Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy

Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy Paperback by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch is a marvelous guide to Italian wines. It combines concise descriptions of wines, grape types, regions, distinctions within regions, histories and processes along with interesting asides about individual wine makers and the evolution of regional viticulture, all woven together into a wonderfully readable and informative whole. The book is not a ratings guide, nor a tasting report per se. It's a guide to approaching the wine experience in Italy, about understanding that wine and food and place are inseparable, about knowing what you are looking at, and tasting, so as to begin your own journey of experience and understanding. Vino Italiano aspires more to be a friendly teacher and guide forward than a tome of opinion and authority. There's a wealth of information in there, cleanly written and humbly presented.It does help, a bit, for the reader to have been to Italy, and hopefully to have spent some extended time there, to have some sense of the geography and where a multitude of places are. But it's not absolutely essential. You can just work through the chapters, while giving all your wine sellers a solid up-tick in business from you as you seek out and try various wines. The recipes by Lidia Bastianich, the author's mother, and Mario Batali, the author's business partner, are mostly filler. But how could one not have asked Mom and Mario to kick in with them both right at hand? The summaries at the end of each chapter, that reduce the prior pages to concise tables of wine and grape types, primary wineries and so forth, are a wonderful addition and enhance the real world usability of the book. RECOMMENDED.

Loved this book. I'm a fairly experienced wine geek with good knowledge of California wines and reasonable knowledge of French and Spanish wines, but Italian wines really confused me -- with good reason: 1,500 varietals and all kinds of unfamiliar designations, bureaucratic ratings systems, and appellations.This book really cut through all of that. I got the book and read it before a trip to Italian wine country (well, actually, all of Italy is wine country ...) and it really helped me to understand the country and the wine. It's perhaps slightly dated at this point and there have been some industry changes since initial publication (time for an updated edition?), but still the best resource for Italian wines.While I started with some knowledge of wine generally, this book would be great for an absolute beginner as well. Also, the book is not only for someone taking a trip to Italy. Each chapter concerns a particular region of Italy, and concludes with suggestions for specific wineries to visit, for specific wines to try that are available in the USA, and recipes for regional Italian cuisine that pairs well with those wines.Well-written, easy to understand and digest, and really informative. Great book.

This book is excellent for getting to know Italian wines by each region. Chapters begin w/ a map of each region showing the DOC zones on the map and giving their names. The author went overboard (and I mean that in a good way) finding all kinds of grape varieties to talk about in detail. I loved reading about grape varieties I have never heard of and won't find outside of Italy (great excuse to go there someday and sample them). Each chapter also denotes some wines you could look for to purchase, a recap of the region's wine stats and grape varieties found/grown there, and a food pairing section that gives you some suggestions (and recipes) for trying w/ specific wines. This book was even better than I imagined - so detailed! The only "down side" if you would call it that is that the book is ~ 10 years old, so you aren't getting the information on new DOCs in each region and you only get the recommended vintages up to ~ 2004. An updated version of this book would rock - still giving it 5 stars though. This is definitely a go to book on Italian wine!

Excellent reference for Italian wines. Great historic information and details on many varietals. Should be updated to include the last 10 years.

I have been in the wine industry for over 10 years and one think I have noticed is that the wines of Italy are perhaps the hardest to master for its incredible variation, but also for how extensive and complicated the list of names can be (over 800 types of grapes planted, 500 types vinified!) Vino Italiano explains it all, in a rather friendly manner, explaining also the virtues of each area, customs and food scene.A detail to keep in mind is that the book is quite extensive, mostly filled with stories that makes it a bit larger. While a long book is not a bad thing, it is if you are looking to get only the info about wine. You can skip parts and address the info in each chapter.Overall, a magnificent book that properly explains Italian wine and its background!

This is an excellent book for a beginner or anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of wine. I’m using this book to prep for a trip to Italy. Not only does it have great wine information there are also great anecdotal stories and recipes. Excellent buy!

This book is fantastic. As a sommelier at an Italian restaurant, it is invaluable. The writing is great and paints an incredible picture, however I find the information is a bit dated, especially considering the fluidity of Italian wine, and wine in general these days. I'm not sure if an update is in the stars, but it would certainly be welcome.

I recently bought this book for the second time, having given my first copy to an Italian neighbor. I have used the complimentary Vino Italiano Buying Guide extensively whenever I shop for Italian wines. I enjoyed it as much as Matt Kramer's "Making Sense of Italian Wines", which I think has much better lists of preferred wines of each region (hence the need to get this book together with the Buying Guide). This is a must have for any wine enthusiast.

Para quienes deseen profundizar en el conocimiento del vino italiano. Explica de manera amena y detallada, cada una de las regiones que producen vino en Italia. La historia, la gastronomía, las cepas, el perfil organoléptico de cada una, los productores y las etiquetas tienen lugar en este gran libro. Impreso en Inglés.

Hervorragende Beschreibung der meisten italienischen Weine, ohne "kultisch-pathetisches" Gelaber.Die Autoren kennen Ihr Fach, und teilen Ihr Wissen mit.

If you're new to the wine world, and not living in Italy, Italian wine can be very confusing. They don't use the same grapes that are used in the rest of the world, and instead make wine with grapes that are exclusive to Italy. Vino Italiano is a great reference and read to what to expect from Italian wines, and the variances among the wines and wine regions of Italy.

Italian wines can be confusing at the best of times, and with a large number of different grape varieties that aren't grown much outside of Italy, it can be difficult to know where to start. Vino Italiano, by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch, fills this hole nicely. It breaks down Italian wine region by region, discussing red, white, sparkling and sweet wines, and the different methods and regional styles for each. There are many useful wine maps, both of Italy and given regions, and well designed summary pages for each region, which are useful if you just want to use the book as a reference.What jumped out at me though was the book's accessibility. It doesn't assume you know anything about Italian wines or grape varieties. Each chapter begins with an anecdote about the region of interest, talking about the people, climate, and history, so you really get a taste for the region, rather than just a list of facts. For each region, there are designed tastings, so that you can go through some wines with guidance if you want, and a section on food with the wine, with recipes for local cuisine. There is serious discussion on wine-making and viticulture too, with a discussion on a few producers thrown in if you want to go deeper.If one thing disappointed, it was that this book is clearly written for an American audience. Often there was discussion about what was or wasn't imported in the US, or current US wine trends. All of the guided tastings are designed to be wines you can get in the US, and the recipes for the local cuisine are measured in cups. Obviously the content about the wine and grapes is country independent, but if you are looking to access some of the tasting material, this is worth considering.Overall though, I was very pleased with the book, and at the price I paid for it (around £8), it represents excellent value for money. I learnt a lot about Italian wine, and, rare for a long wine book, was able to read it cover to cover. If you are looking to learn something about Italian wine, it is difficult to see a better place to start.

Great great great book! Love the suggestions!