My Favorite Wine Books Of All Time
These books have helped me know wine. They've inspired me, empowered me, and given me invaluable knowledge.
Wine books are my bread and butter. I’m never without a book, and tend to fall into two categories—books about wine and books about the environment. They often overlap. This is a list of the books that I’ve found most valuable, most inspirational, and most eye-opening. I know you’ll love them too.
What Makes A Wine Worth Drinking by Terry Theise
Theise’s What Makes A Wine Worth Drinking is, to me, a romance book that happens to be about wine. In it, Theise makes an argument for supporting small scale winemakers and farmers, connects wine to the grape and the person growing it, and speaks to the authenticity of small producers and their winemaking efforts. Incredibly moving and poetic, if you purchase or borrow one wine book on this list, let it be this one. You’ll never forget it.
An Unlikely Vineyard by Deirdre Heekin
Part love story, part technical understanding of vineyard management, An Unlikely Vineyard shares the story of Deirdre Heekin of La Garagista, her drive to showcase Vermont’s terroir in her wines, and how she approaches vineyard management. She talks through composting, trellis setup, pruning, climate, and dealing with pests with her signature grace and acceptance of nature. Lots of great explanatory pictures and Heekin’s excellent prose. This is one I often turn back to.
Flawless: Understanding Faults in Wine by Jamie Goode
What even are wine flaws? In this book, Jamie Goode unravels common flaws like volatile acidity, cork taint, brettanomyces, and others. It’s a science book at heart, but written in a way that makes it accessible to folks who don’t have degrees in chemistry (like me). Very interesting book that highlights how faults come about, what winemakers can do about them, and how consumers experience them. This book will help you further your understanding around why some wines taste the way they do.
An eye opener! I read this book with my mouth hanging open, it’s a page turner. Kladstrup walks you through the role wine had to play in World War II, sharing the history of the land, the vineyards, and the families that made wine in France during this tumultuous time. We think of vineyards as these beautiful pastoral areas, but this book really highlights how this land was brutalized during the war, and what French vigneron had to deal with in order to survive. Loss, bravery, and heroism line every page of this book.