Rating: 
Summary: Nice book on making wine
Review: I like this book for my winemaking and think it has been very useful over the years. The author does a nice job of explaining the entire process of making wine here from starting with a bare plot of ground to picking the grape varieties to grow, spacing the plants, pruning, harvesting, crushing, fermenting, and finally bottling.
He also makes the point that winemaking is as much of an art as it is a science, there is more than one way to do most things and he explains some of them in this book.
I happen to use some different methods to growing the grapes than he recommends in this book though due to the climate I live in, such as using shoot thinning which he advises against. He leans more towards cluster thinning and I can't come to the task of removing grape blooms when that is the whole point in grape growing. Instead I remove the new shoots with no grape blooms and leave only those shoots that have them. I have found this to be the best way to get full crops in my climate, however with heavy bloomers his method may be more appropriate.
Also he advises to fertilize and I don't do that either as it leads to rank growth and more severe pruning later on, but as I said those are minor points I do differently.
The chapters on fermenting the grapes and producing wine are excellent as well, I would only say that my experience shows he tends to go too light on adding preservatives and I have found it is better to use a little more than he suggests as the wine tends to go cloudy with too little.
He also explains the importance of sugar content and acid and how they are related in the grape juice, also in testing before fermentation and how this is key to producing consistent fine wines. I completely agree here and that is the hard part as he mentions, one year is usually better or worse than the next, and keeping notes is important so if that year is the best you try to copy the methods again. The weather is different though so that changes things again, but as he says the key is to do your best and this book helps do that!
Finally for those that only want to make fruit wines this book would be helpful for the section on fermenting and bottling alone as I have made excellent fruit wines [mostly plum] using these methods. Just keep good notes on weights of fruit to the amount of water you add, also final sugar content, acid level and even the wine yeast you use.
I would also suggest anyone going the route of growing grapes from scratch to start with making fruit wines the first couple years as the vines mature [it can take two to three seasons to get enough grapes in some climates to make wine] so you have already made wine before pressing your first grapes. Also you may find the fruit wine as good or better in some cases.
So overall this is a great book for ideas, I recommend it highly!
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: Of all the books I have read on growing grapes and making wine, and I have read a few this is the most comprehensive and useful. Jeff Cox is a master at making even the most difficult aspects of viticulture easy to understand. I recomend this book to anyone looking for an all in one guide to turning vines into wines.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent starter book for new grapegrower/winemaker
Review: The new revision is an excellent book for anyone putting in a new vineyard, or thinking about winemaking. The two most certainly go hand in hand, however, if you are just interested in improving your knowledge of growing grapes, then it provides much very usefull information. On the other hand, if you are a new or aspiring winemaker, the section on making wine is filled with up to date, smart information, and can also be a stand alone reference to winemaking. By combining the two related fields, grape growing (specifically for winegrapes), and winemaking the winemaker will better understand what he should be looking for in winegrapes for his resulting wine. Conversely, the grape grower will have an understanding of how to grow his grapes to achieve the best possible product for the winemaker. If you are a grower of French Hybrid grapes, or the newer selection of American crosses from Elmer Swenson, David MacGregor, the University of Minnesota, New York Experiment Station named and numbered varieties, et al, then you do NOT want to pass up this book. A.J. Winkler's book "General Viticulture" is a bit outdated and a good revision would help... this one is right on the money.
Rating:
Summary: From Vines to Wines
Review: This book is the one I keep coming back to for answeres to the questions I have about vinyard care and wine making. It covers both the east as well as the western U.S. I only wish it went deeper into hybrid grapes than it does. (although it does cover them).
Rating: 
Summary: This is a complete revision and update of my original book.
Review: This book was originally published in 1985 when I was still living on the East Coast. In that year I moved to the Wine Country of California and have learned an enormous amount about grapes growing and wine making. This revision reflects my new knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: honest answers
Review: This is a great book for someone considering growing grapes. It puts it all in plain english and makes it easy to understand.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy Read
Review: This is a well compiled, easy to read treatise on the subjects of viticulture and eneology. Focused on the layperson, it is very easy reading whilst glossing over none of the facts.The book covers growing grapes suitable for wine, focused specifically on the North American region. It doesn't labor over the different types of grapes and their most suitable areas but it does give some information. It covers the history on wine making grapes and some of their historical regions. Moreover, it gives details on trellising and pruning techniques. Further, the book describes the process of winemaking. The authors easy going an informative style provides for a pleasant read. The author provides the reader with incite into his own experiences and even suggests alternatives to the common approach. I could recommend this book, not only to a perspective grape grower or wine maker, but to those that would like to learn more about wine, its history and how to taste it (all of which are between these covers).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book period.
Review: This is an excellent book. It completely explains the whole wine making process from the best grape variety for your area, proper growing techniques and care of the plants to making excellent wine with the fruit. I could not find a more complete A to Z book of the whole wine making process than this one. Unfortunately I live in an area which is too cold to grow the wine grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon. That is the variety I wanted to grow the most, but this book pointed out that this variety will not do very well through the short growing season in my state and will have allot of difficulty through the very cold winters here. Excellent information which will save you future dissapointment and point you in the right direction. Since reading this book I've done extensive research for a red wine grape variety which will do extremely well in U.S. states with short growing seasons and harsh cold winters. A good choice not covered.. I searched the net for several days to find this information, so I thought I would share it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent survey of all aspects of winemaking
Review: This is an excellent introduction to the topics of growing grapes or winemaker hobbyist. Cox does an admirable job of providing enough information and tips for the backyard grapegrower or basement/garage winemaker. Other books may go into more detail but this is a comprehensive overview that encompasses each aspect of growing and winemaking. As a wine enthusiast, I have given thought (more than once) to learning more about the complete wine-making process. Reading this book has given me just enough confidence to try this as a backyard/basement hobbyist. It's not that I believe I can grow and make world-class wine -- rather, I expect to be able to appreciate the effort that goes into making a world-class wine. And, with any luck, I'll be able to make something worth drinking. The sections of the book on choosing grapes appropriate to your region, growing and training tips, fermentation, aging, bottling are all clearly written. The supply sources listed in the back are comprehensive enough to be able to find the basics. All in all, a very solid effort.
Rating:
Summary: Create your own backyard winery
Review: Time-honored and celebrated worldwide, wine is often considered an elixir of life -- the good life. With the updated third edition of From Vines to Wines, anyone can enjoy the satisfaction of their own homegrown, homemade fine wine. With clear and concise instructions, Jeff Cox guides the reader through the intricacies of home winemaking, from appraisal of the potential backyard vineyard site to growing and harvesting the grapes to bottling and storing the finished product. Easy-to-use lists, tables, and drawings will inspire readers to take on the rewarding task of crafting their own wines from scratch with confidence. This updated edition features additional trellising systems, revised growing and equipment resources, profiles new varieties of grapes, advises on new winemaking techniques, and covers state-of-the-art techniques for determining grape ripeness.
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