Books & Reviews Archives - Circle of Wine Writers

The World Atlas of Wine, 8th edition: Hugh Johnson OBE, Jancis Robinson MW

Posted on December 11, 2019December 13, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

It’s one of the most anticipated releases of the year, and certainly no disappointment. The World Atlas of Wine, now in its 8th edition since 1971, is one of the most authoritative and educational books on the market for an overview of the world's wine regions. Its scope is broad, but there's a great depth of understanding too and it’s a joy to read – in part due to the indefatigable and studio...

4 seasons in Côte Chalonnaise, Chance Encounters: Jon Wyand, Emmanuel Mère

Posted on December 11, 2019December 15, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Although this is predominantly a photobook, Emmanuel Mère expertly sets the scene with a 'geographical and historical background' which weaves important moments in history with geological information while painting a picture of how life in the Côte Chalonnaise passes by. The rest of the picture painting is left to photographer Jon Wyand. The photography series actually starts with people — argu...

Book review: Wines of the French Alps, by Wink Lorch

Posted on October 7, 2019October 9, 2019 by Dave DeSimone

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The Wines of Great Britain by Stephen Skelton MW: A review

Posted on September 9, 2019September 11, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Stephen Skelton MW is without doubt an authoritative writer on the subject of Great Britain's vineyards, not only as a highly regarded expert on viticulture (his book Viticulture: An Introduction to Commercial Grape Growing for Wine Production is the viticulture bible for diploma and MW students) but he’s also been a keen observer and participant in British wine for over 40 years. Havi...

Wink Lorch releases Wines of the French Alps book

Posted on September 8, 2019September 11, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Wink Lorch has released her second book, Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and beyond, which she self-published at the end of July under the imprint Wine Travel Media. Wink had advance funding from 450 backers of the Kickstarter campaign she ran in 2017. She notes that backers were extremely supportive when she had to put back publication several times due to the illness and subsequent de...

The wines of Chablis & the Grand Auxerrois by Rosemary George MW

Posted on July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

This August marks the centenary of the legislation laying down the first principles of appellation d’origine contrôlée. Since 1919 the wine growers of Chablis have had legal rights to use the name. But Chablis is a complex region and many arguments regarding the appellation’s strict definition ensued – which villages could use the name, was it essential that wines were made exclusively from Chardo...

Paul Strang’s Languedoc-Roussillon book awarded at Gourmand

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Congratulations to Paul Strang for his recent recognition at the Gourmand Awards, where his book Languedoc Roussillon: The Wines and Winemakers was recognised as 'best in the world' in the category for books on French wine.

Book review – Amber Revolution: How the world learned to love orange wine

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Everyone remembers the first time they tried orange wine. It’s a revelation for most wine drinkers, who are typically used to just three colours of wine – white, pink and red. Some of us go on to hunt down many more orange wines in our vinous futures, and others adamantly avoid ever repeating the experience. For Simon Woolf, that magic moment came in a cellar in Trieste in 2011. A moment on the ...

Atypical ageing slips under the radar

Posted on February 4, 2019February 7, 2019 by Keith Grainger

The Chinese Wine Renaissance: A wine lover’s companion

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Amanda Barnes reviews Janet Z Wang's new book The Chinese Wine Renaissance: A Wine Lover's Companion. Chinese wine still feels like a relatively 'new' phenomena in the wine world, but Janet Z Wang is out to set the record straight. Wang makes it very clear within the first few pages of her book that wine is very much part of the culture of Ancient China, and spends the following chapters detail...