Hi my name is konstantin baum i’m a Master of wine and i’ve tasted a few Hundred wines already this week so i Decided that today i’m going to drink a Cup of tea and answer a question that a Lot of you guys have asked me in the Past what are the best wine books so Let’s start reading [Music] Books and wine go hand in hand the first Thing that got me interested in one was Tasting wine but the next thing i did Afterwards was to buy a book on wine Things have changed since i first got Into wine and today there are far more Online resources you can find up-to-date Information on wines vintages and Producers on websites blogs podcasts and Even social media but in my opinion There’s no real alternative to a Well-written well-researched book by an Insightful author i’m not somebody who Likes to own a lot of things and i often Feel regret when i spend my money on Something that i don’t really need i Never felt bad about buying another book Even though i own a lot of books good Ones and bad ones today i want to share Some of my favorites with you this is by No means the entire list but a pretty Good selection for all knowledge levels I will reference all of the books down Below this video as many of you have Suggested my first book recommendation
For people who want to learn more about Wine but only want to buy one book is This here the word atlas of wine by Janus robinson and hugh johnson it was The first expensive wine book that i Bought when i first got into wine and i Still recommend it to people who want to Learn more about the topic it gives you A great overview of most of the main Wine growing regions but it also Includes a lot of information on Viticulture wine making and wine tasting It was first published in 1971 and since Then millions of copies have been sold And it was translated into 14 different Languages the first author of the wine Atlas was hugh johnson and i got the First edition of the wine atlas right Here today janus robinson another wine Industry legend is helping him with the Atlas the wine atlas was not you Johnson’s idea but his publisher michael Beasley suggested to him that he should Write a book with some great maps and so He did the book was a runaway success And it’s still very useful even in times When you can look up everything on Google i really like to go back to the Original version in order to see what Has changed since the 1970s some things Have not changed at all if you look at The intro it’s pretty much the same And in some regions like for example in Burgundy in the cote nui you can only
See a few changes between 1971 and today Like for example the elevation of la Grange to concrete With a 1991 vintage but if you go to the New world the changes become very very Clear this book was first released Before the judgment of paris and many New world regions are not really Featured in a lot of detail south America for example just got two pages Two pages for argentina chile and all of The rest so the next book is essential Wine tasting by michael shuster which is A detailed course book that shows you How to approach a wine tasting from Which equipment to use to how to taste To how to recognize the main grape Varieties and regions i bought this book Years ago when i worked as a somebody in Dublin and it’s still the best book that I’ve read on wine tasting it goes into Quite a lot of detail on how taste is Created and it gives you quite a lot of Examples on which wines to taste in Order to build your palette michael uses Interesting metaphors in similes like For example his comparison between blind Tasting and astronomy Finding your way around wine is like Navigating the sky at night you need to Recognize the reference points to get Your bearings until you are shown the Particular bright star you don’t see the Pattern called orion the hunter this
Book is great if you want to expand your Knowledge about wine tasting as well as Your tasting vocabulary michael also Runs a wine tasting school in london and Many masters of wine students go there In order to learn more about blind Tasting i’m only one of many masters of Wine who’ve gone to michael’s class and Have learned a lot from him so the next Book is the science of wine by jamie Good this is an in-depth overview of the How behind wine this is for people who Really want to learn more about wine and Want to get into the science behind Viticulture enology and wine tasting it Is far less romantic or fun than most Wine books but it is well written and it Is accessible to people without much Knowledge of science the author jamie Good is a wine writer and he has a phd In plant biology so he knows his stuff He breaks the book up into three Sections in the vineyard in the winery And our interaction with wine and then Goes into topics like phylloxera and Ungrafted wines and sulfur dioxide as Well as wine and health you will also Find some images in the book but it’s Mainly text and it’s not a book designed To be read in one go i mainly read it Chapter by chapter and even then i Sometimes have to read the same chapter Twice this is not one of those poorly Researched wine books and the
Information is very useful he goes into Very much detail and i’ve learned a lot From this book so the next book is wine Grapes the bible of employergraphy and It covers pretty much everything you Need to know about grape varietals it Was written by three true experts julia Harding janus robinson and jose williams It’s a beautiful big big book and it Describes 1 368 grape varietals from abutto to Zweigart i’ve used this book in the past In my videos when i talked about grape Varieties so you might have seen it Before there’s a lot of detailed Information on the parentage the origins Of the grape variety and where it is Grown and it’s just really beautifully Made you can also see the color of the Grapes of the berries in the book and You can find beautiful beautiful Drawings of different grape varieties Here in the book as well it is certainly Not the first book that you should buy When you get into wine and some of you Might say this is entirely useless which Might be true but i just had to have it I really like the detail of information That you can find in this book here and I also like that they didn’t include a More general introduction to the book But really focused in on the grape Varietals so this is noble rod it’s not A book but a magazine but i really enjoy
Reading it and it’s the only wine Magazine that i actually have a Subscription for nobel right was Launched in 2013 by music executive dan Kealing and my friend and fellow mw mark Andrew they really wanted to create a Wine magazine that fuses wine with pop Culture and in addition to great Articles they also have beautiful Artwork in the magazine i actually own a Few limited edition prints from this Magazine and they are hanging on the Walls of my office so if you want to Read entertaining articles on topics Like a wine lover’s guide to iran or the Top 10 movie food scenes then this is The magazine for you and you’re a real Wine nerd by the way this is my favorite Cover that they ever did and i never got The chance to buy the limited edition Print for this cover which is a bit of a Shame since launching the magazine They’ve also started two restaurants Which are great and they’ve written a Book that i can’t really review here Because i haven’t read it even though It’s sitting on my shelf so last but not Least i have drunk from edward Slingerland it’s a wide-ranging Provocative and educational book about The story of drinking this book does not Really focus on wine but on intoxication In general And it’s not filled with stories from
Stag parties instead it’s a Well-researched analysis by a professor Of philosophy this book is one of my Favorites of 2021 as lingaland argues That intoxicants in general and Alcoholic beverages in particular are so Deeply interwoven in our culture that Humanity as we know it wouldn’t exist Without them part of his theory is also That hunter-gatherers might not have Settled in order to grow grains because They wanted to make bread but because They wanted to make beer instead he Explains that intoxicants help solve Several distinctive human challenges Like for example enhancing creativity Alleviating stress building trust and Encouraging cooperation he really tries To solve the question why do we drink And he pulls it off without glorifying Intoxicants in any way key to this is Obviously a respectful relationship with Alcohol limiting the consumption of Spirits and more social control meaning Less drinking alone he explains that the Right amount of alcohol can actually Enhance your quality of life as well as Your performance and he uses an example That he found in the silicon valley Which is called the balmer peak named After the former ceo of microsoft it Describes a very high but very narrow Peak of a curve describing a Programmer’s coding skill as a function
Of alcohol consumption interesting stuff I hope you enjoyed this video which was A bit different than my normal videos if You liked it then please like it down Here subscribe to my channel if you Haven’t done so already my question of The day is which is your favorite wine Book please comment down below i hope i See you guys again soon when i won’t be Tasting tea but tasting wine again Whatever you do until then stay Thirsty [Music]