The Grapes and Wines of Italy
IAN D’AGATA MICHELE LONGO
Independent Published
The Grapes and Wines of Italy – the definitive compendium region by region is an up to date, scientifically researched but very user-friendly guide to Italy’s grapes, wines and most important terroirs. Easy to read yet highly informative, this book is ideal for wine lovers, wine professionals and wine students preparing for exams both at the entry and advanced/Master level.
Salient features include:
- A simple introduction to Italy’s 20 regions
- The latest information on Italy’s native, traditional and international grape varieties presented in easy to access individual file format
- Key information and breakdown of Italy’s most important wine terroirs
- Lists of the denominations and wines
- Easy to consult tables and graphs
- The best wine producers region by region.
Ever since I wrote my multi-award-winning Native Wine Grapes of Italy (NWGI) and Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs (INWGT), people everywhere have asked me when I might follow it up with a shorter, abridged version that might prove less encyclopedic and easier to leaf through and carry around. And so I set out to write just such a book, the one that you are now holding in your hands. You will find it is written in a simple, note-type format, with plenty of tables and graphs so as to make the learning of what is at times a really complex subject matter hopefully a little easier.
Five valid reasons why a new book on the subject of Italy’s wine grapes and wines had become necessary.
First, because seven years have passed since the publication of “Native Wine Grapes of Italy”: this is a time frame more than long enough for a considerable body of new information pertaining to Italy’s native grapes and wines to have accumulated. Clearly, an update of the original tome had become not just desirable, but necessary.
Second: we wanted a new book on the subject of Italy’s wine grapes to broach not just the country’s plethora of native wine grapes, but the country’s international grapes too; so here you will also find information on the likes of Sylvaner, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot addressed as well.
Third: this new book’s user-friendly mission also includes sections on Italy’s many wines and denominations. In other words, not just the wine grapes, but their wines and their official denominations too, which you’ll find listed at the end of every chapter.
Fourth: to give wine lovers at least a small working knowledge on Italy’s best wine terroirs.
Fifth: I am now the President and Chief Scientific Officer of China’s TerroirSense Academy, not to mention the Editor-in-Chief of the TerroirSense Wine Review. Therefore, this book will also serve as the recommended text for that school’s Italian wine courses.
Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2021
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Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (Octopus Publishing Group)
General Editor: Margaret Rand
Description:
The world’s best selling wine guide, the new edition (the 44th!) of the annual Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book hìis now available for sale, and at roughly 10 euros a copy allow me to say it is one great wine buy! Yes, of course I would think so, given that I write, with my long time friend and collaborator Michele Longo, the Italy section to the guide, but I’m certainly not the only one who thinks this little book is just swell. It has been described by various sources as “…has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the minute wine guide” , “…perfect on the go…”, “…fantastic graphics…” and “…exceptionally useful…” and a whole lot more.
First published in 1977 and boasting over 12 Million copies sold, it is the ideal reading tool by which to look up a fact quickly or just to plain start understanding about wine regions one doesn’t know that much about. Frankly, I use it routinely, still today, and I highly recommend it as it really does help wine lovers learn about the world’s wines.
This is the only book that Michele and I are involved with that does not carry my name or his on the cover, so you know we think highly of it. We are proud to be a part of Hugh Johnson’s and his General Editor Margaret Rand’s writing team and look forward to updating and improving the Italy section for many years to come, or for as long as they will have us.
In the meantime, cheers everyone!
Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2020
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (Octopus Publishing Group)
General Editor: Margaret Rand
Description:
Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine – in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 43 year of publication, and more than 12 Million copies sold, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual wine guide. Hugh Johnson and his editors/authors provide clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world. He reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both. This new edition also contains a colour supplement on biodynamic, biologic and natural wines.
By Ian about his Introduction to Italy:
“I have looked upon the Italy section in Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book as a magnificent opprotunity to paint a complete and accurate picture of Italy’s fascinating if very complex world of wine. And so I have given, with excellent help and valid insight from Michele Longo, my longtime associate and co-editor of this section, plenty of attention to the many unique territories, denominations, wines and grape varieties that make Italy such a fantastic wine place. And being independent allows me to give those Italian wine realities that are outstanding but often forgotten elsewhere the attention they deserve. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much I do writing it“.
Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs
(published by University of California Press)
About the Book
Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs is the definitive reference book on the myriad crus and the grand cru wine production areas of Italy’s native wine grapes. Ian D’Agata’s approach to discussing wine, both scientific and discursive, provides an easy-to-read, enjoyable guide to Italy’s best terroirs. Descriptions are enriched with geologic data, biotype and clonal information, producer anecdotes and interviews, and facts and figures compiled over fifteen years of research devoted to wine terroirs. In-depth analysis is provided for the terroirs that produce both the well-known wines (Barolo, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino) and those not as well-known (Grignolino d’Asti, Friuli Colli Orientali Picolit, Ischia). Everyday wine lovers, beginners, and professionals alike will find this new book to be the perfect complement to D’Agata’s previous award-winning Native Wine Grapes of Italy.
(As the subject of Italy’s wine terroirs and its many native grapes is immense, Ian will follow up with another book on Italy’s wine terroirs in 2020, essentially a part 2 to this first opus, one that will discuss more grapes and terroirs).
Reviews
“Part walking Wikipedia, part philosopher, Ian D’Agata supplies a wealth of information on Italian wine—both fact and lore—and his latest book is a must-have and a compelling read for all lovers of Italy, Italian culture, and Italian wine. Ian’s unique voice and unparalleled access to Italy’s most famous, most infamous, and those not-yet-discovered winemakers and vignerons tells a fascinating story of Italy’s history through the lens of agriculture and winemaking.”––Laura DePasquale, Master Sommelier
“D’Agata’s prose is as noteworthy as its scholarly content. Anyone interested in delving deeply into Italian wine needs a copy of this book”—Michael Apstein, James Beard Award–winning wine writer and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
“I get asked all the time, which wine writers do I most admire? Ian D’Agata is always at the top of my list. He is that rarest of creatures, a once-in-a-generation great wine writer, and a benchmark for writing beautifully, engagingly, and with compelling insight. Really, nobody today does it better.”––Matt Kramer, author of True Taste: The Seven Essential Wine Words
(Adapted from the UC Press website)