While a number of wine books published in 2018 were practical, useful and classical, focusing on specific regions or topics such as faults and understanding terroir, the sharp threads of nostalgia and identity seemed to run through many of the others. Godforsaken Grapes, Tasting the Past and The Wandering Vine weave the past into the present and the future, looking at where things began and how we got here. Amber Revolution doesn't just investigate a weird kind of wine; it establishes a case for making this ancient-yet-new style into a category in its own right. The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste is a journey to the much-loved classic regions in order to define and understand them through the prism of the taste of terroir. In What Makes a Wine Worth Drinking, Terry Theise challenges us to get emotional about wine, to explore a living, breathing relationship between the liquid in the glass and our ever-changing self. Steven Spurrier and Oz Clarke look back over their lives, with much humour, some regret and a sense of pride.
Keep an eye out for a few more reviews in the coming months, which had to make way for Burgundy en primeur and other more pressing things: a bit of fiction, a bit of food, and the Far East.
A Celebration of English Wine, by Liz Sagues
Amarone and the Fine Wines of Verona, by Michael Garner
Amber Revolution, by Simon Woolf
Australian Wine, by Patrick Iland, Peter Gago, Andrew Caillard, Peter Dry
Côte d'Or, by Raymond Blake
Flawless, by Jamie Goode
Godforsaken Grapes, by Jason Wilson
Red and White, by Oz Clarke
Rosé, by Elizabeth Gabay
Sake and the Wines of Japan, by Anthony Rose
Tasting the Past, by Kevin Begos
The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste, by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay
The Wandering Vine, by Nina Caplan
The Wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, by Caroline Gilby MW
The Wines of Greece, by Konstantinos Lazarakis MW
The Wines of Northern Spain, by Sarah Jane Evans MW
What Makes a Wine Worth Drinking, by Terry Theise
Wine – a social and cultural history, by Rod Phillips
Wine, A Way of Life, by Steven Spurrier
Wine and Place, by Tim Patterson and John Buechsenstein
Wine by the Glass, Oz Clarke
Wines of the Languedoc, by Rosemary George MW
Wines of New Zealand, by Rebecca Gibb MW
