100 books like In the Vine Country

By Edith Somerville, Martin Ross,

Here are 100 books that In the Vine Country fans have personally recommended if you like In the Vine Country. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Essential Winetasting: The Complete Practical Winetasting Course

Kathleen Burk Author Of Is This Bottle Corked? The Secret Life of Wine

From my list on for those who like wine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the daughter of a Californian grape farmer, and have driven tractor, picked grapes, and tied vines. Whilst at Berkeley, I travelled around Napa Valley tasting wines whilst riding pillion on a 750 cc motorcycle; at Oxford I discovered European wines. Thereafter, I was a professor of modern and contemporary history in London, writing nearly a dozen books, and continuing to explore wines with my husband. I have wine in my bones. I now travel around the world tasting it, writing about it, judging it, and leading tasting tours, all the while continuing to drink it. I am currently writing a book on the global history of wine.

Kathleen's book list on for those who like wine

Kathleen Burk Why did Kathleen love this book?

I began my education in wine in small classes run by Michael Schuster; this book is the next best thing. The title makes it sound a bit tedious, but it’s not. Inside is the key – ‘Taste with your head, and drink with your heart.' It is a bit depressing to hear someone say that ‘I don’t know about wine, but I know what I like’ – it sounds as though the speaker is embracing ignorance. Rather, it should be ‘this is a wine that I like and this is why.’ Besides, what could be more fun than learning about wine: it’s both intellectually interesting and tastes so good! Using this book, you can do it alone or – even more fun - with friends. 

By Michael Schuster,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An authoritative and inspirational winetasting course, from one of the world's leading wine educators.

'Explains the mechanics of taste and tasting better than any book I've seen.' - Richard Ehrlich, Independent on Sunday

Learn how to taste wine, with one of the world's leading wine educators.

This book offers a particularly clear and precise means of teaching yourself how to taste and how to get more out of your wine, whatever your level. All the major grape varieties are explored, and their key characteristics in different regions. Ten practical tastings then cover core tasting techniques. Do you want to explore…


Book cover of Vineyard Tales: Reflections on Wine

Kathleen Burk Author Of Is This Bottle Corked? The Secret Life of Wine

From my list on for those who like wine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the daughter of a Californian grape farmer, and have driven tractor, picked grapes, and tied vines. Whilst at Berkeley, I travelled around Napa Valley tasting wines whilst riding pillion on a 750 cc motorcycle; at Oxford I discovered European wines. Thereafter, I was a professor of modern and contemporary history in London, writing nearly a dozen books, and continuing to explore wines with my husband. I have wine in my bones. I now travel around the world tasting it, writing about it, judging it, and leading tasting tours, all the while continuing to drink it. I am currently writing a book on the global history of wine.

Kathleen's book list on for those who like wine

Kathleen Burk Why did Kathleen love this book?

Gerald Asher is a wine writer who is celebrated for his range, his knowledge, his ability to see below the surface of things, and his compelling writing style. This book of essays about wine is one of my favourites, ranging as it does from wines with food, in which he goes in unexpected directions, to whether or not and how to decant wines, to drinking wine in Greece surrounded by the gods, to wines from Portugal and California and Oregon and Italy and France. He takes me to places I’ve never been and to wines I’ve never drunk, all with no effort on my part. Along the way, I learn and I enjoy. What a pleasurable book!

By Gerald Asher,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A Napa Valley Cabernet, a French Burgundy, an Orvieto Classico shared among friends in the Umbrian hills—every wine has a story, and Gerald Asher tells it best. Asher, longtime wine editor of Gourmet magazine, has an unsurpassed knowledge of vineyards, wineries, and wines. He also has the refreshing ability to write about wine informatively and entertainingly, without technical jargon. Now in paperback, Asher's delightful Vineyard Tales evaluates wines from around the world—from secret sun-drenched vineyards on Crete to the celebrated Champagne houses of France—setting each wine in the context of a region's history and culture. In addition, Asher offers an…


Book cover of Hugh Johnson's The Story of Wine

Kathleen Burk Author Of Is This Bottle Corked? The Secret Life of Wine

From my list on for those who like wine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the daughter of a Californian grape farmer, and have driven tractor, picked grapes, and tied vines. Whilst at Berkeley, I travelled around Napa Valley tasting wines whilst riding pillion on a 750 cc motorcycle; at Oxford I discovered European wines. Thereafter, I was a professor of modern and contemporary history in London, writing nearly a dozen books, and continuing to explore wines with my husband. I have wine in my bones. I now travel around the world tasting it, writing about it, judging it, and leading tasting tours, all the while continuing to drink it. I am currently writing a book on the global history of wine.

