Wine Lovers...what do you reference? (Book recommendation for a gift)

[imloulou]

Hey wine lovers!!

I like wine but I am lost here. I need a gift for someone who has money but buys inexpensive but good tasting wines!! (she has given us many bottles of wine the past few years so I want to do something special for her)

I want to get a WINE GUIDE...she buys good wines but thought maybe I could get her a guide that is up-to-date and may give her a reference and ideas for something new to try....something for very fun, unpretentious, people.

Any recommendations?

I looked on Amazon and got a few ideas but there were so many books that I started to get a little wacky-eyed and thought I would come to where all the experts are..hehehe :D

One more thing...I am looking for something 25 bucks or under (of course, if the PERFECT book is "a tad" over $25.00 then that wouldnt be so bad)

Thanks guys!!!!

[CompassRose]

Billy's Bottles (http://www.billysbestbottles.com/bbb_handbook/handbook.html) is the best one I know, and he publishes an updated one each year... but it's written by a local author, and covers wines commonly available in the better LCBO stores here.

It would no doubt be interesting for someone in the States -- and he does mention many US and some international wines -- and he IS extremely funny -- but -- perhaps you have something similar, locally?

Maybe try calling any local wineries or "wine boutiques" if you have such a thing, and asking whether you do? They are sure to know. And that might be more fun than some more generic wine handbook.

[bensdad]

Over the years my friends and family have gotten me several wine guides, and unfortunatly most of them deal with high-end imported wines, and they hardly ever mention any of the wines I like or want to try. Plus there a several wineries around that make great wines, but aren't listed either. :(

[Ralph]

We had bought Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine : 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style last year as a gift for someone, and they really liked it.

Can't remember where I found out about this book, but it came highly recommended. And Amazon has it listed as 5 stars in Customer Reviews.

[mcgeiger]

I like Andrea Immer Robinson's wine guides. They have $10 bottles and on up, ratings for best wines, best buys and best budget wines, her aim is to comment on commonly available nationwide wines. And it's about $12-so you could pick a bottle to go with :p

[imloulou]

Billy's Bottles (http://www.billysbestbottles.com/bbb_handbook/handbook.html) is the best one I know, and he publishes an updated one each year... but it's written by a local author, and covers wines commonly available in the better LCBO stores here.

It would no doubt be interesting for someone in the States -- and he does mention many US and some international wines -- and he IS extremely funny -- but -- perhaps you have something similar, locally?

Maybe try calling any local wineries or "wine boutiques" if you have such a thing, and asking whether you do? They are sure to know. And that might be more fun than some more generic wine handbook.

That would be PERFECT! I went to his site and it looks like exactly what I am looking for. I am not sure if we have someone locally but will have to check...THANKS!

[imloulou]

Thank you for the other recommendations! I looked them up on Amazon and they both look good!

The Oldman book looks like it would be funny...there are some catchy chapter titles!

This looks like a good one from Robinson:
Andrea Immer Robinson's 2006 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone : Revised Edition (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767915461/qid=1132151968/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-0294694-0983867?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

I may get both of them!!!

Keep the recommendations coming! :D

[Dfen911]

I don't know if you have a Beverages and More (aka - BevMo (http://www.bevmo.com)) but they have a nice rating system.

They rate not only wines, but spirits as well.