The pandemic and stay at home situation has seen an increase in alcohol consumption.
If you find you have been filling up your wine glasses more often these days amidst all the stress and uncertainty, you are not alone. Of course a glass of wine paired with a good book, can be the perfect destressor.
You can also get your fill of wine from wine themed books, which run the gamut from tomes about the technical details of winemaking, wine appreciation guides, to wine travel books, to dramatic novels about love and intrigue set in picturesque wine country and vineyards.
Scroll through for our pick of some wine themed digital resources–ebooks/audiobooks on Overdrive and Hoopla, magazines via RBdigital, and even an online class.
Champagne: How the World’s Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times by Don Kladstrup & Petie Kladstrup
The story of the world’s favorite wine tells how a sparkling beverage that became the toast of society during the Belle Epoque emerged after World War I as a global icon of fine taste and good living.
Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste by Bianca Bosker
With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s MRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine forever.
New Jersey Wine: A Remarkable Historyby Sal Westrich | Part of the American Palate series
The finely aged story of New Jersey wine is older than the United States itself. As early as 1767, the colony’s wines were garnering awards from London’s Royal Society of the Arts. The vineyards continued to grow through some of the country’s most turbulent times. In 1864, at the height of the Civil War, Renault Winery was founded, and it continues to operate today. While Prohibition nearly destroyed the industry, in 1933, the founding of Tomasello’s Winery in Hammonton helped revive it. In 1980, only seven wineries were in operation, but by 2011, the state boasted over thirty-four.
9000 Years Of Wine: a world history by Rod Phillips
Phillips places wine in the broad sweep of history and shows how it has been linked to big social, cultural, and economic swings, how it has been caught up in wars and revolutions, and how it has had an impact on the lives of men and women for millennia.
A Perfect Score: The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Wineryby Kathryn Hall & Craig Hall | AUDIOBOOK (Includes supplementary content)
This weaves a vibrant tale of the HALL brand’s meteoric rise to success, Napa Valley’s tug-of-war between localism and tourism, and the evolving nature of the wine industry as a whole. Listeners who love a good glass of wine will find much to savor in the Halls’ expert account of the art, soul, and business of a modern winery.
The Periodic Table of Wine by Sarah Rowlands
A fun, concise, and appealingly geeky new concept to wine appreciation. The foundation of the book is a periodic table designed to give a visual overview of how different styles of the world’s wines relate to one another. The book also offers substantial descriptions of the 127 “elements,” or wines, each of which includes a full background and, frequently, food pairings.
What When Wine: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Paleo-Style Meals, Intermittent Fasting, and Wine by Melanie Avalon & Sarah Fragoso
Is it possible to eat well, drink wine, and still lose weight? According to Avalon, it is unbelievably simple and straightforward. It’s all about the what (mostly Paleo, but she’s not a monster about it), the when (believe it or not, brief fasting can mean freedom rather than restriction), and the wine (red wine can be a secret bullet for weight loss—who knew?). It’s a combination that Avalon discovered after years of self-experimentation and intense research on the mechanics of body fat regulation.
The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Brings to life the woman behind the label, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, in this utterly intoxicating book that is as much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered and fascinating woman.
Wine Appreciation: Understanding, Ordering & Enjoying! by Robin Stark | AUDIOBOOK
This dynamic and entertaining audio program was especially created to give you the essential wine knowledge you need to feel comfortable in any situation and to enhance your everyday enjoyment of wine. Full of practical knowledge and easy tips.
Wine For Normal People: A Guide for Real People Who Like Wine, but Not the Snobbery That Goes with It by Elizabeth Schneider
This is a fun but respectful (and very comprehensive) guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People.
Wine Girl: The Obstacles, Humiliations, and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier by Victoria James
The memoir of a young woman, the country’s youngest sommelier breaking free from an abusive and traumatic childhood on her own terms; an ethnography of the glittering, high-octane, but notoriously corrosive restaurant industry; and above all, a love letter to the restorative and life-changing effects of good wine and good hospitality.
The Wine Lover Cooks With Wine: Great Recipes for the Essential Ingredient by Sid Goldstein
Goldstein explores a range of wine and reveals how each is used best in cooking. From classic Marsala Chicken to savory pork tenderloin topped with a zinfandel-based roasted-plum jam, each tantalizing recipe illustrates to dazzling effect the benefits-and pleasures-of cooking with wine.
Wine Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends in Wine Country
Detailed itineraries recommending the most interesting wineries and the best places to stay and eat in 52 wine regions near major cities make this perfect for travel enthusiasts who enjoy wine.
Introduces the secret gems in well-known regions such as Napa and Sonoma, Tuscany, Burgundy and Rioja, and also explores off-the-beaten-path regions in Georgia, Greece and beyond.
Fiction where wines or vineyards feature prominently:
Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna: An Auntie Poldi Adventure by Mario Giordano & John Brownjohn
The Dark Vineyard: Bruno, Chief of Police Series, Book 2 by Martin Walker
Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard by Jamie Raintree
Murder In The Wine Country by Janet Finsilver
Rose Avenue Wine Club Mysteries (4 titles)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Wine Trail Mysteries (4 titles)
The Winemakerby Noah Gordon
The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel
Hoopla also features several wine related history and travel guides for specific states, regions and countries.
Magazines available via RBdigital
Wine Enthusiast Magazine is one of the most respected and quoted authorities in the world of wine and spirits. It features the hottest trends in everything related to wine, with over 700 expert ratings and reviews in each issue. Plus, in-depth features on all aspects of cocktails, spirits, beer, inventive wine and food pairings, trendy recipes, savvy travel features, and more.
Wine Spectator rates over 15,000 wines per year, in every price range, to fit every occasion. Read about the world’s great wineries and winemakers and visit restaurants with outstanding wine lists. Plus, each issue features delicious recipes and pairs them with the perfect wines.
Course on Wine
Universal Class offers a self-paced online course called “Beginner’s Guide to Wine.”
So grab a glass and let’s toast to a virus free world!
-Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian