Eyewitness Companions: Wines of the World: Your Essential Handbook

Eyewitness Companions

by Susan Keevil

Ecompassing thirty-five major wine-producing regions, this compact, illustrated handbook identifies wines made in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, and the Far East and furnishes helpful information on top producers, must-have vintages, grape varieties, wineries, and more.

Genres: Wine, Reference, Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food and Drink

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful compendium about wines, their history, terroir, ranking, etc., but it's hardly useful as a read-through book. It's more of an encyclopedia to reference when traveling to a specific country or to review when seeking to explore the vast choices now available in places like Total Wine or on internet websites. Of course, there are always classic wineries whose products have been known over decades, even centuries, and about which some background might be enriching. But hobbyists and movie producers with money to burn are buying up or creating Bodegas and Weinbergen at a speed that makes it impossible to stay on top of the "vineyard," as it were. The most updated version of this book is ten years old. Since it's release, thousands of wineries have appeared around the world and some of them need to appreciated. It's better to check the internet for new wine destinations and compare them with old classics noted in this handbook.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview of wine production throughout the world with superficial discussion of each area. One problem with the book is the author emphasis of California, New York, and the Pacific Northwest as wine producing areas with the total exclusion of Texas and the Midwest, both of which have extensive production of some reply good wines. This book is a fair overall introduction to the wine areas of the world.

[Maria]

It's useful, the sort of thing you will dip in and out of. However, you do need to read another more generalist, detailed "wine course" book first to get the most out of this one, there's not alot of detail in some places (but I guess that's the point).

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier, I reviewed a book in the Eyewitness Companions series on French Wine. What better sequel than looking at wine throughout the world? This volume does a nice job of providing the reader with a background regarding wine and then conducting a country by country tour of the important winemaking countries of the world. As always, one gets breadth at the cost of depth. But the tradeoff appears to me to be well worth making.

The context for winemaking is complicated. The work says (Page 10): "Wine is a pure reflection of its `terroir' [Page22--". . .a unique combination of climate, topography, and soil types [that:] shapes the character of the vines. . ."], and no other single product sums up its cultural, geographical, and historical origins in quite the same way." Wine apparently began being made in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. Over time, grapes and wine spread throughout many countries. Trivia: France leads in wine production, with Italy second, Spain third, and the US fourth (see Page 13). Wine consumption is greatest in France. The US ranks 17th among countries.

The first part of the book explores the history of wine, the "terroir" (how the climate, soil type, etc. affect the grape), the various types of grape (e.g., merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, riesling, and sauvignon blanc among many others), what happens in the vineyard, the winemaking process, and the style of wines (sparkling, rose, etc).

With that context as background, the book then begins a country by country examination of grapes and wines throughout the world. Countries featured include the usual suspects, such as France, Italy, Spain, the United States, Germany (and Austria and Switzerland), Portugal, and so on. In addition, new world production in Chile and Argentina are discussed as well as the wine industry in venues such as Australia and New Zealand and Greece, etc. In a short Amazon review, it is quite impossible to summarize all. So, here are a couple samplings of the discussion, focusing on a handful of countries. Part of the fun of this book, after all, is one's personal exploration of wines of the world!

Spain: First, a background on Spanish wine, including Spanish Wine Law. Then, a region by region discussion of wines, in northern Spain, central Spain, and Southern Spain. For each region, a discussion of the characteristic variety of grapes, the types of wine, characteristics of those wines, and so on.

Chile: Again, the discussion begins with an enumeration of the "terroir" of grapes in Chile, then a listing of top producers in each geographic area, and a brief description of the major wine producers in the country. At the end, one does have a clearer sense of wine in Chile.

All in all, an enjoyable and relaxing tour of the winemaking world. Another typically well done product of the Eyewitness Companions series.

[Jonathan]

None

[exinocactus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive, illustrated compact guide on wines of the world. Can be used as a short reference by any beginner wine lover :)

[Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of wines, regions, and producers. Rich source of reference material - one for the bookshelf.

[Leo Schoonmade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gelezen in het Nederlands.