Grapes & Wines: The Definitive Guide to Choosing and Buying the Perfect Bottle of Wine Every Time

I bought this book (on Kindle) as another reference to wines and winemaking in general, always looking for something additional for my knowledge base. There is good general information in the book to help the novice in understanding the complexity of grape growing and the production of wine, with individual entries on many of the grape varieties used commercially in the world. However, without getting too lengthy, I was disappointed in several respects. The book contains errors, mostly small, but some glaring. For example, in the Italian grapes, there seems to be confusion in the identification of varieties and associated wines; this can be a difficult area given the very confusing varietal situation just being unraveled there, but it could have been more clearly researched. There are also statements, as if fact, that are actually uncertain or unknown, such as Sangiovese named after "Blood of Jove"; the actual source of the name is unknown. Also in the Sangiovese section, it is stated that the grape is the offspring of Ciliegiolo, when it is more likely to be the parent. In the Ciliegiolo entry, current knowledge is correctly stated; why the confusion?. Other errors are more significant; the authors state that Chianti Classico is one of the seven subdivisions of Chianti, a major mistake. It is a completely separate DOCG unrelated to the Chianti areas; not a fact which should be missed by established wine writers.I am more bothered by what I perceive to be personal bias in the comments made about quality. While we all have our own taste preferences, books such as this should at least acknowledge that the material reflects their own palate choices. In the grape variety section, this seems easily recognized in entries such as Aglianico, given barely a mention, although one of the finest age worthy red grapes of Italy, found in some of its finest wines. The producer list for Aglianico also fails to mention Fucci, one of its great producers, who just received a ninth consecutive Tre Bicchiere award for their Aglianico. Similar snubs and omissions, some with undeserved negative comment, are present throughout the grape variety section of the book, to its detriment.My suggestion would be to utilize the factual aspects of the book, but understand that some of the comments on grapes and wines are not widely shared by other experienced wine writers and regional experts, and that fact checking has been a bit lax; try the wines yourself to see how they please your own palate and do not expect everything to taste like cab or merlot (thankfully). Enjoy the diversity of wine from your own experience, not from the established, and frequently non-objective opinion of others.

Can get a little technical, but also a good guide for simply understanding the wide-ranging world of grapes and wine.

Just what my husband needed

Comprehensive, insighful and fun to read

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great re-cap of the wine making process from vineyard to bottle and then an excellent review of the grapes youll likey encounter on a regular basis. great reference for the consumer and a great resource tying together a lot of information the avid oenophile will have encountered with excellent clarification on many points. a must for any wine library and a definite aid for anyone in the business selling directly to consumers.

An excellent and comprehensive guide to the major grapes of the world. The detail of these grapes is excellent, including viticultural and oenological information, plus excellent insights into how the grape performs around the world.Aside from the in-depth information on the major grapes, there is interesting information about many of the lesser known grapes. I'd love more information on some of them, but this is a weighty and comprehensive tome as it is, so I'm very happy to recommend it in its current form. I've only found one wine I sell in my wine shop which isn't covered in here, the Hungarian grape Juhfark, but that's not bad going as I've tried to trip it up regularly.

I was always looking for such book - how to know better the grape, to build each "cepage" profile in head that I could access better to each wine.Oz is a great writer. Huge amount of information in simple and compehensible way as usual. And many usefull information around.Book has 2 main parts:- about soil, vine, history, etc;- about each grape we can ever image exists.For most used grapes we get bunch of pages - history, geography, profile, taste... And, more important - best producers are presented and even more important - list of great value wines made from that grape (or dominated, like in Bordeaux, where blends are common).I have started to use this book as a reference when I can to build certain grape profile in my head. Or to get more information what good value wine I should seek for.

Wines are normally described based on the location, wine yard or country of origin. Oz Clarke had however the brilliant idea to describe wines based on the grape(s) used. Information is given on each grape used for making of wine. For the most important grapes, further details are given such as history and geographic locations, viticulture and vinification, taste and a limited number of recommended producers and wines. Since the world of wine is constantly changing, this book is regularly updated, the latest revision is from 2008. It gives a very original, unique and informative look on the available wines around the world, therefore highly recommended for all wine lovers.

Compared to the classic "Wine Grapes" book by Robinson et al. this one is much more accessible, better illustrated and just more fun to read thanks to Oz Clarke's brilliant sense of humour. But also still a very comprehensive dictionary of grape varieties that can be used as a reference book. Highly recommended

Really good and informative book