Chef Mateo

BOOKS ON THE GRAPEVINE

April 4, 2006

With the continued rising interest in wine, the market is providing several books on the subject, from basics to reviews to history. Wine writing can become very technical and otherwise boring, but storytelling has become an important component to the latest wave of books being offered.

A good primer for beginners is Oz Clarke’s New Essential Wine Book, third edition.  As an introductory text, Oz Clarke succeeds in taking the reader to each region, mixing in a little bit of history, sense of place, grape varietals, vintage years, and wineries to look out for. There are pictures of labels and vineyards, as well as maps which prove most useful when trying to find out which village is next to which. This guide will not help wine aficionados who are looking to specialize their studies, but this book is entertaining and informative on the basic level.

A turning point in American winemaking is well chronicled in A Judgment of Paris, California vs. France by George M. Taber. This historical revisit to 1976 retells the compelling upset of United States wines over France in a blind tasting helping to revolutionize the wine industry in the U.S. and catapult them among the winemaking elite of the world. The book celebrates the steady and successful achievement in the wine industry just before the Paris tasting, and how the road was paved following the shocking events. This may or may not make you a fan of California wines, but it may provide a deeper sense of appreciation over what California winemakers have accomplished.

The Vino Italiano Buying Guide written by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch is becoming my favorite book to slip into my jacket pocket more and more. Italian wines are not my forte, and I find myself needing a quick reference quite frequently. This guide helps me to navigate through the over 350 grape varietals that are used to make Italian wines. The wineries are catalogued alphabetically, with premier wineries in all caps, and elite ones in highlighted caps. A rising star is attached to those wineries to take mention of. There are vintage charts, top 20 lists, collector’s recommendations, and an explanation on how to navigate the tricky Italian wine label. Just reading this guide will improve your Italian wine I.Q., but don’t forget to drink the wines too.