle for 25 bucks.
The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2005-2006, by Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell (Penguin, paper, $20).
The Wine Club: A Month-by-Month Guide To Learning About Wine With Friends, by Maureen Christian Petrosky (Meredith Books, paper, $18).
Wine Country USA: Touring, Tasting, and Buying at America's Regional Wineries, by Matthew Debord (Rizzoli, hardcover, $35).
The Wine Guy: Everything You Want to Know About Buying & Enjoying Wine From Someone Who Sells It, by Andy Besch (William Morrow, hardcover, $24).
The Wine Lover Cooks Italian: Pairing Great Recipes with the Perfect Glass of Wine, by Brian St. Pierre (Chronicle Books, paper, $25).
The Wine Lover's Dessert Cookbook: Recipes and Pairings for the Perfect Glass of Wine, My Mary Cech and Jennie Schacht (Chronicle Books, paper, $25).
The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino, by Lori Lyn Narlock and Nancy Garfinkel (Chronicle Books, paper, $20).
Comments or Questions? Send them to me at: mfranz@winereviewonline.com
