Italy claims more grape varieties than any other country: 350 have been codified and more than 1,000 others are being catalogued and studied. This extraordinary range of grapes and wine styles means that Italy's potential as a source for diverse and distinguished wines has barely been tapped and is little understood. Now Patricia Guy brings together the most comprehensive collection of current information about Italian wine today. In addition, Ms. Guy combines wine information with a host of complimentary food pairings and recipes for delicious meals with each wine. For those interested in touring Italian vineyards, "Wines of Italy" includes locations and maps that make planning a tour convenient.

With more than 100 full-color photographs, this indispensable guide is the first book designed to help everyone from consumers to sommeliers explore and understand the kaleidoscopic range of contemporary Italian grape varieties and the wines made from them. Salute!

Customer Review: First Steps Through A Growing Kaleidoscopic Of Italian Wines

Patricia Guy's "Wines of Italy" provides both an introduction to and reference work for the wines of Italy. Over 100 varieties are described in this book. They were selected on the basis of their use (on their own or as a blend) in Italy's most famous wines, their commercial success on the international market, and their palate-pleasing potential.

Over the last ten years, Italian wine producers have been tramping the fields and hills of their zones seeking out native wines, rediscovering lost pieces of their viticultural heritage, and using modern technology to fully express the potential of these grapes. The results of their work are arriving in wine shops around the world, offering wine lovers a luscious range of flavors and fragrances unavailable from any other country. "Wines of Italy" was created to help wine drinkers take their first steps through this growing kaleidoscopic world of Italian grape varieties.

The book begins with a synopsis of Italian viticultural history, which began before recorded time, and continues with a description of each wine growing region, its wine growing history including climate, and its gastronomical history. For each wine, Guy adds a descriptive passage from grape variety to wine and, since Italian wine is to be enjoyed with food, wine-gastronomy combinations.

The "Wines of Italy" is also filled with excellent photographs capturing the essence of each wine growing region. This book will be satisfying for any wine connoisseur, will serve as an excellent gift, and will show well on any cocktail table.

Customer Review: Much Needed Book

I have to disagree with the other reviewer who took issue with the emphasis on grapes over regions. The wine growing regions of Italy, let alone regions of most famous wine growing countries, have been covered in countless books. What has not been adequately covered are the less well know grapes used in these famous countries, that for whatever reasons are not available in the US or even known about. This book serves the vast appetite of more experienced wine lovers who know of the regions and now want to focus on the grapes that make unique wines. As a lover of Italian wines, I am dismayed by the small choice in US wine shops of wines from this country. A book that educates people about grapes over regions will cause people to demand wines of particular grapes currently not available in the US - thus increasing production and sales of fruit native to these countries that have been dismissed in lieu of more mainstream choices.

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