It’s that time of year! Round up time. Here are my best wine books from the year.
Best wine books 2020
Don’t know about you but I can’t actually drink wine at every meal. I mean, I could try but it’s not going to be healthy and is bordering alcoholic behaviour. So to keep that at bay and to keep up my wine skills, I read about wine instead. With my brekkie smoothie, on the train on the way to work, when I’m in bed by 9pm most weeknights. Ya know, the norm.
And if you can’t drink wine, what better way to spend your time than reading about other people drinking wine and learn a bit along the way.
So, here are my most favourite reads about all things vino…
The Wine Bible: Wine Folly, Madeleine Puckett & Justin Hammack
This is the book every wine lover should have in the library. I’m telling ya, it’s the wine book of all wine books!
Madeleine and Justin have put together the basics and everything you need to learn about wine from how wine is made to wine traits. They then go into huge detail on grapes and wines as well as wine regions across the world.
With handy infographics, easily digestible content and a geography lesson you didn’t know you needed, I’m pretty sure if you swallowed this book you’d be a pro.
You can buy Wine Folly on Amazon via the link below:
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Edition
The One About Natural Wines: Natural Wine: an introduction to organic & biodynamic wines made naturally, Isabelle Legeron
Think Natural Wine is a fad? Isabelle Legeron, MW, champion for natural winemaking and queen of Raw Wine World will convince you otherwise. Isabelle walks through the importance of natural wine from preserving the land to preserving your health.
You’ll learn what natural wine actually is, what it looks like from the vineyard to the cellar, the misconceptions of natural wine and the (positive) impact switching to natural wine can have on your body. She then looks in to the people who started the movement, the growers and winemakers producing the best wines and where you can get it. It’s a great insight into the often unnatural world of wine and why going back to the natural way matters.
You can buy Isabelle’s book on Amazon via the link below:
Natural Wine: An Introduction to Organic and Biodynamic Wines Made Naturally
The Lol-Tastic One: Everything Happens For a Riesling, Grace de Morgan
Absolutely had me laughing from start to finish and I think I read it in about three days. Grace draws on fellow winos including her ma (Mama de Morgs) to help us choose wines confidently from wherever we are, walks us through grapes and wine styles plus gives us a good overview of the world map of wine.
She makes history hilarious, refers to grapes as people and just sums up the whole process nicely.
Definitely one to add to the boozy book collection and a great toolkit for exploring the wine world!
You can buy Grace’s book on Amazon at the link below:
Everything Happens for a Riesling
The Funny, Sweary, Smart One: Wine. All the time, Marissa A. Ross
Marissaaaaa, what a legend. Marissa is v smart, writes for Bon Appetit and Co-Hosts Natural Disasters podcast with Adam Vourvoulis.
She is also a person who likes to swear and drink from the bottle and I’m very much here for that kind of behaviour.
In the book, Marissa walks through definitions, tasting wine, regions, wine labels, hosting and buying wine, all peppered with her story and experiences along the way – which sound like a bloody hoot.
Outside of the fun, her candidness and honesty are what I love about this book/Marissa in general and how she takes away and reason to be scared of the intimidating wine world out there.
You can buy Marissa’s book on Amazon via the link below:
Wine. All The Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking
That Mad Sommlife One: Cork Dork
This one caught me off guard, I must admit. Bianca Bosker is a tech journo who discovered the world of sommeliers and associated competitions in the US.
She proceeded to quit her job, begin sommlife as a ‘cellar rat’ and gradually rise up the ranks of the service industry so she could learn how people taste at these levels and what flavour really is.
The results were amazing and the story is so good, I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I would HIGHLY recommend a read.
It’s funny, science-y, sceptical and a real insight into the underbelly of the wine industry in New York and the US.
You can buy Cork Dork on Book Depository here.
So there are my best wine books for the year! What’s your favourite wine book? Any of the above or have I missed some v important reads? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or contact me on social media.
Cheers,
Lorna
Want to read about winemakers instead? Here are my top female winemakers from the year.
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