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!
“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
“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
“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
“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
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