The Wine Bible, 3rd Edition (The Workman Bible Series)

Very well written, extremely enjoyable and quite informative. IMO, Karen is the best wine writer there is.

I hope to come back and edit this review when I've read more of the book, and more thouroughly. If not I hope what I have to say so far will help you decide. I bought this book as a gift for my wife and she really likes it a lot. She's not as technical as I am or as anal about things and said it was more her speed. She said it was more a pleasure to read than something you'd 'have' to read if you went to wine school. I have looked at the book too and agree with her in the respect that if you are like us, novice wine drinkers, this book would be nice to have around. It's not all stuffy or in your face with opinions. It has a lot of good information that is up to date. It's fun to read while you enjoy a glass of wine or two. It will find it's way into your hands more often than sitting on the shelf too. It's a great reference guide you can use over and over. If you are a novice like us and just enjoy wine and want to learn more about it, you will like this book. If you look in the mirror and see the next Master Sommelier more power to you. But even the teacher can be taught so it might still be nice to have in your library. If for nothing else, so your uneducated wine friends don't think your a snob. Nobody likes a snob, especially those of us who just enjoy a cheap bottle of table red every now and then. But I bet once you are alone and have no one to impress but yourself, you will enjoy this book as well. Rob

Extremely useful.. lots of valuable informations.

Well researched and written treatise on wine but not as complete as it should be. The author missed a few new but developing wine producing countries like Armenia, where they found grape seeds from 6200 years ago!

A complete wine education in one volume.

Very broad "shotgun" approach to wines. Obviously the author has spent a long time learning about them. This book is basically a summary of 9 major types of wine in the market. They are discussed by the area where they are successfully grown. 1.Basic wine tasting do's and don'ts is discussed 2.The tremendous loss that occurred to vines due to phylloxera is discussed which amazed me. 3.Different standards in grape growing and wine making across the world. 4.Something that it did not contain was some of the latest research into wine.(of course it couldn't because it was written in 2001).. This new research at the molecular level on proteins see the Wired.Com article on wine, here is a quote: "Then, they compared the O. oeni proteomic fingerprint to that of closely related bacterial strains. By looking for differences in the proteins each microbe makes, the team was able to identify proteins expressed by O. oeni that aren't expressed by its less-boozy relatives. Not surprisingly, they report in the journal Open Biology, several of these proteins were enzymes involved in rearranging molecules to form diacetyls, acetoins, or esters, the compounds that give wine nutty, buttery, or fruity aromas." 5.So, eventually, scientific research may again help take some of the mystery out of how and why a particular wine tastes and "smells" the way it does... and include a description of how this process takes place. Not only will we taste the difference but we will understand that more than water,soil,nutrients,climate, and rootstock/scion types and etc. affect wine aroma and taste.

I have three wine books, and this is the one I turn to the most. Granted, I don't have an atlas, and I am very new to the world of wine; nevertheless, this book is not only packed with information, it is an engaging and pleasurable read. A book this long (over 900 pages) runs the risk of being overly dense and perhaps even overly pedantic. MacNeil's book is neither. The book is very well designed, with good visuals--text formatting and graphics--and MacNeil writes like someone who knows how to teach. Her prose is engaging, her voice clear, and she doesn't ever talk down to the reader. The first 100 pages is devoted to examinations of grape varieties, storage, tasting, winemaking (i.e., how vintners do it, not how to DIY). (She warns us about the tendency of rabbit-ears corkscrews to chew up the cork, something I had to find out the hard way--I wish I'd know this sooner!) After that, the book is organized by country, and she discusses issues specific to regions, and even lists "Wines to Know" from each area, a nice feature for us novices. If I could keep only one of my three wine books, this would be it. It's not just informative, it's fun.

amazing

I had the second edition and was happy to upgrade. This is a nice visual update.

Preso come regalo, questo libro è piaciuto molto. Il contenuto è effettivamente di elevata qualità e perfetto per chi vuole approfondire la conoscenza dei vini studiandone anche le varie caratteristiche. Direi un ottimo manuale da avere per chi è appassionato di enologia.

Es un excelente complemento de estudios, datos frescos, y la visión de la escritura, muy buena, y las fotos increíbles. Gracias

Living in France and enjoying a glass or two of good wine, I was intrigued to find this 'bible' on a trip to the States. It is very informative - not only on specific wines but also on the history, development and production of wine throughout the world. This is just the thing to dip in and out of - there always seems to be something to intrigue!

If u like 2 drink and still make conversation while getting drrruuunk, this is 4 u.