Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine [Hardcover]

Larousse (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1995

With hundreds of full-color photos, maps, and drawings, this spectacular book surveys the incredible diversity of wines that are available today. Background information about the history of wine, how to choose the right wine for each food, how wine is made, a tour of vineyards all over the world, and the intricacies of wine etiquette are provided.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Filled with practical information on everything anyone would need to know about wine, this wonderfully illustrated reference book will appeal to the novice as well as the serious wine enthusiast. Subjects such as reading a wine label, selecting wine, storing, uncorking, decanting, and serving are all carefully explained and illustrated.

For the serious enthusiast, the greatest value of this book will be its comprehensive coverage of the wine-producing regions of the world. Each section begins with a beautiful color illustration of the area, with the major districts, rivers, and cities highlighted. A short history and analysis of each region follows, with a discussion of the types of wines produced in each district, the specific oenological properties that make the region unique, and the appelations of the area. Though a fairly large book (more than 600 pages), this would be an invaluable reference to bring along on your next wine-tasting trip--whether that takes you to The Rhone, Burgundy, Napa, or Walla Walla.

From Library Journal

Interest in wine shows no signs of diminishing, and wine encyclopedias appear to be keeping pace. This latest, edited by a wine expert of almost two decades, focuses on European-primarily French-viticulture, with overviews of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and "the rest of the world." Each zone includes a discussion of its major wine producers, a map, photographs, and unique minutiae. Just as useful is the emphasis on self-education: reading labels; decanting, tasting, selecting, keeping, and serving wine; evaluating corkscrews and glasses; and forming wine and food partnerships. The section on wine-making is fascinating, and readers should find the page on ordering in restaurants very helpful. At the end, there are charts of vintages and of criteria and regulations for quality wine status. The seven pages of wine production statistics seem a bit removed from the book's more sensual purpose, and the glossary favors European spelling, e.g. "oenology." Nevertheless, this is a versatile addition to public libraries. [See also The Oxford Companion to Wine, LJ 12/94.-Ed.]-Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., Ken.
--Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., Ken.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Larousse Wine (November 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2035070228
• ISBN-13: 978-2035070227
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,838,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wine Encyclopdeia For Everyone., August 2, 2000

By 

sherri j. thorne (brooklyn, new york United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (Hardcover)

This wine encyclopedia has all the information that you will need about wine. It is useful for anyone, from the novice to the connoisseur. I agree with my fellow reviewer that France gets the lion's share of the attention, though I did find the section on Italian wines to be quite good. What was particularly useful was detailed information about the various wine producing regions, the major vinyards, and how to read labels, which at times can be confusing. All of this gives the reader enough information to make really good choices. What was a welcome surprise was the section on the Czeck Republic and Slovenia, and the quality wines that they produce. The section on the United States could have been longer, and I expect that to be expaned in updated editions. Overall, an excellent book on wine.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wine with a French twist, February 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (Hardcover)

As you'd expect of Larousse, this hefty tome has a decidedly French twist, carrying approximately 170 pages about the wines of France compared with a scanty 37 pages about all of the United States. But France remains arguably the center of the wine world, and this one contains just about everything you'd ever want to know about French wine and a fair amount about the rest of the world, too

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful masterpiece, August 16, 2005

By 

G. Pap (Nashville, TN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (Hardcover)

The book is simply amazing and covers all the wine-producing regions of the world. I bought this book to my husband as a gift and he really likes it for it is being so complete about wine. I think this book is useful for both connaisseurs and those who try to become a connaisseur. I recommend this book to everyone interested in wine.
The book contains detailed information about production, bottles, regions, basically everything that is worth to know about wine.