Illustrated Guide to Wine

A grand tour of the vineyards, from Bordeaux to the Barossa Valley, the best grape varieties and the practicalities of buying, keeping, serving and drinking wine, with 450 photographsA globetrotting tour of the world’s wine regions, from Champagne to Rioja, from the Lebanon to California, and from South Africa’s Cape to New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay.Focuses on the major grape varieties including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürtztraminer, Gamay and Pinot Noir, describing their aromas, flavours and characters.Explores the principles of tasting wine – identifying dryness, sweetness, acidity, tannin, oak and fruit – plus how to create your own collection in a cellar, a guide to corkscrews and glasses, how to let wine breathe, and which foods go best with which wines.Explains the conventions of bottle labelling, analysing features such as the name of the vineyard, the grape variety and style, alcohol content, vintage year and appellation contrôllée.Fully revised and updated edition of a classic reference, with over 450 illustrations and 30 maps showing the principal wine regions of the world.Written for those who simply enjoy drinking wine and for connoisseurs looking for a deeper knowledge of this fascinating subject, this newly updated book is a comprehensive and accessible guide that will provide readers with the confidence and enthusiasm to explore wine in depth for themselves. What does Grenache taste like? Where and what is Tokay? Is wine really made in Texas? You’ll find the answers to these and hundreds more questions within this volume. Country by country, and region by region, the book journeys around the world to drop in on familiar and lesser-known producers. In the vineyards of France and Spain, find out more on the wines you have heard a lot about but never tasted. In Eastern Europe, Turkey and North Africa, discover producers you may never have heard of. Explore the winelands of Chile, Uruguay and Australia. The book studies the world’s major grape varieties, describing their aromas and flavours, explaining why and how their character varies in different soils, in different climates and, not least, in different winemaking methods. All this is accompanied by vintage and producer recommendations, vivid photography and carefully illustrated maps offering a visual explanation of how the world of wine is developing day by day. Also included is a section of helpful hints and general knowledge, all aimed at enhancing your enjoyment of wine. There’s practical advice on storing and serving wine, informed suggestions for choosing wines to serve with food, and helpful tips on what glassware to buy. Stuart Walton strips away just enough of the mystery surrounding wine to reveal its secrets, without losing any of its magic, making this book an indispensable reference source to wines and winemaking.