Looking for inspiration? Here are the best things to read, watch and listen to for wine lovers. We’ve picked out some of the top wine-related books, TV shows, podcasts and more for your enjoyment!
Read
On Burgundy
You might not be able to afford the top wines, but you can still read about them. Published in October 2023, this anthology of 59 wine tales endeavours to capture the essence of the region’s two main grapes, its terroirs and its special bottles. Contributors include Decanter’s Andrew Jefford, Allen Meadows, Eric Asimov and Aubert de Villaine. Many will no doubt turn straight to the essay on ‘Can Good Burgundy ever be for Normal People?’
Available through Académie du Vin Library
Vintage Crime: A Short History of Wine Fraud
Since ancient times the wine world has been plagued by criminals keen to make a fast buck, whether through ‘amelioration, adulteration or deception’. Rebecca Gibb
MW takes a romp through a history of wine crime – from the days of Imperial Rome to 21st-century New York – told chronologically through 10 wine frauds. Meet the fraudsters and their victims, the merchants, producers and collectors, in this entertaining and illuminating read.
Available through Amazon UK
Oxford Companion to Wine
First published in 1994, The Oxford Companion to Wine remains a definitive reference work on the subject. This fifth edition, edited by Julia Harding, Jancis Robinson MW and Tara Q Thomas, features more than 100 new writers (of a total 267) and over 270 new entries; every existing entry has also been reviewed and updated. Included for the first time are Estonia, Finland and Latvia – places previously considered too cold for winemaking – as well as Gabon, Senegal and Uganda.
Available through Oxford University Press
The Classic Wine Library Reader
Edited by Richard Mayson, this is an anthology of selected writing from titles published in the Classic Wine Library over the past decade. Sections include historical background, winemaking, regional perspectives and wines of note. Topics range from manzanilla Sherry to the origins of biodynamics and South Africa’s apartheid legacy and the wines of Japan. Look out for essays from Decanter contributors including Rebecca Gibb MW, Matt Walls, Anne Krebiehl MW and Stephen Brook. A lovely book to dip in and out of.
Available through Infinite Ideas
Watch
The Mega Trade
Wine educator Sam Povey set himself a challenge this summer: to trade his way, with his followers on social media, from a bottle of Yellowtail Shiraz all the way up to a bottle
of one of the world’s most expensive wines, Domaine de la Romanée Conti’s Romanée Conti. It’s all taking place on his entertaining and informative @sampovey.wine Instagram page. As Decanter‘s November issue went to press, he had worked his way up to Domaine Coffinet-Duvernay, Bâtard-Montrachet GC 2018.
Stefan Neumann’s Blind Tasting Course
Hosted by Master Sommelier Stefan Neumann, this online video course is aimed at anyone sitting wine exams that involve blind tasting, but will be useful to any wine lover looking to hone their skills. Fifty bite-sized videos lasting three hours in total are divided into nine modules, covering not only how to identify grape variety, region and vintage blind, but also how to sharpen your senses, build a taste profile and expand your vocabulary.
The Wines of Tomorrow
This three-part online series features conservations with winemakers, thinkers and innovators in the wine sphere. Hosted by Michelle Bouffard, a Canadian sommelier, wine educator, journalist and founder of the Tasting Climate Change conference, the first episode (live now) sees her chat to South African winemaker Andrea Mullineux. Further episodes will air on 11 October and 6 December. Free to Wine Scholar Guild members; non-members can enjoy one free replay.
Eastbound Westbound
Reviewed by James Mottram
US merchant Jeffrey Davies takes a sprightly ramble through the origins of Franco- American wine relations, first fostered by Thomas Jefferson when he visited Bordeaux in 1787. Davies meets four major wine families with links between the vineyards of California and Bordeaux. Directed by Julien Couson, the film’s historical re-enactments are a little amateur, but Davies’ amiable style, whether chatting to critic Robert Parker or Prince Robert of Luxembourg, brings this transatlantic love affair vividly alive. Apple TV+, Prime Video, Google Play
Listen
Looking Into Wine
What’s it like being the editor of Decanter magazine? Find out in a special 30-minute ‘Careers in Wine’ episode of Italian sommelier Mattia Scarpazza’s Looking Into Wine podcast. The interview with Amy Wislocki, who has been at the helm of the magazine for 23 years, touches on topics such as how Decanter has changed during that time, how to succeed as a wine writer, and how the magazine coped during the pandemic.
The Wine Conversation
The founder of this twice-monthly podcast, Sarah Kemp, was publisher and managing director of Decanter for more than 25 years, making her one of the most well-connected people in the wine world. The Wine Conversation features in-depth conversations with leading figures in wine alongside monthly Omnibus, magazine-style episodes, which cover wine news and expert views in an engaging, and consumer-friendly fashion.
The Wine CEO #133 Rhône
Each week, certified sommelier Sarah Roth covers a different wine topic aimed at helping wine lovers feel more confident. In this episode, she interviews Matt Walls, Decanter’s Rhône correspondent and author of Wines of the Rhône. Walls gives an overview of the Rhône valley, explaining just why the wines from the north and south are so different, and shares the top things you need to know about this region. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, other major podcast apps; also available via YouTube.
The Wine Makers
This weekly podcast is recorded in Sonoma Valley, with more than 285 episodes aired to date. Wine pros Sam Coturri, Bart Hansen, Brian Casey and host John Myers are joined by US winemakers such as Andy Beckstoffer and Diana Snowden Seysses – a Napa native now making wine in Burgundy – who chat about all aspects of their work. Relaxed conversation gives listeners fascinating insight into the joys, trials and tribulations of making wine. Themed episodes cover everything from compost and corks to bottle reuse programmes.
