Carbon-dated evidence from 8,000 years ago informs us that winemaking is among our earliest activities. The stories of wine that follow rank high on our list of favorite reads.
The World Atlas of Wine, Eighth Edition (2019), Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson
Few stories of wine merit a second printing. Only a handful make enough of an impact to rate a third. Then you have the World Atlas of Wine, first published in 1971. Now in its EIGHTH printing, it has become a classic. Wine scholars and connoisseurs regard it as an essential reference.
“It is the most useful single volume on wine ever published,” wrote Andrew Jefford in Decanter. “If I only owned one wine book, it would be this one.”
Said Eric Asimov of The New York Times: “The World Atlas of Wine is the single most important reference book on the shelf of any wine student.”
“Like a good bottle of wine, you’ll find yourself going back to it again and again. It is perfect for anyone who has a thirst for greater wine knowledge,” added Edward Deitch of NBC/today.com
The World Atlas of Wine is a heavy tome, literally. It weighs a coffee-table-hogging five pounds and encompasses 416 pages, including a plethora of maps, 22 of them new.
Pre-eminent writer
Johnson is the world’s pre-eminent wine writer, and his Pocket Wine Book sells hundreds of thousands of copies per year. Another Johnson book, Vintage: The Story of Wine, published in the 1980s, is also mentioned in this space.
Robinson has written extensively on wine, and her Oxford Companion to Wine is considered one of the most important contributions to wine literature.
The eighth edition of the atlas reflects changes made in the wine industry over the past half-decade, and, as usual, it is lavish with gorgeous photographs.
The Wine Bible (2015), Karen MacNeil
To research her bestseller, MacNeil sampled more than 10,000 wines and visited dozens of wine regions around the world. It is a testament to her superior taste buds that they could discern the differences in 10,000 wines, and also to her mental acuity that she could decipher her notes so well after 10,000 sips.
Her research constitutes a country-by-country slog through winedom that looks at grape glory locally and internationally. The result is a bible that exploits all of the resources at her command. MacNeil offers anecdotes (often amusing ones), maps, photos, glossaries, and expert text and insight. Her product is one of the most entertaining and useful ones ever written on the subject.
When, for example, MacNeil writes about tannin in red wine grapes, she compares its grit to Clint Eastwood’s five-o’clock shadow.
The current edition is revised and updated, and has drawn raves from numerous experts.
“America’s most famous book on wine.” – Napa Sonoma magazine.
“A guide that has all the answers.” — chef Bobby Flay.
“This is a magnificent masterpiece of wine writing.” — Kevin Zraly.
Beyond fundamentals
MacNeil grounds her readers in wine fundamentals while also expanding her reach. In this book, she explores the wines of China, Mexico, Japan, and Slovenia.
The edition under discussion runs to nearly 1,000 pages (995 exactly) and constitutes a remarkable sweep of the history, creation, and current state of wine across the world.
MacNeil’s writing is wonderfully engaging. If you want to know anything about wine, The Wine Bible is the place to start. Grab a copy and open it randomly to any page. You won’t be disappointed.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1966), Robert Chrichton
The author (1925-93), no relation to Michael Chrichton (Jurassic Park), wrote two novels. The Camerons (1972) enjoyed modest success, but The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1966), became an international hit.
It spent more than 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list (18 weeks at No. 1 or No. 2). Anthony Quinn and Virna Lisi later helped make it a Golden Globe winner.
Book reviewers at the time fell overboard in their praise of the novel, using superlatives such as “epic,” “grand,” and “fantastic” to describe it. But no critic smashed champagne bottles over the book’s hull as effectively as Orville Prescott of The New York Times.
Trumpets & banners
“If I had my way,” he wrote, “the publication of Robert Crichton’s brilliant novel would be celebrated with fanfares of trumpets, with the display of banners. and with festivals in the streets.”
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is about courage and cowardice, love and war, laughter, heartache, and intrigue. It examines the best and worst of humanity and contains a thousand truths that debunk a million lies.
The “secret” in The Secret of Santa Vittoria centers around wine, lots of it, and whether or not the bad guys will get it.
