Wine Books - Non-Fiction

The "best" wine book depends on the time. In terms of the best reference book, I have listed those that I believe were the best and the dates that they were so.

Wine Reference Books
1934	Schoonmaker, Frank and Tom Marvel	The Complete Wine Book.
1964	Schoonmaker, Frank	Encyclopedia of Wine. The first of the definitive reference works on wine. Copyright 1978 by the Estate of Frank Schoonmaker. Revised and updated numerous times. The 7th Edition was Revised and Expanded by Julius Wile
1967	Lichine, Alexis	Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. The first serious competitor of Schoonmaker's Encyclopedia.
1974	Lichine, Alexis	New Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. The NEW encyclopedia has an extensive description of the 1971 German wine law which made German labels almost readable! It also has a comprehensive list of the Official Classification of the Great Growths of the Gironde: Classification of 1855 and the Saint-Emilion 1955 Official Classification. Other aspects of the Appendixes are containers and measures, conversion tables, a 1974 vintage chart and a Pronouncing Glossary. Alexix Lichine's New Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits reigned supreme for about 20 years.
1994	Robinson, Jancis	The Oxford Companion to Wine. Jancis Robinson, a Master of Wine, eclipsed Alexis Lichine by publishing an encyclopedia of wine that included everything in the "New Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits" and then some, and it was up to date. The most recent edition is the third edition, 2006. Maps, controlled appellations throughout the world with their permitted grape varieties and, imbedded in the entries, a description of every grape variety. (see below)
1996	Robinson, Jancis	Guide to Wine Grapes. A "pocket" guide to grapes, it also includes a list of regions and the grape varieties permitted therein.

Other Non-Fiction Books About Wine
1972	Ordish, George	The Great Wine Blight. Phylloxera! This book tells of the appearance in the 1860s of this root louse, how it destroyed the vines of Europe and the remedy which eventually restored Europe's wine industry.
1998	Mondavi, Robert	Harvests of Joy. Robert Mondavi's autobiography not only tells his life story but is practically a biography of new world wine. They are that closely intertwined.
2005	Taber, George M	"Judgment in Paris: California vs France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine." Not the story from Greek mythology that led up to the Trojan war, this book describes the tasting that was heard 'round the world and how it affected wine in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and also throughout Europe. This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in wine.

Copyright ©2001-2008 All rights reserved