The Best Books for Wine Lovers

An in depth exploration of Italian winemaking from the Alps all the way down to Sicily by an acclaimed New York restaurateur and sommelier. Teeming with profiles of top regional producers, colorful stories and mouth-watering photos, it’s a must whether you’re planning a trip to Tuscany or simply visiting your local trattoria. "It's easy-to-read and digest, and is full of thoughtful observations and excellent recommendations,” noted the New York Times.

Skip the boring, corporate, mass-produced stuff and jump into the exciting world of independent winemakers with Food & Wine’s executive editor. This global guide features hundreds of lesser known winemaking operations from the southern reaches of Chile to Burgundy and beyond. Preorder now for a 11/14 release.

Looking for the ideal gift for the French wine lover in your life? This handsome two-book package from a two-time James Beard Award winner contains the definitive guide to every single wine region in France, and comes in a stunning case to boot.

A journalist dives head first into the rarified world of high end wine sommeliers in an entertaining and informative romp that’s been likened to two acclaimed foodie favorites. “When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she's not wrong, though Bill Buford's Heat is probably a shade closer," exclaimed Jennifer Senior in The New York Times.

A mouthwatering tribute to the standout winemaking state from two award-winning Portland, Oregon-based food and wine writers. This illustrated celebration features the Pacific Northwest’s top wine producers alongside its notable chefs plus 80 recipes showcasing the region’s distinctive terroir.

Editor Hugh Johnson may have handed the reins to oenophile author Margaret Rand, but his eponymous Pocket Wine Book remains the world's bestselling annual wine guide for good reason. This brand new edition of the 47-year-old wine resource is de rigueur whether you’re buying online, in-store, or picking out a bottle at your favorite restaurant.

The James Beard Award-winning wine expert takes readers on a candid journey through her wine-soaked life in effervescent personal essays accompanied by insightful wine tips. In the New York Times, Eric Asimov called it “Her best book yet. It's her most insightful, both tender and wry, yet powerful... essays deftly woven together with wines that intersect in surprisingly appropriate ways.”

A bonafide classic first published in 1971, this comprehensive tome still has plenty of legs. Offering a global tour of wine regions and relevant topics that grows with each edition, it’s a handsomely-illustrated must-have for every oenophile's shelf. The latest update “is a complete makeover, a revitalized almanac of wine in a dynamic era… An authoritative reference wine lovers will want to explore, even if they have invested in previous editions,” according to the Washington Post.

Last published in 1978, this is the Spanish genius’ vibrantly illustrated ode to his favorite elixir. You won’t find analysis of the benefits of malolactic fermentation nor dry dissertations on Bordeaux varietals, but instead imaginative Dali-esque classifications like “Wines of Frivolity,” “Wines of the Impossible,” and “Wines of Light.” As the great surrealist once proclaimed, "A real connoisseur does not drink wine but tastes of its secrets.”

A love letter to the well-traveled grape that put Argentina on the world wine map by the Stanford-trained physician who was born into Argentina’s legendary Catena Zapata clan, together with one of the South American country’s most respected oenologists. The Wine Economist found “real wine-geek stuff. Except that the scientific tension is broken by a Catena-Vigil conversation about art, music, family, and even food."