Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide: Wines of Italy (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides) [Hardcover]

Burton Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2002 | Series: Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides

The face of Italian wine has changed enormously over recent years. Across-the-board improvements in quality have gone hand-in-hand with an embracing of new techniques, and this "Old World" producer has gained a new sheen of modernity. The pioneering zeal which has brought us wines such as the exalted Super-Tuscans has also manifested itself in an exploration of very good mid-range wines. "Wines of Italy" simplifies the vast array of grape varieties, wine zones and producer names, systematically covering the country, region by region from North to South. The book begins with a glossary of the language of Italian wine and this is accompanied by detailed advice on classifications and wine lables. A comprehensive list of Italy's important grape varieties follow, illustrated with regional profiles and maps. Wines from each region are described, with star ratings and vintage details. Each regional profile concludes with a review of its specialities, with suggestions made for accompanying wines. "Wines of Italy" has been revised and updated for 2002 and offers clear information at a glance.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Burton Anderson is an internationally acclaimed authority on Italian wines and has lived in the heart of Tuscany for over twenty-five years, writing about wine, food and travel. His books include Vino, Treasures of the Italian Table and The Wine Atlas of Italy. A former editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris, he also writes for many wine publications in North America and Europe. His work has been honoured by British and American wine journals and he has won several wine awards in Italy.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mitchell Beazley; Rev., Upda edition (May 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184000553X
• ISBN-13: 978-1840005530
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,882,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice information but could use some organizing, January 22, 2001

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wines of Italy (Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guides) (Hardcover)

I love Italian wines, so I grabbed this when I found it. It does have great information - a breakdown of wines by region, then for each region it gives the main types of wine and the vintages that are good for each type. A general star rating indicates how well this wine does in general. Next to each region is a list of the key producers of that wine, with a brief note about the producer.

I think, though, that this will be relatively difficult for a person new to wine to use. If you're looking at a Ruffino Chianti, you look up Ruffino. Its brief notes about Ruffino don't indicate if this is a good or bad winery. You then move to the Chianti section and find out what a Chianti is, but now you are given general notes about which years are good. The years are just listed - you can't tell which are better than others.

If the book had even a general rating for each winery, and more details about the vintages, I think this would be excellent. Maybe a future edition will include this information.