Wine Book

[Jacktar]

I'm a beer drinker and brewer, but I'm starting to love wine. As I start to learn about wine, I'm realizing how little I know. Can anyone recommend a good book to help me organize my research and development? So far I'm just sampling random wines at my local liquor store. While this has been fun, I need more direction.

 

[sour_grapes]

This is actually a tough call. There are A LOT of books on this subject. They range everywhere from "Wine for Dummies" type books, to large tomes that tell you the location of various vineyards down to the meter (seriously).

I personally don't have a recommendation for a source in between these. I think I would suggest going to your local library to try to find a "Dummies" level book. Then you will have a standard to move up from.

 

[acorn]

Well, I hope you don't mind me giving you my $0.02 on the subject. First, I agree with sour_grapes in that you can't really say which one book is right for your level of expertise. Books like The Oxford Companion To Wine are much more comprehensive and detailed than many thinner books on wine you can find these days. But, in my opinion, starting at it now would be like trying to find your way in the middle of a large foreign city to which you have never been, because all the teeny-weeny nuances, however useful, may now simply overwhelm you. So start small and general. Try Wine for Dummies, or, my favorite book on discovering wines, flavors, regions, food pairing and tasting, titled Let Me Tell You About Wine by Oz Clarke. It does leave you craving for more.

 

[goldenboymd]

Also try to find a local wine club or perhaps look on this forum to see if someone is close that could guide you. I know for me I found a club and they have been VERY helpful. Also this forum is a great resource. Good luck

 

[Bergmann]

A word of caution. Although I have not read the Wine Making for Dummies. I have read several other for dummie books, And Have found the information often to be incomplete, or sometimes extremely outdated, and in some cases out and out wrong.

 

[Jacktar]

Maybe I should head to a book store and peruse. Publishers should be following this thread. There's a market looking for a product that doesn't seem to exist. Seems like the top books on Amazon are outdated too according to the comments sections.

 

[Arne]

Just get on this forum. Read a bunch of the stickies at the top of the different categories. Bushels of info, lots of it written for beginners. Arne.

 

[x_diver]

Just curious, but what does everyone mean by "outdated"? What exactly about making wine has changed over time?

 

[Bergmann]

Just curious, but what does everyone mean by "outdated"? What exactly about making wine has changed over time?

We no longer use general bread yeast in wine making with regularity as recommended in some older publications.

Bleach is not the recommended sanitizer today.

It is not a great idea to boil honey for straight meads. (once common practice)

many now realize cooked fruit offers off flavor.

Just to name a few!

 

[acorn]

We no longer use general bread yeast in wine making with regularity as recommended in some older publications.

Bleach is not the recommended sanitizer today.

It is not a great idea to boil honey for straight meads. (once common practice)

many now realize cooked fruit offers off flavor.

Just to name a few!

I wouldn't quite describe it as "outdated". Seems like archaic stuff to me.

 

[Bergmann]

I wouldn't quite describe it as "outdated". Seems like archaic stuff to me.

No, Fermenting in 42 gallon clay pots is archaic.