Recommended Reading, Steve Foisie
I would like to suggest a couple books you may wish to consider as reading material while you wait for the vintage to arrive. These can be appreciated by the novice or practicing wine maker although winemaking experience would be beneficial in understanding some of the technology discussed. I recommend you read the online reviews of these books to see if they may hold your interest. Neither of these are what I would consider “how to” books.
The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass by Jamie Goode. This is a book I would seriously consider as required reading in a second-semester college wine making class. It is a very readable, comprehensive – though at times technical – overview of wine making topics which are today, more often than not, the subject of controversy and confusion. These topics include terrior, sulfur dioxide, micro-oxygenation, brettanomyces, corks vs. screw caps, wine allergies and the health benefits of wine. Worth the effort to seek out and read.
Postmodern Winemaking by Clark Smith. As one reviewer wrote of Clark’s work, “…Mr. Smith writes with a remarkably felicitous turn of phrase, and an ability to find the right metaphor to render (wine making) scientific concepts clear and comprehensible to the lay reader.” Clark proposes the idea of soulful wines against a backdrop of controversial and accepted modern winemaking practices, and does so with an entertaining writing style. Reading it gave me a deeper appreciation for diverse winemaking subjects including tannin polymerization, reverse osmosis, and micro-oxygenation. It is enlightening and worthy of a spot in your own library.