I read.
I read a lot.
This may come as a huge shock to my parents, but it’s true.
I spend a lot of time reading books, magazines, and blogs about my favorite subject…
Wine!
If you have a wine (or food) loving friend on your holiday shopping list, you may want to skip the wacky wine gadgets (considering that most of them stink), and pick them up a book.
With that in mind, here’s what I’m reading right now…
This is a really fun book that follows wine writer, and natural wine advocate, Alice Feiring, as she attempts to make her own fermented grape juice. If you’ve ever been curious about natural wine, or how wine in general is made, you’ll get a kick out of this one.
Speaking of all things natural…
I first came across this book, while crashing at a friend’s house after a concert. I woke up pretty early that morning, and was having trouble going back to sleep. I saw this book laying on his table, so I decided to crack it open.
I’ve never come across another writer who can make the most simple of foods sound as delicious as he does. I was drooling after reading his description an apple.
There are a butt load of great recipes, as well as some fantastic stories behind them. This is a book about food for wine lovers to obsess over.
Back to the wine…
Not really a front to back type of read. This is an encyclopedia of all things wine. Entries are anywhere from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. From abboccato to zymase, this book will tell you anything you ever wanted to know about wine.
Recently, I had someone ask me how I knew so much about wine. I had trouble answering. The reality is that I don’t feel like I know much at all about wine. I’m always in the process of learning. The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know anything.
That being said, if I were to recommend one book that could really help the world of wine seem a lot more accessible, this is the one I would push in your direction. Zraly does a fantastic job of breaking wines down style by style, and region by region. Do yourself a favor… Pick this book up, and taste along with Kevin Zraly.
Finally…
I love me the Wine Spectator magazine!
Each issue contains a ridiculous amount of tasting notes. I really enjoy reading the tasting reports for different regions. It’s just a really good mag.
Getting a subscription to this bad boy was one of the best presents I’ve ever received.
Happy shopping y’all!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
PS – What wine related gift are you expecting under your tree this year?
Stay Rad 