Kathleen's book list on for those who like wine

Kathleen Burk Why did Kathleen love this book?

Hugh Johnson is one of the most famous, and certainly the best-selling, of all the world’s wine writers. This book was first published in 1989 and has held the field ever since. It’s a glorious sweep of the history of wine from the beginning to about thirty years ago, with masses of illustrations, which is one of the glories of the book. A new edition was published in 2020, which brings it up to the present, but it lacks maps and illustrations. On the other hand, he hints at what he thinks about scoring wines by numbers: he’s not keen, preferring sniffing and tasting and then using stars to indicate the quality. What, after all, is the perceived difference between a 91 wine and a 92? And why start at 50?

By Hugh Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hugh Johnson's The Story of Wine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This fascinating history of wine is written with all the characteristic enthusiasm and wit of its famous author, Hugh Johnson. Unlike many comprehensive histories, this book is easily "digestible" and explores the cultural history of wine in enthralling chapters. The colorful prose makes the book a joy to read from cover to cover and a delight to dip into at leisure.


Book cover of The Oxford Companion to Wine

Kathleen Burk Author Of Is This Bottle Corked? The Secret Life of Wine

From my list on for those who like wine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the daughter of a Californian grape farmer, and have driven tractor, picked grapes, and tied vines. Whilst at Berkeley, I travelled around Napa Valley tasting wines whilst riding pillion on a 750 cc motorcycle; at Oxford I discovered European wines. Thereafter, I was a professor of modern and contemporary history in London, writing nearly a dozen books, and continuing to explore wines with my husband. I have wine in my bones. I now travel around the world tasting it, writing about it, judging it, and leading tasting tours, all the while continuing to drink it. I am currently writing a book on the global history of wine.

Kathleen's book list on for those who like wine

Kathleen Burk Why did Kathleen love this book?

If I had to choose only one wine book to own and use, this would be it. It contains thousands of entries of varying lengths and complexity, all clearly written: do you want to know where the wines of Cadillac come from and what they taste like in fewer than a hundred words? Here it is. If you want to know how climate change is affecting vines and wines around the world, its three big pages will tell you. What is the wine called PX? Would you like to know all about California and its wines? France? China? What is biodynamic agriculture? Who are the most famous wine writers and what did they write about? Almost anything you might want to know about a wine-related subject is in this book. There is nothing else like it.

By Jancis Robinson (editor), Julia Harding (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim, the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status, winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich and Julia Child/IACP awards, as well as writer and woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit, The Oxford Companion to Wine
presents almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable, from regions and grape varieties to the owners, connoisseurs, growers, and tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture and oenology to the history of wine, from its…


Book cover of 1855 Bordeaux

Rod Phillips Author Of French Wine: A History

From my list on the history of wine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been passionate about wine since I was a teenager in New Zealand and I now teach and write about it, judge in wine competitions, and travel the world to visit wine regions. I teach European history and the history of food and drink at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. As a wine historian, I spend weeks each year in archives, studying everything from changes in vineyard area and the weather in specific years to the taxation of wine and patterns of wine drinking. Currently, I’m working in several French archives for a book on wine in the French Revolution. It will be my ninth wine book.

Rod's book list on the history of wine

Rod Phillips Why did Rod love this book?

The 1855 Classification created quality tiers for wines from a number of districts in Bordeaux: the famous First Growth (Premier Cru) wines and their Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Growth counterparts. There’s been only one change since then (a Second Growth promoted to First) and people still pay high prices for these wines based on a ranking that is more than 150 years old. Dewey Markham’s book tells the story of the Classification and shows that the wines that topped the list in 1855 were also ranked highest in earlier lists and that the rankings were based on price rather than intrinsic quality. It’s a well-documented book that brings history to bear on the way we look at some of the most prestigious wines of Bordeaux.  

