My favorite books about wine from a recovering wine geek

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a wine writer, winemaker, organic wine farmer, and an accredited wine educator with decades of experience. I have loved wine since my first sip as a university student and wine is one of my life’s passions. I love how wine can connect you to a place, how it is like travel in a bottle, to a vintage, a place, a person. I’ve written five books about wine; I offer wine courses, tours and vineyard walks in South-West France and I live on the organic vineyard and winery that I co-founded with my husband. In my writing life, I’m also wine writer for Living magazine.


I wrote...

Saving Our Skins: Building a Vineyard Dream in France

By Caro Feely,

Book cover of Saving Our Skins: Building a Vineyard Dream in France

What is my book about?

This book is about building our vineyard dream into a sustainable business and overcoming challenges that included devastating frost, bureaucracy, and major renovation hiccups. The name has a double meaning. In this book, we ‘save our skins’ in a figurative way–from going bankruptand in a literal way by turning our waste grape skins into a sought-after product.

This book is about love and taking risks. It includes nature, delicious food and wine, family life, and wine travel: to Napa and Sonoma regions in the USA and to Alsace, Bergerac, Bordeaux, and Burgundy regions in France.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

Caro Feely Why did I love this book?

This book is my favourite wine book in recent times. In it, Bianca Bosker follows her quest to become a sommelier.

We follow her wine-tasting experiences, which include tasting with a high-flying circle of New York sommeliers from top restaurants and learning about wine while having sex. How is the last part possible? You’ll have to read it to find out!

You’ll also learn about wine, wine tasting, how your brain works, and the underworld of restaurants and sommeliers. This book is entertaining and well-written; I laughed out loud many times.

By Bianca Bosker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Cork Dork as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' PICK

"Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo elan . . . 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." -Jennifer Senior, The New York Times

Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn't know much about wine-until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and…


Book cover of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass

Caro Feely Why did I love this book?

This is a voyage of stories about wine from the old world and new world, some very amusing.

Nathalie travels to Burgundy to explore Pinot Noir, Champagne to learn about sparkling wine, California and Australia to learn about New World wine, and many more places. Through her exploration you’ll learn about the wine regions she visits and about wine tasting.

This book is written in a very easy and humorous style, as hinted at by the title. I loved this book for its unstuffy, friendly approach to wine. 

Book cover of The Battle for Wine and Love: Or How I Saved the World from Parkerization

Caro Feely Why did I love this book?

Alice’s book is a manifesto against homogenization, wine consultants, and 100-point scoring systems.

She travels to the Loire and Champagne in France, to Piedmont in Italy, and to Spain. She reveals what goes into industrial wines, the mechanical treatments like reverse osmosis, and the additives like yeasts and enzymes, tannins, sawdust, and oak chips.

This book is an excellent compendium of anecdotes, interesting people in the wine world, and why natural wine is good. You’ll learn about the world of wine, but especially about the world of wine through the lens of Alice Feiring’s passion, natural wine.

By Alice Feiring,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Battle for Wine and Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An “entertaining and passionate” connoisseur tours the vineyards of Europe and California, arguing for an old-fashioned appreciation of authenticity (The New York Times).

The drastic effects that influential wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. has had on the winemaking industry are best described as wine Parkerization. Many vintners are leaving old techniques behind and turning to chemistry and technology in order to please Parker’s palate. This led to the disappearance of James Beard Foundation Award–winning writer Alice Feiring’s favorite wines—and she was determined to learn why.
 
In a one-woman crusade that will have you wondering what exactly is in your…


Book cover of Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists

Caro Feely Why did I love this book?

Mike Veseth is a writer and economist. His book offers insight into the economics and business of wine via analysis, anecdotes, and entertainment.

Branded industrial single varietal (single grape type) wines simplify the wine shelf and help wine-lovers to understand wine as they start their wine journey, but they also dumb down wine and destroy part of what makes wine so special: its unique ability to take us to a place, a time, a person.

Mike asks if this trend toward standardisation will kill wine or if there will be a swing back to small lot wines. I found the case studies he explored enlightening. This book sheds new light on the complicated business of wine.

By Mike Veseth,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wine Wars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Writing with wit and verve, Mike Veseth (a.k.a. the Wine Economist) tells the compelling story of the war between the market trends that are redrawing the world wine map and the terroirists who resist them. Wine and the wine business are at a critical crossroad today, transformed by three powerful forces. Veseth begins with the first force, globalization, which is shifting the center of the wine world as global wine markets provide enthusiasts with a rich but overwhelming array of choices. Two Buck Chuck, the second force, symbolizes the rise of branded products like the famous Charles Shaw wines sold…


Book cover of Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine

Caro Feely Why did I love this book?

For a structured, academic book on wine this is a favorite for the easy diagrams and clear, concise ways of explaining the differences between wine styles and regions.

For people who learn best from images, this is a winning book. This book revolutionized wine education by creating something that is graphic rather than boring, difficult-to-remember academic text.

There are many other great structured wine books I could recommend for learning about wine, but the graphic style of this makes it the winner (and for the hardcore, there is a larger expanded hardcover Wine Folly Magnum version of this).

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Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

By Joy Loverde,

Book cover of Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

Joy Loverde

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Everything you need to know to plan for your own safe, financially secure, healthy, and happy old age.

For those who have no support system in place, the thought of aging without help can be a frightening, isolating prospect. Whether you have friends and family ready and able to help you or not, growing old does not have to be an inevitable decline into helplessness. It is possible to maintain a good quality of life in your later years, but having a plan is essential. Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old? Equips readers with everything they need to prepare on their own:

Advice on the tough medical, financial, and housing decisions to come Real solutions to create a support network Questions about aging solo readers don't know to ask Customizable worksheets and checklists that help keep plans on course Guidance on new products, services, technology, and resources

Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

By Joy Loverde,

What is this book about?

For those who have no support system in place, the thought of aging without help can be a frightening, isolating prospect. Whether you have friends and family ready and able to help you or not, growing old does not have to be an inevitable decline into helplessness. It is possible to maintain a good quality of life in your later years, but having a plan is essential. WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF ME WHEN I'M OLD? equips readers with everything they need to prepare on their own:

* Advice on the tough medical, financial, and housing decisions to come
*…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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