Buying Guides Books - Page 16

John Platter's South African Wine Guide '95

John Platter

List Price: $13.95 By: Antique Collectors Club Ltd Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $4.26

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Kevin Zraly's American Wine Guide

Kevin Zraly

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sterling

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Disappointing book on American wine 2 out of 5 stars.
21 of 23 people found this review helpful.

When I heard that Kevin Zraly would be publishing a new pocket-size guide to the wines of the United States this month, I was so excited that I got right on the horn and nagged the publisher to rush me out an advance copy for review.

It looked like a great concept whose time had come, as interest in American wines is on the rise. Despite angry opposition from distributors, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 ruling on wine shipping holds potential to open new markets for small wineries in "non-traditional" wine-producing states (i.e., everything east of California, Oregon and Washington).

Moreover, wine production east of the Rockies is enjoying a significant, if little-publicized, boom. The number of U.S. commercial wineries has expanded sevenfold in the past 30 years, from fewer than 600 bonded wineries in 1975 to more than 4,000 today. And for the first time in history, there are now commercial wineries in all 50 states. California still makes 90 percent of the nation's wine, and New York, Washington and Oregon make much of the rest, but even in the non-traditional states, the chances are good that there's a winery not far from you.

The market was ready for one really good consumer guide to all this activity, and Zraly - known both as the longtime wine guru of the Windows on the World restaurant atop the ill-fated World Trade Center and as a respected wine educator whose "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" is one of the most popular and highly recommended starter books on wine - seemed to be a good choice to write it.

Sadly, however, this is not one really good guide. Quick, casual and lightweight, it appears to have been rushed out with minimal effort and limited research.

A slender cardboard-bound volume sized to fit a (largish) pocket, it begins with a brief outline of wine tasting and short history of American wine, neither going into more depth than a magazine article. The "meat" of the book, a state-by-state listing of each state's winery situation, is disappointingly brief, generic and carelessly researched. Most states are disposed of in a single page, with ample white space and colorful wine-label images. Contents are generally limited to a state wine website (most of them pointing back to the useful but generic AmericanWineries.org), the number of wineries in the state, each state's oldest winery, largest winery and two or three "well-known wineries," a listing and tiny map of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), if any, the number of acres under vine, and a short list of "top grapes."

There's no complete listing of wineries and no contact or location information for those shown; no wine-tasting reports or any consumer advice at all. And frankly, a quick read revealed an abundance of errors. Kentucky's first vineyard is shown as Lover's Leap in Lawrenceburg, founded in 2000, which seems odd considering that I visited, and wrote about, Broad Run Vineyards in 1998, at which time it was selling 1993 and 1995 vintage wines. It's still extant. Indiana's "well-known wineries" omits Huber Orchard & Winery in Starlight, one of the state's oldest and largest.

Kevin, I'm disappointed in you. This book could have been so much, but in fact it's so little. It reminds me of nothing so much as a student's term paper based on a quick read of Cliff's Notes plot summaries.

La cultura de vino: Una guia amena para pasar de iniciado a experto en vinos

Oriol Segarra

Amazon Price: $22.12 List Price: $28.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gestion 2000 Amazon Marketplace: 9 new & used starting at $19.91

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Editorial Review:

This reference for wine enthusiasts wishing to expand their knowledge of wine offers a perfect combination of basic, complex, expert, and technical information resulting in a thorough and practical text.

 

Esta referencia pensado para aficionados que quiera iniciarse en su fabuloso mundo y en su cultura proporciona un equilibrio perfecto entre el básico, el complejo, el experto, y el técnico del los vinos que se resulta en un texto practico y ameno.

