Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2003: Revised & Updated

Rating:
Summary: Convenient Guide for Unfamiliar Restaurants and Wine Shops
Review: Few people have tasted enough wines and can remember them so that they can pick out the best buys when confronted with many unexpected choices. As a result, many people will purchase disappointing and overpriced wines . . . thinking they have made a good choice. Take this little guide with you, and you will soon be rewarded with much better drinking at your meals.

Obviously, the wine connoisseur who can afford to drink the best and lay in extensive stocks to age will seldom be caught out, having done great research in the past. The person who is trying to drink well on a budget will be the primary beneficiary.

Restaurants in particular often stock what they got a deal on, and may offer vintages that are not yet ready to drink or are undistinguished.

The section on foods and wines will give you some new ideas on how to more closely complement a specific meal.

If you do find yourself with a magnificent wine list in front of you (and can afford it), there's a brief list of the ultimate wines to drink in an ideal world.

The book also has directions for ideal temperatures to serve the wines, so when the sommelier asks you about preparation you can have more definite ideas.

Most of the book is divided into geographic region, winery, wine type, quality, vintage information (including which ones are ready to drink), and limited notes about specific characteristics. It's a very broad and superficial source, but takes you past what you would know without it. The advice is based on Hugh Johnson's tastings and those of over 40 friends whom he acknowledges.

Mr. Johnson also comments on the 2000 vintage, which he says was good in Bordeaux. So, you may wish to consider laying some wine away from there.

By the way, I think this book would make a marvelous gift to someone who is often treating you to rather bad wine at expensive prices. Then, you both will get a gift.

A votre sante!

Rating:
Summary: Convenient Guide for Unfamiliar Restaurants and Wine Shops
Review: Few people have tasted enough wines and can remember them so that they can pick out the best buys when confronted with many unexpected choices. As a result, many people will purchase disappointing and overpriced wines . . . thinking they have made a good choice. Take this little guide with you, and you will soon be rewarded with much better drinking at your meals.

Obviously, the wine connoisseur who can afford to drink the best and lay in extensive stocks to age will seldom be caught out, having done great research in the past. The person who is trying to drink well on a budget will be the primary beneficiary.

Restaurants in particular often stock what they got a deal on, and may offer vintages that are not yet ready to drink or are undistinguished.

The section on foods and wines will give you some new ideas on how to more closely complement a specific meal.

If you do find yourself with a magnificent wine list in front of you (and can afford it), there's a brief list of the ultimate wines to drink in an ideal world.

The book also has directions for ideal temperatures to serve the wines, so when the sommelier asks you about preparation you can have more definite ideas.

Most of the book is divided into geographic region, winery, wine type, quality, vintage information (including which ones are ready to drink), and limited notes about specific characteristics. It's a very broad and superficial source, but takes you past what you would know without it. The advice is based on Hugh Johnson's tastings and those of over 40 friends whom he acknowledges.

Mr. Johnson also comments on the 2000 vintage, which he says was good in Bordeaux. So, you may wish to consider laying some wine away from there.

By the way, I think this book would make a marvelous gift to someone who is often treating you to rather bad wine at expensive prices. Then, you both will get a gift.

A votre sante!

Rating:
Summary: Take it everywhere with you!
Review: I have been a devotee of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedias since the 1980's, when I was first introduced to the concept of fine wine. This pocket guide, updated every year to include information on new vineyards and vintages, is a godsend. With so many wines produced today, I need a method to distinguish among the offerings, and this is it. From the cheapest to the most expensive wine, Johnson includes a vast list in a slim, portable volume.

Without snobbery, Johnson discusses grape varieties, food pairings, and the individual character of different wine regions, from France to California to Australia - even to South Africa. While the food recommendations are more guidance than rules, they still provide a solid base for the novice. Connoisseurs will head straight to the easy to read wine listings to discover the best vintages and the characters of individual labels, as well as Johnson's overall starred ratings.

The book is small enough to fit inside a purse or jacket pocket, perfect for taking to a restaurant or wine store. If you are serious about wine, you really do need to buy an updated edition every year. People who have only a casual interest might get away with one every other year.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates fine wine or who wants to learn more about it. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Take it everywhere with you!
Review: I have been a devotee of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedias since the 1980's, when I was first introduced to the concept of fine wine. This pocket guide, updated every year to include information on new vineyards and vintages, is a godsend. With so many wines produced today, I need a method to distinguish among the offerings, and this is it. From the cheapest to the most expensive wine, Johnson includes a vast list in a slim, portable volume.

Without snobbery, Johnson discusses grape varieties, food pairings, and the individual character of different wine regions, from France to California to Australia - even to South Africa. While the food recommendations are more guidance than rules, they still provide a solid base for the novice. Connoisseurs will head straight to the easy to read wine listings to discover the best vintages and the characters of individual labels, as well as Johnson's overall starred ratings.

The book is small enough to fit inside a purse or jacket pocket, perfect for taking to a restaurant or wine store. If you are serious about wine, you really do need to buy an updated edition every year. People who have only a casual interest might get away with one every other year.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates fine wine or who wants to learn more about it. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Pays for Itself
Review: Like finding the perfect anniversery gift or putting on your snow tires, buying this guide should be one of those things you do each and every year.

Why? Because it will pay for itself the very first trip you make with it to the liquor store. Think I'm exagerating? Then keep reading.

Hugh Johnson is the Roger Ebert of wines. In other words, he knows his subject thouroughly but without ever being snobby or pretentious. He knows you don't find the perfect wine -- whether for cheap pasta, or coq au vin, or to lay down for a decade -- by price. Trying to decide between the 80 buck Cabernet Sauvignon or the simply labelled "red table wine" at ten dollars -- and you've never tasted either? Hugh can tell you the better value. Not to mention which one is just plain better.

With that one purchase, you'll have more than paid for the book.

Hugh has a wonderful sense of humor, and takes great joy in his work -- and it shows.

Rating:
Summary: Practical and exhaustive
Review: There is an amazing lot of information in this book. It is very exhaustive and reliable, with a specific focus on Bordeaux wines. The information has proven to be very objective, as opposed to similar info from Parker that you have to decode before use. It also covers a broad range of qualities which is very helpful for the lower reputation areas.
I have been a regular user for ten years and continue buying it about once every three years.