Santa Vittoria is a hillside village somewhere in Italy. The time is World War II. It is a town populated by corrupt politicos, wine merchants, thousands of grape growers, and various con men, and stooges.
When the citizens of Santa Vittoria discover that Nazis are coming, they panic. Ultimately, they rally around the oafish Italo Bombolini to make sure that the Nazis are foiled.
Disciple of Machiavelli
Bombolini is Santa Vittoria’s mayor. He considers himself a disciple of Machiavelli, but most townspeople view him as a clown. Bombolini surprises even himself by taking charge of hiding the town’s treasure, one million bottles of wine.
Sant Vittoria faces supreme danger. Inevitably, the Nazis will see to it that someone will talk. The Nazis know that Santa Vittoria harbors a million bottles of wine, and they spend much of the book trying to find it, often resorting to torture.
To conceal the wine, hidden behind a fake wall, Bombolini and the townspeople must cast aside ancient grudges so that they can pool their meager resources but enduring spirit to outwit the Nazis.
Emotions run rampant
You will laugh when you read this book, and probably also cry. You will wonder, but never figure out, why some people can be so decent while others can be barbarically treacherous.
Finally, you will come to appreciate the character of the Italians, as well as the many memorable characters that sprang from Chrichton’s imagination.
Santa Vittoria and Italo Bombolini never really existed, of course. But they will live in your mind as long as you can hoist a glass.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria pairs perfectly with an Edict Library Collection Cabernet, which can be delivered to your door. Drink AND make money right here.
Vintage: The Story of Wine (1989 & 2006), Hugh Johnson
Hugh Johnson drinks wine (and writes about it)for a living, and not from a cheap bottle wrapped in a paper bag. Since 1960, upon his graduation from King’s College, Cambridge, the British savant has sampled and written about the best wines in the world. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on wine, which is near and dear to denizens of both back alleys and banquet tables.
Johnson penned his first book, Wine, in 1966, after joining the Cambridge Univesity Wine and Food Society. He followed with the World Atlas of Wine in 1967. That book mapped the world’s wine regions, becoming a landmark in wine literature.
Primary work
Johnson’s primary work is Vintage: The Story of Wine, published first in 1989 and re-issued in 2004. The Boston Public Broadcasting system turned the 480-page, lavishly illustrated tome into a 13-part series.
Vintage traces the history of wine from the bacchanalian bashes of the ancient world to today. It focuses on winemaking, merchandising, and drinking. It also provides a timeline for wine stemming from old-world Georgia, Greece, and Egypt.
The anecdotes sparkle. Example: Between 1519-21, Magellan became the first to circumnavigate the world. Johnson points out that Magellan stocked his ships with more wine than armaments, and eventually got himself killed.
Vintage: The Story of Wine includes 125 maps and illustrations, as well as a panel more than 5,000 years old that depicts what Johnson calls the first evidence of wine drinking.
Johnson’s book is educational and enthralling, a fitting tribute to the world’s oldest elixir, and well worth a place in your library or on your coffee table.
We also recommend
Cork Dork (2017), Bianca Bosker: It reached The New York Times bestseller list as soon as it was published. Bosker is a professional journalist who became intrigued by elite sommeliers. She wondered whether she could become a “cork dork,” and her book is the result.
Bosker takes her readers behind the scenes at fancy restaurants, at wine factories, and in tasting groups, in an attempt to discover why wine is such a big deal to so many people. Her effort is hilarious.
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition (2018), Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack: The sequel to Wine Folly offers an opportunity for those at the Wine 101 level to take it to the next level.
The Oxford Companion To Wine (1994), Jancis Robinson: The “companion” received international acclaim upon its publication. It fuses meticulous research and features nearly 4,000 entries on every wine topic.
Wine For Normal People (2019), Elizabeth Schneider: The author aims her words at people who enjoy wine, but not the snobbery occasionally associated with it. It also instructs on how to smell, swirl.
Wine Simple (2019), Aldo Sohm and Christine Muhlke: A book is aimed at teaching others all about wine. It is lively and fun, and also educational.
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