By Dewey Markham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 1855 Bordeaux as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The First Complete Guide to the 1855 Bordeaux Classification--A Fascinating Account for Wine Lovers and an Authoritative Reference for Wine Industry Professionals The 1855 Bordeaux Classification has been a fixture of the wine world for almost 150 years, yet the origin of the system and the thinking behind it have never been thoroughly researched and presented in detail--until now. How was the 1855 classification drafted? Who was responsible? What was the rationale for the cru classe rating, and what criteria were used to determine inclusion and ranking? 1855: A History of the Bordeaux Classification answers these central questions and more.…


Book cover of French Wine: A History

Mack P. Holt Author Of The Politics of Wine in Early Modern France: Religion and Popular Culture in Burgundy, 1477-1630

From my list on French wine, history, and culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I knew nothing about wine and drank it only rarely until I went to Paris as a graduate student in the 1970s. Even then, I couldn’t afford more than basic plonk. It was not until I started doing research in Dijon every summer in the 1980s, making great friends in the process, eating and drinking at their dining tables, and visiting their favorite vignerons with them for dégustations, that I began to appreciate wine, not just as a fantastic beverage, but as a social and cultural creator. And as a historian, I appreciate that drinking wine that comes from vineyards planted in the Middle Ages connects us with our ancestors in the past.

Mack's book list on French wine, history, and culture

Mack P. Holt Why did Mack love this book?

This is the best general survey of French wine in English, from someone who not only teaches the history of modern France at his local university, but who also reviews and writes about wine for his city’s newspaper. As both an academic historian and a journalist, Phillips has written a riveting account of how wine was first introduced to France under the Romans, how many of the vineyards later came under the control of the Catholic church in the Middle Ages, how the French state attempted to control and regulate the production of wine in the nineteenth-century, and how smaller wineries are now trying to cope with the global commercialization of the wine industry. Just a great primer on French wine.

By Rod Phillips,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

For centuries, wine has been associated with France more than with any other country. France remains one of the world's leading wine producers by volume and enjoys unrivalled cultural recognition for its wine. If any wine regions are global household names, they are French regions such as Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. Within the wine world, products from French regions are still benchmarks for many wines. French Wine is the first synthetic history of wine in France: from Etruscan, Greek, and Roman imports and the adoption of wine by beer-drinking Gauls to its present status within the global marketplace. Rod Phillips…


Book cover of Noble Rot: Wine from Another Galaxy

Anthony Gladman Author Of Gin A Tasting Course: A Flavor-focused Approach to the World of Gin

From my list on cocktail-loving flavour fans.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think I was always meant to write about drinks for a living, it just took me a while to realise. Ever since my Dad gave me a copy of Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails as a kid (to look at the cartoonish illustrations) I've been fascinated by these particularly adult delights. I've also followed flavour around all my life like a Loony Tunes figure in the thrall of a beckoning wisp of fragrant steam. Studying this stuff for various drinks industry qualifications has only made that interest grow stronger, and so I take it out on you, dear reader, in the nicest way, of course.

Anthony's book list on cocktail-loving flavour fans

Anthony Gladman Why did Anthony love this book?

I write about beer, cider, spirits, and cocktails. In fact, I'll write about almost anything that will get you drunk, plus a few liquids that won't, but I don't write about wine. That's my off-duty drink, the one side of booze I don't need to know about beyond asking myself whether I want more of the wine in my glass.

So you could say that for me all wine is from another galaxy. It can seem too big, the world of wine. Too deep. Too stuffy. This book makes it fun again, makes it fresh and exciting. I almost want to learn about the stuff, despite my best efforts not to!

After reading this, I feel I'd happily follow Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew into any cellar to swill and swig the hours away.

By Dan Keeling, Mark Andrew,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Winner of the Guild of Food Writers Drinks Book Award 2021

Shortlisted for the Andre Simon Food and Drink Book Awards 2020

"Noble Rot manages to unravel the mysteries of wine with insight and humour. A wonderful - and essential - read for anyone interested in the world of wine, or even for those, like me, who just drink it." - Nigella Lawson

"The Noble Rot guys have the ability to describe wines as if theyre either future friends, or rock-stars coming to blow your mind." - Caitlin Moran

"Noble Rot has brought originality, humour and now space travel to…


Book cover of The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

Steven Laine Author Of Root Cause

From my list on on wine history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have visited all the major wine regions since I developed my passion for wine as a Sommelier and Beverage Director in luxury hotels in London and around the world. To learn more about wine, I studied to become a French, Italian, and Spanish Wine Scholar, joined the Champagne Academy in France, and recently completed a two-year Diploma in Wine at the WSET School in London. I’ve also worked two harvests as a winemaker at Mission Hill Winery in British Columbia in 2020 and Trius Winery in Niagara, Ontario in 2021. My novels are inspired by my studies, work experience, and travels through the world’s best wine regions.

Steven's book list on on wine history

Steven Laine Why did Steven love this book?

