Books for Christmas

Keen to move beyond the standard references? Our regular reviewer shares her pick of essential, and entertaining, wine books - a collection of perfect Christmas gift ideas for you or another wine lover in your life

- BY SOPHIE THORPE

If you're a proper wine nerd, most of your wine books will be reference guides - hefty things that don't get read cover to cover, but are pulled off shelves intermittently and leafed through for specific information. The likes of Inside Burgundy, The World Atlas of Wine and Wine Grapes are peerless resources – but if I were bundling together the ultimate starter pack of wine books, they wouldn’t feature. You want books that will inspire and absorb you - books that fill you with the urge to visit vineyards and pull corks, and eventually dive into more impenetrable guides.

Bianca Bosker's Cork Dork (£10.99 Penguin, 2017) is an addictive read, following the journalist’s headlong dive into the sommeliers’ world. You don’t need to know anything about wine to enjoy it – and it won't teach you about classification systems or the permitted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It will, however, introduce you to some of the fanatics who fill the industry – and ignite your intrigue. Bosker’s journalistic background shines through in the work – which is part memoir, part vinous adventure, part investigation into the science of taste, all brought together in a witty page-turner that effortlessly holds your attention.

I'd add to that a trio of personal tales – stories that offer a glimpse into the world of wine, all from slightly different, tangential angles. Simon Loftus’ Puligny-Montrachet (£12.99 Daunt Books, 1992; republished 2019) takes you behind the scenes in Burgundy, exploring the history, politics, people and way of life that define the region and its wines.