The Wine Bible (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

Review

"....sets a new standard and makes wine more accessible and user-friendly than it has ever been before." -- Anthony Dias Blue, Wine & Spirits Editor, Bon Appetit Magazine

"...the wine book bargain of the year....It's a remarkable price for such an encyclopedic book..." -- Wine Spectator

"...this is one reference that will have a long shelf life." -- Cooking Light

"...wonderful stream of wine stories, wine anecdotes and tips distributed liberally throughout the book." -- The New York Times

"If it's connoisseurship you aspire to, a great place to begin learning more is The Wine Bible..." -- REAL SIMPLE

"Karen MacNeil's The Wine Bible may be the most valuable of this year's offerings." -- USA Today

"The Wine Bible is original and lively" -- The Chicago Tribune

"The Wine Bible is the perfect gift for wine enthusiasts of any level." -- Metropolitan Home

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

"A dazzling, comprehensive, modern guide to wine, free of elitism and pedantry. This thoroughly successful work sets a new standard and makes wine more accessible and user-friendly than it has ever been before."
—Anthony Dias Blue, wine and spirits editor, Bon Appétit (Bon Appétit )

A dazzling, comprehensive, modern guide to wine, free of elitism and pedantry. This thoroughly successful work sets a new standard and makes wine more accessible and user-friendly than it has ever been before. Anthony Dias Blue, wine and spirits editor, Bon Apptit (Bon App??tit )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 904 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; illustrated edition edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563054345
• ISBN-13: 978-1563054341
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

172 of 182 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your second wine book, June 28, 2003

By	Eric J. Lyman (Roma, Lazio Italy) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The spine on my worn copy of the Wine Bible is cracked and its pages are dog-eared, even though I think the book has several notable shortcomings. As I write this, I find myself in the unusual position of criticizing the thick volume even though I turn to it for information on a regular basis.

My biggest complaint is that I feel the book doesn't really know what it wants to be. On the one hand, it is a comprehensive reference book that in many areas goes into more depth than other general wine books. But it falls short as a reference book because it lacks the scope of books like The World Atlas of Wine or The Global Encyclopedia of Wine, which cover more up-and-coming wine producing countries, more specific producers and, especially in the case of The World Atlas of Wine, are enhanced by beautiful photographs and maps. Though the Wine Bible is substantial (it weighs in at a hefty 910 pages) its design is more compact than the other books I mentioned, and so might make a better travel companion for someone visiting multiple wine producing regions in a single trip. But the lack of good maps makes a supplemental book necessary.

Additionally, the book can feel like a disjointed collection of articles that ought to have been better integrated before publication. Often, the same information (referring to multiple or confusing names for grape varieties or regions, or quality standards in specific countries) is referred to parenthetically several times, often in quick succession -- something unnecessary, especially given the book's excellent glossary.

But despite these criticisms, I find myself referring to the book repeatedly. Part of the reason for that is author Karen MacNeil's pleasing and unpretentious writing style, which somehow manages to please wine lovers of many different levels of knowledge. Ms. MacNeil's passion for wine comes through in the text and her knowledge of the subject is extremely impressive, with her descriptions often compensating for a lack of quality photos. And though I would like to see more wine producing areas covered by the book, the regions she does address are covered extremely comprehensively. The quality of information is also very even: before travels to these areas I have read the book's sections on South Africa, the Mosel, Loire, Ribera del Duero, Languedoc, as well as everything on my adopted home country, and could not detect any ebb in Ms. Mac Neil's enthusiasm or knowledge.

After some thought, I settled on four stars for this review, despite the complaints I have. The book is just too useful and too skillfully written for fewer stars. The next addition, I feel sure, will earn five on my improvised scale.

Once you have moved beyond the most basic level in wine knowledge, this is an important book to have. If you can buy only one book on the subject, this is not the one I would suggest -- The World Atlas of Wine gets my vote for that honor -- but if you were to limit your collection to two books, then I think this is a serious candidate for that second position. Once you've got that much covered, I'd lean toward a book that focuses on your favorite wine producing region or another specific aspect of the subject, like tasting or wine production.

79 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to wine..., September 4, 2002

By	Tarik J. Ghbeish "blkeagl" (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great book for a beginner. This book doesn't rate wines, it teaches you about how they are made, what flavors each grape is known for, what regions grow each type of grape and so on. Immensely useful information. I have used this as

* a learning tool,
* a reference when I'm curious about a wine I've found
* to settle arguments with family over wine labeling
* a reference to decide which wines may be worth trying from a specific region.

As a reference, the book is not encyclopedic, but it doesn't attempt to be either. The book is a bible in the sense that it gives you a good solid overview of a wine region, it's styles of wines, and some of it's representative producers if you want to start trying out the regions wines.

It is quick to point out that the ultimate judge of a wine is the drinker, and you shouldn't be shy to decide you do or don't like a wine despite it's reputation. I like that and believe it is a good approach.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wine Bible, March 19, 2002

By	J. Lindner (Gem Lake, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very solid book at least in the opinion of this newcomer to the field of fine wine. There seems to be good coverage for many wine regions around the world, and some good introductory material on the making of wine. The author describes grape types, climate, topography, storage casks, and whatever else may determine the quality and character of wines. The wine industry is not simple, but this book goes to great lengths to make it understandable. Granted it is my first venture into this field, but it appears that this book has something for everyone.