©2007, The Birmingham Post
With each passing year, I become more depressed at the dearth of new wine publications that are released. There appears to be a lack of exciting new talent or themes, with the publishers sticking to the same set of safe names and tried and tested books.
To illustrate the point, Paul Strang's, The Wines of South-West France was dropped, and he is currently seeking a new publisher. I had genuinely been looking forward to this, as it covers a relatively obscure, but fascinating wine region which receives little or no attention.
The problem, I suppose, is down to basic economics. I have to accept that the subject of wine, unlike cookery is a minority interest, and that specialist topics have little general appeal. Moreover, writing a book is a laborious occupation, involving a great deal of protracted research, often for little reward. For these reasons, I know of one popular wine-writer who would never entertain writing a book, in spite of being well-qualified.
On the other side of the coin, wine-publishers have to sell books, so logically, they stick to subjects with tried and tested formulae. Pocket wine guides by the gurus Hugh Johnson and Oz Clarke (both £9.99) I can accept, as the content of these mini encyclopaedias will give continued interest over several years. Titles such as "My Favourite 100 Wines", or "Best Supermarket Wine Buys" do not, as they are almost past their sell-by date on the day of their release.
By necessity, the research is completed in early summer, so by the time you receive at Christmas, the producers and stockists have all but moved onto the next vintage.
On recent release is the World Atlas of Wine (£36), again by the acclaimed Hugh Johnson and co-author Jancis Robinson, described as "the best British collaboration since Lennon and McCartney". This latest incarnation is the 6th edition, and updates the previous 2001 edition by nearly 50 pages. It makes significant inroads into New World territory, including Australia, the USA amongst others, and remains the seminal work for wine-lovers.
Likewise, Stephen Brook's The Complete Bordeaux (£40) is not wholly new, merely half new. This supercedes his Bordeaux tome published last year, which focussed on the Left Bank wines of Medoc and Graves, by now incorporating the Right Bank.
The original intention was to release both side by side. I suspect sales were poor, not due to content, but a dull layout. The result is this sexier, all-encompassing edition.
As a compendium of the leading chateaux, unquestionably the world's most famous fine wine region, this is a peerless, thoroughly researched reference which is right on the button. Any Bordeaux lover, particularly those interested in opening offers, will treasure this for many years to come.
The target readership of the worthy Wine Report 2008 (£9.99) must be the wine-trade itself. Leading experts in their own field are invited to give an overview of their selected speciality, and compile a list of the best producers and wines. Regrettably, many of these are not widely available, and the book has both limited shelf-life and appeal.
Finally, Collins Gem Wine (£4.99), by old-hand Julie Arkell, is a truly portable mini-reference. Full of useful tips and information in bite-size form, I would easily envisage slipping this into a pocket or bag, and actually using it when scanning the supermarket shelves or restaurant wine-lists. Particularly useful are the sections on wine styles and food and wine matching. It won't date, either.