Wine Spectator's Ultimate Buying Guide

No serious wine buyer/collector should be without this. Easy to use reference guide, with ratings against multiple vintages. I have yet to find a wine not listed in here, and the only downside is that this much information does not fit in a handbag (so memory is required for restaurant ordering)!

Editor and Publisher Marvin R. Shanken calls this book "an indispensable resource" for wine lovers. I'd have to say he is right about that. This book provides everything and then some that most of the wine buying public needs or wants to know about the vintner's tasty product. Over 40,000 wines are reviewed and there are tasting notes on more than 20,000.One section of the book concentrates on great wines suitable for the wine collector. It rates the best wines from the present vintages of what the authors consider are the world's most prestigious wine types. These are identified as Red Bordeaux, Red Burgundy, White Burgundy, Red Rhome, Piedmont Red, Tuscan Red, Vintage Port, and California Cabernet. Included with the ratings are date references to "Wine Spectator" issues in which the wines were rated.Another interesting feature is a wine buying strategy for stocking wine cellars. Vintage charts are provided which cover the top 100 best wines released by year from 1988 to 1999. A detachable and foldable vintage chart is included which may be carried in the purse or wallet for easy reference during those shopping sprees. Also helpful is a complete winery index at the back of the book.For those folks like me who are not wine aficionados but like to get the best value for their dollars, the editors have included a checklist for wineries and wines of good quality for $12.00 or less. This is a fairly inclusive list and includes wines from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, and the United States.Full of great information, there is probably too much detail for the casual wine shopper; however, it appears to be a must have for the more discriminating wine buyer.

I have to admit that I did not know anything about buying wines before I purchased this book. For all of those people who don't know anything about wine, the task of buying wine can be very intimidating and frustrating. However, this book clearly explained everything there is to know about buying wine, and the best part is that the book is not confusing at all. The book tells you how to tell the difference between all the different wines. In addition, it explained how to find the best prices. I showed this book to my wine collecting neighbor and even he was impressed, and I thought this book was only for beginners. This book helped me out a lot.

I've had a copy of this book since it was published in late 1998. All I can say is that it's a tremendous resource which I've thoroughly enjoyed using. I marvel at the accuracy of its descriptions. I've used it to "do my homework" before shopping at wine sales. I've used it to help determine when to drink the wines I have accumulated. Above all, I've derived great pleasure from just reading the entries.My hat is off to the Wine Spectator for this guide and my hope is the next edition is soon on the way.

I found this book to be very helpful in selecting wines from around the world. The book is well organized and it includes ratings of virtually every good producer around the world including Australia and Chile. I am very glad I have purchased this book.