by:
MacNeil, Karen

Publisher:
Workman Publishing Company
Published:September 2001
ISBN:1563054345
Format:Paperback
Pages:904

Description: Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Though it drinks deep of its subject, Karen MacNeil's Wine Bible deftly avoids two traps many wine books fall into: talking down to wine novices or talking up to more experienced enophiles. The book avoids these traps through MacNeil's obvious, and infectious, love of her subject, which comes out in almost every sentence of the book, and which lets her talk about wine in a way that combines the good teacher, the trusted friend, and the expert sommelier. As director of the wine program at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California, MacNeil is one of the world's true experts on wine. After reading a chapter on the Burgenland, for example, you've learned about the region's sweet wines while feeling like you're actually there, toasting a glass of Cuvee Suss with the author. It is this passion that leads to describing an Italian riservas as "mesmerizing" and a Cabernet Sauvignon as having "texture like cashmere."

The Wine Bible is broken into countries, hitting all of the major wine producers and most of the minor ones. Each section gives detailed descriptions of the country's wines (with chapters on individual regions when necessary), highlighting specific wine producers and individual wines, as well as talking about local foods, customs, and other tidbits that add to the reading experience. MacNeil begins her journey through the world's wine with an invaluable section on "Mastering Wine," which lets a reader get ready before uncorking separate sections. --A.J. Rathbun

Robert Mondavi
"Thorough, authoritative, and entertaining, this is the most complete wine book ever....It's a reference to turn to often. "

Book Description
THE WINE BIBLE is like a lively course from an expert teacher, grounded deeply in the fundamentals and enriched with passionate opinions, asides, tips, anecdotes, definitions, glossaries, illustrations, maps, charts, and wine labels-everything, in fact, but the actual wine itself. Beginning with the basics of mastering wine-how to taste with focus and build a wine-tasting memory, understanding the subtle interplay of variety, vineyard, and vintner to demystifying the issue of vintages-it covers the essentials: The emotion and intrigue of Burgundy. Rhne's untamed reds. The flinty pleasures of sauvignon blanc and surprising delicacy of Spain's Riojas. Bordeaux, the largest fine wine vineyard on the globe and epitome of terroir. Fourteen Sonoma wines to know. The importance of finish. Tuscany, kingom of variable microclimates. The precise and food-friendly wines of Germany. The narrow 30-mile stretch of ambition, experimentation, and surpassing quality called Napa. Why the "punt," or indentation in a wine bottle. Australia, where cutting-edge technology meets easy, outgoing, unpretentious character. Plus Austria, New Zealand, South Africa, Portugal, and more.

Eight years in the writing, Karen MacNeil's THE WINE BIBLE takes any reader, at any level of interest and sophistication, and offers the one thing guaranteed to increase his or her pleasure in wine-knowledge. It's illustrated throughout with maps, photographs, charts, wine labes, and has hundreds of boxes featuring historical tidbits, fun wine facts, and wine destinations while traveling.