During the 25 odd years since I have been in love with wine, and constantly reading about it I have collected over a hundred books on the subject including the one lone Italian Wine Guide I wrote with my colleague Sourish. The one book I cherish the most is the Oxford Companion to Wine which is edited by the UK based wine diva, Jancis Robinson.
I was overawed by the mass of contents when I came across it in a library over a decade ago and I still get dumbstruck over the quality and amount of information it has every time I open it for referencing. I was surprised to find a lone copy of the 2006 edition last year at Galgotia's book store in Noida, selling fro Rs.2300, and clung on to it instantly.
The book is a true encyclopedia of vine to wine, from all over the world. Though it is not very elaborate in indexing the new regions like Portugal (and who can blame them for not center-staging India!) and does not really talk about the favourite wineries like the World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson or ' Wine' by Andre Domine or Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson, but it has so much basic information about the viticulture, the winemaking, the regions, several legendry wineries etc. and the explanation of several wine terms that it makes a great reading anytime of the day or night- except when I am a bit too tired or sleepy.
K.I.S.S. is what I need when I want a light reading or night reading (while being cosy in the bed). Authored by Robert Joseph and Margaret Rand, this Guide to Wine is so simple and interesting read that it could well be prescribed a text book for Wine -101 or 102 anywhere and get people hooked and asking for more!
Both are my favourites in the non-fiction section. Do you have any wine books that you might have read and want to share with us?
Subhash Arora |