I loved this book and couldn’t recommend it highly enough. It reads like a modern-day thriller, made all the better as it's based on true-events. It’s a well-told story involving Thomas Jefferson, Chateau Lafite Wine, Christie's Auction House, Masters of Wine, and Billionaires that had me turning the pages as fast as possible. I loved all the historical details and the well-researched nature of this gripping tale.

What I enjoyed most about the book was its exploration of the perceived value we place on wine and how we reconcile that perceived value with how far we would go to obtain such items at any cost. As this recounting demonstrates, there are at least two sides to every story and sometimes many more. I hope to read more by this author and hope he explores other famous stories of theft, fraud, and betrayal in the world of wine.

By Benjamin Wallace,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Billionaire's Vinegar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The rivetingly strange story of the world's most expensive bottle of wine, and the even stranger characters whose lives have intersected with it.

The New York Times bestseller, updated with a new epilogue, that tells the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux—supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—that sold for $156,000 at auction and of the eccentrics whose lives intersected with it.

Was it truly entombed in a Paris cellar for two hundred years? Or did it come from a secret Nazi bunker? Or from the moldy basement of a devilishly brilliant con artist? As Benjamin Wallace unravels the mystery,…


Book cover of Anywhere but Bordeaux! Adventures of an American Teacher in France

Jennifer Nelson Author Of Teaching with Heart: Lessons Learned in a Classroom

From my list on becoming a great teacher.

Why am I passionate about this?

For almost 20 years, I worked in public and private schools, first teaching with the Peace Corps in Niger and finally in a public high school in New Jersey. For a while, I didn’t feel I knew how to teach. I struggled to reach American teens. I thought they had attitude—and were nasty and lazy. I didn’t want to be in the classroom. But then matters turned around and I began to see how I could make a difference in their lives, enjoying the time I spent with them, and shaping them into decent, hardworking types. And, in the process, they all learned some French—and respected me.

Jennifer's book list on becoming a great teacher

Jennifer Nelson Why did Jennifer love this book?

I enjoyed reading about an American teacher who spends a year teaching in a middle school in France.

She brings her husband with her, leaving behind a stable, well-established life in America, and views this an adventure. The struggles she faces as she realizes that living in a foreign country is much less romantic than she anticipated. It made me remember how I too found it tough living overseas as I adjusted to new cultures and learned new langauges.

I appreciated how she compared American culture with the French one, and how she let me know about her friendships with colleagues at her new school. I related to how she mastered thriving in a foreign culture, embracing the unknown, and understanding that the mysteries she uncovered were magical.

By Jacqueline King Donnelly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anywhere but Bordeaux! Adventures of an American Teacher in France as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jacqueline Donnelly recounts with humor her ex-pat life teaching English in a middle school in Bordeaux, France. Hoping to escape her predictable American life in the States, she runs away in search of adventure and self-discovery.The story reveals daily life in France, and the encounters with wonderful and not so wonderful characters along the way.It is perfect reading for anyone tempted to run away and ideal for a book club.


Book cover of Judgment of Paris: Judgment of Paris

Sarah Rowlands Author Of The Periodic Table of Wine

From my list on how history has influenced wines.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became intensely interested in wine while working in a Michelin Star kitchen where understanding how flavours work together, developing nuances in my palate, and an interesting wine list combine. Enthusiasm and passion led to success in wine examinations at the highest levels, working in wine retail, travelling the globe visiting amazing vineyards, and wineries, meeting iconic winemakers, influential vineyards managers, as well as other luminaries in the world of wine. The greatest benefit being many new friends and lifelong special memories. Along with the wine tastings I give, The Periodic Table of Wine is a way to share discovering wine and the joy it brings to new audiences.

Sarah's book list on how history has influenced wines

Sarah Rowlands Why did Sarah love this book?

An inspiring story of how prejudice in the wine world was brought into focus which started a revolution in the way wines from around the world are viewed. It uncovers the people and places involved in shattering conventional wisdom and demonstrating that exceptional wines can be produced in many countries. So well told is this story, that it inspired the film Bottle Shock.

By George M. Taber,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The only reporter present at the mythic Paris Tasting of 1976-a blind tasting where a panel of esteemed French judges chose upstart California wines over France's best-for the first time introduces the eccentric American winemakers and records the tremendous aftershocks of this historic event that changed forever the world of wine.

The Paris Tasting of 1976 will forever be remembered as the landmark event that transformed the wine industry. At this legendary contest-a blind tasting-a panel of top French wine experts shocked the industry by choosing unknown California wines over France's best.

George M. Taber, the only reporter present, recounts…


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