Murray's Cheese/Andrea Robinson Wine Boxed Set

Rob Kaufelt, Andrea Robinson

Amazon Price: $20.46 List Price: $25.90 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Broadway Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $2.08

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The New Encyclopedia of Wine: An illustrated guide to the vineyards of the world, the best grape varieties and the practicalities of buying, keeping, serving ... and wine labels (The New Encyclopedia of)

Stuart Walton

Amazon Price: $23.69 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lorenz Books Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $13.95

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Editorial Review:

Focuses on 12 major grape varieties from Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to Gamay, their aromas, flavors and characters.

Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2006 (Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guides)

Oz Clarke

Amazon Price: $14.00 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harcourt Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Better Than Hugh Johnson 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a terrific wine guide. Oz Clarke is knowledgeable and concise in his descriptions and often spot on. But best of all, the guide is totally alphabetical...you don't have to go to the country or regional section first...it's all one big section.

You can learn a lot from Clarke. but if you want a guide that helps you at the super market, the typical wine store (not one in NYC)...then get Andrea Immer's guide. Ever soooooooooo practical.

Editorial Review:

Idispensable as ever, Oz Clarke's now-classic pocket wine guide has been thoroughly and meticulously revised and updated for 2006, with much-anticipated lists of favorite wines, top values, and producers and regions to watch, as well as with new vintage reports.

As user-friendly as it is complete, Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2006 lists each wine, grape, winery, producer, and region alphabetically for easy reference. It is a perfect pocket reference for novices--and essential for the seasoned wine lover wanting the latest information.

Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2007 (Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guides)

Oz Clarke

Amazon Price: $14.00 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harcourt Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

If this was a wine I would give it a 75 rating. 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

More of a wine dictionary than anything else. I find Hugh Johnson's guide much better for looking up individual vineyards and determining the quality of their wines.

Roger

A compact take-along tote 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Oz Clarke's a noted authority in the field and his POCKET WINE GUIDE is updated annual with the latest information: POCKET WINE GUIDE 2007 offers up an A-Z organization packing over 1,600 entries and over 7,000 wines into a handy 'best of' reference. From best years for grape-growing in regions from Africa to Australia to assessments of price and quality, here's the 'one stop shopper' place to consult an authority - in a compact take-along tote which lends to consumer consultation in a wine shop as well as library reference.

Editorial Review:

Indispensable as ever, Oz Clarke’s now-classic pocket wine guide has been thoroughly and meticulously revised and updated for 2007, with much-anticipated lists of favorite wines, top values, and producers and regions to watch, as well as with new vintage reports. For increased browsability, this year’s guide will also include an all-new country-by-country index.

 

As user-friendly as it is complete, Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Guide 2007 lists each wine, grape, winery, producer, and region alphabetically for easy reference. It is a perfect pocket reference for novices—and essential for the seasoned wine lover wanting the latest information.

OZ CLARKE'S WINE ADVISOR 1994

Oz Clarke

List Price: $11.00 By: Fireside Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $0.01

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OZ CLARKE'S WINE ADVISOR 1995

Oz Clarke

List Price: $12.00 By: Fireside Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $0.01

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Editorial Review:

An accurate, unpretentious, and witty guide to wines around world features an A-Z format, up-to-date vintage information, a simple rating system, discussions of important wine types and grape varieties, and an index to wine producers. 25,000 first printing.

Oz Clarke's Wine Advisor 1997

Oz Clarke

List Price: $11.95 By: Little Brown & Co (P) Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good, brief intro and guide 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This good brief introduction and guide, competitive with Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedia, will be familiar to anyone who owns the Microsoft Wine Guide on CD-ROM, which is a multimedia treatment of this excellent guide. Wine buffs argue endlessly over the relative merits of fellow Briton Johnson's and Clarke's approach. I say buy 'em both

Editorial Review:

This handy take-along primer is a must for anyone who wants to select a good bottle of wine with a minimum of fuss. More than 1,300 alphabetical entries on wine regions, wineries, grape varieties and wine terms cut through wine-label confusion. Complete with illustrations, maps, vintage charts, and more, this book is an indispensable reference for wine lovers everywhere.