The Favorite Wine Books of Top Sommeliers
We asked five of the country’s best wine professionals for their favorite reference books.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast
Most sommeliers I’ve met are as opinionated about wine books as they are about bottles of wine. So, when I interview them for our 10 Rounds column, I always ask for their go-to drinks books. If you don’t have these titles in your home library and you love drinking vino, I suggest you pick them up today. Cheers!
Courtesy of Mitchell Beazley
“Couldn’t live without The World Atlas of Wine by Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson. If you only have one book on wine, let that be the one.”-Natalie Grindstaff, director of beverage programs for Crafted Hospitality
Courtesy of Oxford University Press
“The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson for wine, The PDT Cocktail Book by Jim Meehan for cocktails and The Flavor Bible by Andrew Dornenberg and Karin Page for food.”-Aldo Sohm, wine director of Le Bernardin
Courtesy of Ten Speed Press
“Peter Liem’s new Champagne book is really great. For cocktails, lately, I’ve been digging into Jane Danger’s Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks.”-Ryan Bailey, wine director of the NoMad Los Angeles
Courtesy of Conde Nast Publications
“History in a Glass edited by Ruth Reichl. Reading it is like visiting an old friend.”-Roni Ginach, sommelier of Michael’s Santa Monica
“The World Atlas of Wine, by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, was one of the first reference books I bought when I was getting into wine. It is such a terrific resource for learning the basics of different grape varietals, wine regions and producers. I still refer back to its pages for a refresher.”-Thomas Pastuszak, wine director of The NoMad Hotel
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Scouted is here to share practical, entertaining, and sometimes unexpected ideas for products that you might like. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.