Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

This is such a PERFECTLY crafted book on everything you need to know about Italian wine. Stunning photos of landscapes, food and of course, wine. There is so much educational content in this book that is packaged together so wonderfully, and it makes the history of Italian wine accessible to wine lovers of any knowledge level.

Mixing in stories of the wine makers themselves also add an element of enjoyable entertainment that I appreciated. I cannot wait to visit many of these areas!

The PERFECT book for anyone who loves wine and is looking to expand their knowledge on the rich, delicious beverage.

Wonderful book for all wine lovers. With Vini, Joe Campanale presents a comprehensive guide that dives into the dynamic landscape of Italian wine today.

This is a great read for any wine lover. The book is very nicely organized where you can easily identify different regions or types of wine. It was super interesting reading a little more about how wines are made and the different methods to do so. The book goes into great detail, so you can learn about different types of native grapes, recommended producers in specific areas, and the different processes they use. This would also be a great addition to coffee tables, or even set by the bar or wine rack if you have one.

Y’all made it halfway through the week - and just as a reminder you deserve to pour up and celebrate the fact that you are loved, beautiful, wonderful, appreciated, and (hopefully) surrounded by #books.

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This little wine Bible is written by an internationally famous sommelier and restaurateur who delves deep into the nuances of Italian 🍷 and the beautiful Italian landscapes from whence those highly sought after 🍇 come from.

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Bonus: the beautiful cover and stunning photography within.

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And… special shout-out to my personal favorite that reigns supreme in our lovely Italy: Chianti 🇮🇹

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#vino #wine #wines #winebooks #book #bookrec #bookrecs #italy #italian #bookstoread #nonfiction #nonfictionbooks #nonfictionreads

Author, Joe Campanale, with Joshua David Stein, take a deep dive into Italian wines from small artisan producers using indigenous grapes and artisanal methods.  In the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, Joe Campanale notes, "My professional career has been entirely focused on Italian wine, first in a retail Italian wine, store, then with an Italian wine distributor, and finally at an Italian restaurant..." With this admission you can really see how and why he delves so deeply into individual wineries, bringing forward stories about the winemakers and how they make their wines using indigenous grapes. 

Joe is not a fan of the DOC and DOCG wine pyramid, discussing its issues as it relates to quality, e.g. an unfiltered cloudy wine could be denied DOC or DOCG status for example made by an artisan winery, and then offers his method to define quality Italian wine using his "Vino Vero Venn diagram".  Vino Vero is Italian for real wine.   For him, a great wine should embody three overlapping values: native grapes, an exceptional terroir, and an artisan winemaker who uses low intervention methods to let the grape's characteristics and terroir be present in the glass.  There are some issues with this approach as wines such as Super Tuscans, which use some International varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the blend would not qualify as Vino Vero.

To better understand his VVV diagram, I would have liked him to take 2-3 wines, discussing in detail how the wine fits in each component and then how much overlap there is for each circle.

He also covers current trends in Italian winemaking, e.g. pet-nat and orange wines, and finally, in the largest section of the book he takes us across Italy's twenty wine regions, covering some of their rich history, and showing off some exceptional wines and producers in each region.

The authors spend the majority of the book providing stories about their Vino Veri wineries, which is wonderful to read, but maybe not for someone to read all at once, as the stories have many similarities. I'd recommend that a reader pick a region where they enjoy wines the most, like Tuscany, then read that section covering 5 native grapes and 5 winemakers of note. Use this approach for other wine regions in order of interest.

This book is not meant for the beginner.  The authors cover and discuss many obscure grape varieties, vinification methods, and trellising for example that it is assumed the reader is already familiar.  If you have been drinking Italian wine for many years and you have travelled to Italy, or are planning a trip, this book would be a good guide to find gems in Italy.

Wow i learned so much from this book. I’ve always enjoyed a good Italian wine but I didn’t know more than I liked it. This book filled in so much.

Even if you didn’t read about the different regions and their wines, the pictures in this book are just beautiful. I wanted to climb inside each picture.

Stunning photos of landscapes, food and of course, wine. I loved reading about the author’s introduction, history and story. As a beginner wine taster and novice learner of all things wine, I appreciated the description of the different growth cycle pyramids and grapes and terroir. I found the history of the evolution of Italian wine really added to the context of the book and I loved the description of the different types of wine from the sparkling to the whites, and reds.

I loved the section on the wine regions of Italy along with the pictures which added an authenticity to the book. Highlights of regional wine makers along with their family stories was a lovely addition within the context of the book. Overall it was a beautiful compilation and look into the a beautiful culture and rich history of wine making in Italy. I’m not gonna lie, after reviewing this book I’m having serious travel envy.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this eARC for my honest opinion. It was an honour to go on this trip with the author!

With a history that dates back many centuries, it might be reasonable to assume that everything that could—or should—be written about Italian winemaking had already happened. The reality, though, is that consumer tastes, environmental conditions, production methods, and regulatory mandates change so much from year to year that it is virtually impossible to write a single treatment that captures the essence of the topic for all time. So, a book such as Vino: The Essential Guide to Real Italian Wine that provides a fresh look at viniculture across the entire peninsula, along with stories of the men and women devoted producing wine the right way, is a welcome addition to the countless existing works. Co-author Joe Campanale, a celebrated New York-based sommelier and restauranteur, has spent his career developing an expertise in this area and that joy, passion, and knowledge comes through on every page of this impressive volume.

The book is divided into three distinct parts, beginning with a potentially controversial discussion of how the highly regulated DOC appellation system that has been used to classify Italian wines for more than a half century can be a highly misleading guide to the quality of what ends up in the glass. As an alternative, Campanale suggests the use of the Vino Vero Venn (VVV) diagram, which triangulates wine quality on three dimensions: the use of grapes native to a region, the quality of the terroir, and the talents of artisan winemakers. If nothing else, the VVV system reveals the author’s underlying bias that only those bottles produced with native grapes using natural methods can be considered as "real" wines, or vino vero. I found this to be an interesting way to look at wine production and one that has the benefit of focusing on the characteristics of the product itself instead of classifications dictated by government regulation. A second section of the book then provides a quick synopsis of new styles—such as orange wines—that have emerged using VVV-friendly production methods.

The third section, which is by far the longest and most detailed, offers a region-by-region breakdown of what wine is being made right now throughout Italy, a discussion that goes far beyond the Chianti, Barolo, and Prosecco we are already familiar with. For each of the twenty regions—from Valle D’Aosta in the north to Sicily in the south—the authors provide an exhaustive overview of the history and growing conditions in the area, which grapes are considered native, and profiles of many of the current and recent past producers who have defined the industry. Much of this information was highly informative and did a great job of highlighting the diversity that exists across the country, including why producing wine with grapes native to an area is so important. The only real negative thing I can say about this material is the excessive amount of space spent on the growers’ biographies; although these were uniformly thoughtful and well-written, the people profiled will mean little to anyone who is not intimately connected to the business.

Overall, Vino is a thoroughly researched and passionately rendered look at a topic that will certainly resonate with a lot of readers. The authors bring a new point of view to a very old topic and their ability to communicate both their expertise and their enthusiasm was quite striking. I suspect that this volume will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of all of us who love everything about Italian wine.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting book!

Campanale mixes anecdotes about his personal experience with his knowledge of wine. There are stories about Campanale growing up and his family as well as information about Italian wine. This book has helpful diagrams and information about Italian wine. We learn about the process, different kinds of wine, and what makes it unique.

Overall an informative read!