Good Grape Wine Company

My biggest complaint is that I feel the book doesn't really know what it wants to be. On the one hand, it is a comprehensive reference book that in many areas goes into more depth than other general wine books. But it falls short as a reference book because it lacks the scope of books like The World Atlas of Wine or The Global Encyclopedia of Wine, which cover more up-and-coming wine producing countries, more specific producers and, especially in the case of The World Atlas of Wine, are enhanced by beautiful photographs and maps. Though the Wine Bible is substantial (it weighs in at a hefty 910 pages) its design is more compact than the other books I mentioned, and so might make a better travel companion for someone visiting multiple wine producing regions in a single trip. But the lack of good maps makes a supplemental book necessary.

Additionally, the book can feel like a disjointed collection of articles that ought to have been better integrated before publication. Often, the same information (referring to multiple or confusing names for grape varieties or regions, or quality standards in specific countries) is referred to parenthetically several times, often in quick succession -- something unnecessary, especially given the book's excellent glossary.

But despite these criticisms, I find myself referring to the book repeatedly. Part of the reason for that is author Karen MacNeil's pleasing and unpretentious writing style, which somehow manages to please wine lovers of many different levels of knowledge. Ms. MacNeil's passion for wine comes through in the text and her knowledge of the subject is extremely impressive, with her descriptions often compensating for a lack of quality photos. And though I would like to see more wine producing areas covered by the book, the regions she does address are covered extremely comprehensively. The quality of information is also very even: before travels to these areas I have read the book's sections on South Africa, the Mosel, Loire, Ribera del Duero, Languedoc, as well as everything on my adopted home country, and could not detect any ebb in Ms. Mac Neil's enthusiasm or knowledge.

After some thought, I settled on four stars for this review, despite the complaints I have. The book is just too useful and too skillfully written for fewer stars. The next addition, I feel sure, will earn five on my improvised scale.

Once you have moved beyond the most basic level in wine knowledge, this is an important book to have. If you can buy only one book on the subject, this is not the one I would suggest -- The World Atlas of Wine gets my vote for that honor -- but if you were to limit your collection to two books, then I think this is a serious candidate for that second position. Once you've got that much covered, I'd lean toward a book that focuses on your favorite wine producing region or another specific aspect of the subject, like tasting or wine production.


Overwhelmingly Comprehensive   April 15, 2003
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is a great book for all things wine related. In fact, when I first saw the book, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the comprehesiveness. Don't buy the book thinking you will have an easy to use tool to take with you to the local wine and cheese outlet. But, if interested in becoming more of an "expert" in the art of wine tasting and enjoying, try it out.


If you only have one wine reference book...   March 11, 2003
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

...then this should be that book. Easy to read, well-written, colorful and full of informative sidebars, this book is one of the best entry-level wine texts available. Karen MacNeil manages to make a 900+ page book fun and easy to read by writing in a breezy, well-informed manner. Her book design allows the reader to pickup and put down the book often, without feeling like you've lost your place. The well-structured chapters flow easily and are very informative. I love this book because I can read it in bursts, a few pages at a time, and still learn more every time I pick the book up.


The book to start with   February 18, 2003
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

So I'm a beer snob, and learning to be a (cheap) wine snob. This book was given me as a gift by my parents, and it is cool.

It won't tell you everything there is to know about wine; that only comes with further reading and lots of tasting. But it's a spectacular foundation to learning the history and traditions involved, and it does a remarkable job of covering its subject without prejudices. The history of recent (i.e. last couple of hundred years) of wine development is the focus -- if you're looking for information on ancient wines you won't find much of it here, but if you want to know how Chile or Australia became the wine-growing powerhouses they are today, this book will tell you everything you might wish to know.

I've no real complaints with the book. There are big holes in its coverage, but wine is a truly gigantic subject and MacNeil has done a great job covering as much ground as she can -- there's great information on most of the major wine-growing countries, starting with France and Italy and going from there. There's even a narrative of sorts, with heroes like Robert Mondavi and the Gallo Brothers who rebuilt the California wine industry with book knowledge when the traditions had been wiped out by Prohibition, and villains like the phylloxera aphid that nearly destroyed the wine industry worldwide before American botanists saved the day by grafting European vines onto American rootstocks. Ancient traditions in France, Germany, and Italy are placed alongside modern innovation in California, Australia, and South America, showing that either way is an effective method for creating a great wine. Champagne is mentioned alongside the humble Spanish cava and party-loving German sekt. And the great old fortified wines -- port, sherry, madeira, marsala -- get their due in detail most people probably never imagined.

It's an excellent book to just open to a random page and flip through. It's informative without being snobbish, and written for both the casual browser and the serious oenophile. Tradition and modern science sit side-by-side, and the reader is bound to find a few little-known future favorites (Argentinian Malbec, in my case, a powerfully flavorful wine that I tried alongside some pot roast) just waiting in the "interesting cheap stuff" bins at the liquor store. Essentially, with this book there's no excuse for buying the cheap stuff in the box, or simply settling for the easy varietals (unless of course that's what you want). If you want to learn about wine and like to read, get this book and the address of a good liquor store.


Great Gift   December 20, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is serioucly the best gift idea ever. I couldnt thinkof what to get people for the holidays and the whoel bottle of wine thing has been so done. So instead I decided to take and old idea and spice it up I bought a cheap little basket this book (which is great) a bottle of wine I found in the book and a set of glasses. Its the cheapest nicest gift I've ever given and I got tons of compliments for the idea.