There are tons of wine books out there. It’s hard to figure out the good from the bad. Especially for beginners who are most likely buying a book to grow their knowledge and broaden their palette. The books I’ll be talking about today are best wine books to help you dive into the wine world whether you’re a beginner or moderate drinker.
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
Let’s start out strong. This book is perfect because it gives another dimension of sense: smell! This book does a good job of taking the complex parts of drinking wine and breaks them down into simple easier parts. The author also takes into account different wines based off your mood, favorite food, and beverage. This book isn’t too in-depth as it’s only 22 pages and while it won’t make you an expert it will give you a good starting point to learn and grow your senses.
Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine
If you’re a visual learner then this book is your best friend! This book has everything from fundamentals to styles to regions. The book is definitely a staple in any wine connoisseur’s kitchen.
The thing I love about this book is how user friendly it is. The diagrams and illustrations are simple enough to understand that you can pick this book up for a minute and learn something new every time. Even the side of the book is color coded to the various wine it talks about.
The Wine Bible
This book is the alpha and the omega. This is filled with all the information you could ever need to know about wine; without actually drinking it of coarse. This book is for the person that’s serious about getting into wine. It’s the closest thing you can get to Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia
; book that’s for the elite and prestigious wine drinker.
This has been praised by a few notable people such as Thomas Keller, Danny Meyer, and Bobby Flay.
Books to stay away from!
The World Atlas of Wine
Although this book is great and teaches you the varieties of wines from different places around the world it is not a learning book. This book is aimed more towards people that have an idea of what to taste in the notes. By no means am I saying to stay away from this book completely. This is a book to return to once you’ve truly grasped the art of wine and start experimenting with more vintage and broader wines.
1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die
This is another obscure book. I’m not all for “do this before you die” craze. This book shows you the best wines from around the world and unless your vastly into vintage and rare wines. Some of the bottles in this book vary from inexpensive to very expensive wines!
The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond
If you love storytelling and history then this book is for you. If you’re new to wine this isn’t a starter book. This book is about the author Oz Clarke talking about the most renounced wines in the world and how they impacted the wine world. This book is perfect for the wine drinker historian in your family.
