- Hardcover: 1648 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 6th edition (1 Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743229312
- ISBN-13: 978-0743229319
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 6.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,578,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Supplies the reader with information about wine producers and growers, vintage critiques, and wine purchasing strategies for most major wine-producing regions world-wide.
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First Sentence
Which viticultural area produces the most versatile white wines to match with food? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Which viticultural area produces the most versatile white wines to match with food? Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a useful book for wine lovers and collectors. There are, however, some serious flaws in its scope and execution, as well as irritations for non-US readers.
Early on in the book, whilst advising readers how to serve wine, the author makes such an extended pitch for using one particular manufacturer’s wine glasses that it is hard not to conclude that he is a paid ambassador for that company. In my opinion, he goes too far into what reads like a commercial promotion.
Secondly, there is the sad and inexplicable omission of individual commentary on the wonderful dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac in the Bordeaux section. Furthermore, at the end of the book, the inclusion of just a half page on South Africa could be mistaken for an insult. Better to leave it out altogether, given that this is approximately the world’s 7th largest wine producer and makes a great many wines worthy of inclusion in what is supposedly a comprehensive wine guide.
This (the UK is the most important export market for SA wines) and repeated American consumer-oriented references spoil what is otherwise an interesting inclusion in a connoisseur’s bookshelf.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Parker has again published another huge tome and marked an enormous quantity of wines from all over the world. Some people might call this a wine bible, but it is not.
First of all, removing the numerous pages on Bordeaux, Burgundy and Californian wines would leave a mere 500 of the books 1,500 pages. This is all the more regrettable as there is lot more to discover in European wine countries such as Germany (a country almost completely overlooked by Parker and his assistant Rovani), Greece, Hungary, Portugal, and Spain (from the latter not a lot except for Rioja, Ribeira del Duero and Priorat). New World wine countries such as New Zealand, Chili and Argentinia don't fare much better.
Even on France, Parker could have done better. A bit less on Bordeaux would have created some space for exciting, and lesser-known, wines from regions such as the Loire Valley, or the south of France. The detailed description of Bordeaux's famous châteaux and vintages should be reserved to Parker's special book about this wine region instead of the world-wide wine overview. Worse still, Parker forgets to include most of the sweet Sauternes wines and focuses instead mainly on top-notch reds.
As for Burgundy, the author talks extensively about many wines that are not only dead-expensive but also available in such minute quantities that in all likelihood Parker will remain one of the privileged few to have actually tasted them...
Parker's book is helpful mainly for American wine lovers, but for European ones, to discover all those nice Oregon pinot noirs and Californian cabenets described by the author may well prove to be an impossible task.
The book makes a nice read if you're interested in wines for whatever reason. But for beginners and for European (quality) wine buyers, there are certainly better books on the market than this one.
First of all, removing the numerous pages on Bordeaux, Burgundy and Californian wines would leave a mere 500 of the books 1,500 pages. This is all the more regrettable as there is lot more to discover in European wine countries such as Germany (a country almost completely overlooked by Parker and his assistant Rovani), Greece, Hungary, Portugal, and Spain (from the latter not a lot except for Rioja, Ribeira del Duero and Priorat). New World wine countries such as New Zealand, Chili and Argentinia don't fare much better.
Even on France, Parker could have done better. A bit less on Bordeaux would have created some space for exciting, and lesser-known, wines from regions such as the Loire Valley, or the south of France. The detailed description of Bordeaux's famous châteaux and vintages should be reserved to Parker's special book about this wine region instead of the world-wide wine overview. Worse still, Parker forgets to include most of the sweet Sauternes wines and focuses instead mainly on top-notch reds.
As for Burgundy, the author talks extensively about many wines that are not only dead-expensive but also available in such minute quantities that in all likelihood Parker will remain one of the privileged few to have actually tasted them...
Parker's book is helpful mainly for American wine lovers, but for European ones, to discover all those nice Oregon pinot noirs and Californian cabenets described by the author may well prove to be an impossible task.
The book makes a nice read if you're interested in wines for whatever reason. But for beginners and for European (quality) wine buyers, there are certainly better books on the market than this one.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very good effort to cover a lot about wine in one volume.Parker does have individual books available on bordeaux;burgundy;rhone;etc that are even more detailed and this volume is a compendium of parts of these individual volumes.As in any such endeavour there is no doubt that much has to be left out to give the purchaser an even chance of having a book that is liftable,and others have pointed out some examples of omissions.But frankly,this book covers the most popular zones and the most typical wine choices one is confronted with.Sauternes (which is sacrificed) accounts for only an infinitesmal part of the wine trade.And no one other than the Brits drinks S.A. wines-so no great loss here either.What remains is a very good reference book that covers 98% of what you need to know.His rating system also has been criticised as favouring young full-bodied;fruit driven wines.But that is a reflection of his taste,and if you don't like these kinds of wines then read between the lines of this book to find the ones that suit you better.The big plus is that he has no qualms about saying which chateaux are past it;which are improving and which will be the future stars.No other wine reviewer speaks so openly about this.So well done to him for puncturing some of the posturing that surrounds this industry.
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