A pretty cool and handy book going over the various types and histories of wines. I really wanted this to review for a gift for my mom, which I did end up deciding to purchase for her birthday - she loved it!

I initially received The Periodic Table of Wine as an advance reader copy from NetGalley, but I wasn't able to read it before the preview copy expired. However, I was so intrigued by the concept that I went ahead and looked for a copy at the new bookstore downtown so that I could follow through with my commitment to read it. The first time I went, they were sold out, but were receiving three copies by the weekend. So I bought The Periodic Table of Cocktails instead. I enjoyed that book so much that I really wanted to see how they ran with the periodic table concept for wine. But when I went in on the weekend, those three copies were already sold. So I special ordered a copy, and, when I got the email notifying me that it had arrived, I scurried over to pick it up one day after work.

The Periodic Table of Wine seeks to organize 104 different wine growing regions, grapes, and wine styles into a two-page grid. The horizontal axis begins on the left at “full bodied whites” progresses through lighter whites to rosés to lighter reds and ends on the right at “full bodied reds.” The vertical axis begins at the top at “fruit & spice” progresses down through “floral” and ends at the bottom at “green & mineral.” The idea is that if you know you like a certain wine and are curious to try something new, the boxes above, below, right and left of the known box should offer something similar that you may enjoy. For example, if you like Brunello, you may also enjoy Montepulciano or Pinotage. Likewise, if you enjoy Chablis, you may also enjoy Sancerre or Muscadet. In addition to the main grid, there are 22 “rare earth” wines on a separate grid that include the sparkling, sweet, and fortified wines.

The book does presume that its reader has some familiarity with wine and with wine terminology. In fact, it requires that the reader has some sense of what she likes and dislikes in a wine, as well as a willingness to try new wines. In the Introduction, the book promises to keep wine terms to a minimum (after all, it isn’t a textbook). However, it does hammer out four specific terms more in depth: “Old World/New World,” acidity, tannins, oak, and vielles vignes. The Old World/New World discussion was interesting in that it highlighted that the Old World and New World wines are labeled differently. Old World wines are labeled according to the region where the wine is made. The winemaking rules of the Old World regions restrict the permitted grape varieties. Knowing what grapes are prevalent in which Old World regions is a step toward understanding what the wine may taste like. On the other hand, outside of the Old World, wines are labeled according to the dominant grapes used in the wine, so less knowledge and less guess work is required.

After the Introduction, the book proceeds from the leftmost column of full-bodied whites through the columns of lighter whites and rosés to the right hand columns of the lighter reds and, ultimately, the rightmost columns of the full-bodied reds. Then it proceeds across the row of sparkling wines, across the row of sweet wines, and, finally, across the row of fortified wines. The entry for each grape describes where the grape is grown and, obviously, the range of flavors that the grape can yield under different winemaking techniques. It also describes what food the wine pairs well with. In the cases of the more offbeat grapes like Marsanne, the section also describes what more common grapes you my like if this sounds like it may be up your alley. Finally, there may also be a sentence or two about what other grapes the grape under discussion is commonly blended with and how those wines turn out. The entry for each wine region describes where the region is – yet another wine book in which I’d have loved to see a map of Europe or at least France included so I could orient myself to all the northwest of this and southeast of that! Then the section describes how the wines from the region taste, what grapes are used in the wines, and what techniques are used in the regional winemaking. Sometimes there is a sentence or two about what other alternatives there may be to drinking a wine from the region. And of course, there are the suggestions as to what foods to pair the wine with.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. First, I am a sucker for any wine book written by a woman. No rhyme or reason why, I just am. Especially if it is an intelligent well written and well researched book, which this most definitely is. Second, I really liked the treatment of some of my favorite esoteric wines, especially the Montepulciano grapes and the Provence regional rosés, which I considered the true test of her depth of research and her skill as a writer. She even answered the question we had at the latest dinner party “What is a Pinotage?” I thought it was a meritage of pinot family grapes (which sounded good) but it actually is a relatively new grape developed in South African by crossing Pinot Noir grapes and Cinsault grapes. (Whatever it was, it was delicious!) Third, I appreciated that this book is timeless because it doesn’t recommend labels or vintages. Much like Diane McMartin’s This Calls For a Drink, this book encourages you to develop a relationship with your local wine merchant and become comfortable in talking with her or him about what you want, for what purpose, and for what price. This book gives you the education and confidence to request a juicy Cotes-du-Rhone or a zippy Chianti for a pasta dinner, and then trust your wine merchant to narrow the field of available labels and price points.

Going into this book, I didn’t think that there was any way that I could enjoy it as much as I enjoyed The Periodic Table of Cocktails. But I did. The entries for the “elements” of the “periodic tables” are so different that there is no comparison between the two books. They are both excellent and extremely useful. The very tough decision point will come this Christmas when I have to decide which of the ladies gets which of the books!

Interesting, but I wouldn't read it again. Informative, however.

My apologies; I was unable to upload my review before the title was archived

this was such a fun, interesting way to learn about wines, and to refresh the memeory of wines that have been forgotten. i really enjoyed it!

I love the idea behind this series. It splits the table between white, rose, and red wines, working from fuller wines on the outside to lighter, more approachable wines in the center. Each wine on the table is given a brief overview, along with pairing ideas and suggestions for similar wine styles to try. The table itself is a great guide for different types to try. Each wine is going to share similarities to the ones above, below, and to either side.

There are some familiar grapes and styles presented here, but there were quite a few that I didn't recognize. It seemed like there was a focus on European wines. The author does mention certain types that are worth seeking out from other parts of the world though. I would have liked to have seen more American grapes represented. What the book presents is doing really well though and should give a good starting point for anyone looking to branch to different types of wine.

It also provides some great resources at the end of the book for anyone that wants to delve further into the world of wine. Some of these provide a much greater depth than this book seeks to cover.

This is a well-organized, scientific yet approachable book that is a must for any wine drinker. I will probably get a copy for my library as well as my personal collection!

This was a good book about a lot of different kinds of wine, and it includes a great general description of flavor characteristics and different wine-making styles of grapes and regions. Again, this isn’t something that you can retain all the information but it is a great reference text for types of wines. I also really liked that the grapes were grouped into similar categories and each wine gave recommendations for other wines to try if you liked that wine, making it easy to find a new wine that you might like!

This Book about wines just makes sense to me and how I can explore this world of wines

A brilliant idea and a handy reference guide. Well done!

The ultimate gift for the ultimate wine connoisseur in your life! Starting off with a clear and logical "periodic table" of type of wine, the book immediately delves into how to read the table and a guide to using it. The table is incredibly practical in that once you have found a wine you like, surrounding wines may be similarly to your taste with slight variations or interesting twists! The book also provides quite a lot of detail in the tasting of wine itself - the components of trying and enjoying wine - before diving deep into each type of wine listed on the table, from white to rose to red with special sections for fortified, sweet, and sparkling wine.

As a lover of wine, I appreciate this book very much and would recommend it to anyone seeking to learn more about the art of enjoying wine and how to best explore new flavors!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair review!