Customer Rating:      Summary: WOW, really surprised..... Comment: I was pleasantly surprised at how in depth yet very easy to read this encyclopedia is. I was a little hesitant at first, but now I'm really glad that I made this purchase!
Customer Rating:      Summary: Great reference book, but not a practical book Comment: I've learned a lot about wine from reading this massive tome. The different types of grapes, how to 'taste' wine like a pro, the dozens of different wine-growing areas in France and California (most other countries/states are dealt with in far less detail.) How to invest in wine and how to store it.
As a practical guide to selecting/buying wine, this wasn't quite what I was looking for. Far too big to cart to the liquor store, it's of no help when standing in front of a shelf of wine, trying to decide which bottle to buy. All you can do is painstakingly copy down the names/vintages on the shelf, go home, consult the book, and try to determine which, if any, are recommended. (The reverse -- jotting down a list of a dozen recommended wines doesn't work, since the odds of ANY of them being on the shelf is pretty low. I'm sure that the vast majority of European/South American/Australian wines in the book aren't available at ANY liquor store in America.) Prices aren't even hinted at, except rarely when he mentions that a wine is 'affordable' or 'luxurious.'
Customer Rating:      Summary: Sothebys wine encyclopedia Comment: Great book, with a wealth of usefull information. This is my go to, when I nead precise info.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Best Appellation book around Comment: This is the third edition of this book I have purchased. It only gets better and better.
For information regarding appellations, grapes, and wine in general, I prefer this as my number one book.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Great reference tool Comment: I am a gigantic nerd, so this book is great, but for normal people that just want the information...it might have too much minutia.
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