Understanding Wine Technology: The Science of Wine Explained Review

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(More customer reviews)Clearly written and a quick read, but don't be fooled: there is a lot of solid technical information here, including one of the best published reviews of filtration, and an excellent overview of additives. Clarity here is due to good writing and careful exposition, not by dumbing down the topic. The book was written for classroom use, for instance by students preparing for the WSET Diploma Examination, and also succeeds as a text for someone who understands the basics of winemaking but wants to know the why as well as the what.
However, the chapter on fermentation is a bit brief for its intended role as a textbook, and faults merit only a few pages. A lack of a bibliography (other than a few scattered references to journal articles) also counts against it. I recommend supplementing with another text such as Rankine's "Making Good Wine" (ISBN 140503601X) or a reference work such as Jackson's "Wine Science".
(Note: A newer edition is now available, it might address some of the above criticisms.)
This is a book worth owning and reading, but it will not provide all the answers.

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Understanding Wine Technology was originally written for students of the diploma examination of the Wines & Spirits Education Trust in the United Kingdom, and the Master of Wine examination as set by the Institute of Masters of Wine. However, this is the only book to explain the complexities of the science and technology of wine in simple terms, and therefore fills a gap in the large market of wine information by making wineÂ's technical mysteries accessible to those with no scientific education. This new edition brings the literature up-to-date, relaying in its plainspoken tradition the recent advances in wine science and technology. The topics covered range from the secrets of the vineyard, the processing of grapes to produce juice, the intricacies of fermentation, stabilization of the resulting wine, treatments, quality control and quality assurance, and bottling.

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The Complete Book of Spirits: A Guide to Their History, Production, and Enjoyment Review

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(More customer reviews)The Complete Book of Spirits by Anthony Dias Blue is a marvelous guide for a retail store. It is an easy read, incredibly informative, and can make you an instant expert on all spirits, even includes barware and glasses. I bought it for our liquor managers in each store and they have found it to be an excellent storehouse of knowledge from beginning to end about all types of spirits. I needed this 35 years ago when first became a liquor retailer. Awesome book!!!

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An indispensable follow-up to his classic Complete Book of Mixed Drinks, Anthony Dias Blue presents The Complete Book of Spirits, a comprehensive collection of history, lore, and tasting tips, along with recipes for select cocktails. Here, in one concise and easy-to-use volume, is all the information a consumer needs to shop, mix, and sip like a spirits expert.

From bathtub gin to mojito madness, Blue brings the dynamic history of the spirits industry alive, demonstrating that spirit making is not only one of mankind's oldest pursuits but also perhaps its most colorful. In ten captivating chapters, readers are treated to everything they ever wanted to know about their favorite liquors, including vodka, aquavit, tequila, and whiskey. Blue also provides step-by-step instructions on how to host spirit tastings to educate your palate and to help you and your friends discover your favorite brands and blends. For every chapter and every spirit, there is also a handy tasting-notes section, with Blue's expert comments and his favorites, along with price points.

If you've ever wondered about the difference between potato and wheat vodkas, or between mescal and tequila or American and Irish whiskeys, or what makes single malt Scotch so desirable, look no further. With Anthony Dias Blue, America's leading wine and spirits expert, and The Complete Book of Spirits as your guides, you will take your enjoyment to a new level.

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Understanding Wine Technology, 3rd Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)To determine whether Bird's "Understanding Wine Technology" is for you, it is necessary to decipher its positioning. It is an overview of all areas of commercial wine production from a less-technical basis (meaning something like "few chemical formulas, with all jargon explained very clearly). In the introduction, Bird says, "The book is aimed at the person with no formal scientific training, yet who is interested in the science behind wine and wants to know the mechanism behind the complex transformations that take place."
The book delivers perfectly on that promise: it is amazingly readable and covers nearly every conceivable (general) topic regarding production. What it does *not* do is to provide detailed depth in any area (see below), cover non-production aspects such as details of individual varietals or wines, nor present a winemaking manual. It covers commercial rather than home production, although of course there is some overlap.
If you want one of the following, then the book is for you: an substantial breadth view of topics; an overview of the science; an overview of commercial wine production. On the other hand, if you want something else, it is *not* for you: detailed technical depth on chemistry (try Margalit instead); a guide to wines, regions, or wineries; a guide to wine making. For my part, I am an aficionado and home winemaker, and it has added breadth to my knowledge. It's a good "first source" to look up something before delving into more depth.
Preview pages ("see inside") are not yet posted for this volume, so I will clarify what it includes. There are 23 chapters that take up 290 pages of primary text. These include virtually every topic from vineyard to bottling. In addition to the usual topics ("in the vineyard", "producing the must", "fermentations", "clarification and fining", etc.) there are interesting and more industry-focused chapters, including a chapter on "quality control and [hazard] analysis". In other words, the topics are comprehensive, but at an average of 10 pages per topic, each topic provides only an overview of its area.
The print quality is good, heavy weight, glossy paper. A pleasant surprise was the number of interesting color photographs, taken in vineyards and wineries around the world. These help immensely to illustrate the concepts.
Finally, to clarify just how much depth there is, here is a paragraph describing cold soak processes:
"Pre-ferment maceration, otherwise known as a 'cold soak', can be used to extract more aromas from the skins, This is identical to the so-called 'skin-contact' process as used in the production of aromatic white wine (sse p. 104). During this period the must has to be cooled to somewhere between 15 and 4 degrees C in order to prevent the fermentation starting, so that the cells containing the flavour and aroma compounds can be broken. This is particularly effective with Pinot Noir, where the aromas are very valuable, but the danger of the extraction of polyphenols is minimal because of the nature of the thin skins." [p. 90]
That description took about 1/3 of a page. If you imagine that level of description multiplied across hundreds of carefully arranged and progressive topics, ending up with almost 300 pages total, you can imagine this book. I find it tremendously interesting and helpful, but again, it is an overview not a technical guide. Cheers!


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Any student who s ever logged credits in a viticulture and enology class knows Bird s book. It s the most widely assigned wine science primer in the English speaking world. This completely revised and updated edition to Bird s classic textbook deciphers all the new scientific advances that have cropped up in the last several years, and conveys them in his typically clear and plainspoken style that renders even the densest subject matter freshman-friendly. New material includes: expanded section on the production of red, rosé, white, sweet, sparkling and fortified wines; information on histamine, flash detente, maceration, whole bunch and whole berry fermentation; expanded chapter on wine faults, including Brettanomyces; new section on HACCP analysis as applied to a winery; and much more.

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