Rating: 
Summary: If you only have one wine reference book...
Review: ...then this should be that book. Easy to read, well-written, colorful and full of informative sidebars, this book is one of the best entry-level wine texts available. Karen MacNeil manages to make a 900+ page book fun and easy to read by writing in a breezy, well-informed manner. Her book design allows the reader to pickup and put down the book often, without feeling like you've lost your place. The well-structured chapters flow easily and are very informative. I love this book because I can read it in bursts, a few pages at a time, and still learn more every time I pick the book up.
Rating:
Summary: If you only have one wine reference book...
Review: ...then this should be that book. Easy to read, well-written, colorful and full of informative sidebars, this book is one of the best entry-level wine texts available. Karen MacNeil manages to make a 900+ page book fun and easy to read by writing in a breezy, well-informed manner. Her book design allows the reader to pickup and put down the book often, without feeling like you've lost your place. The well-structured chapters flow easily and are very informative. I love this book because I can read it in bursts, a few pages at a time, and still learn more every time I pick the book up.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to wine...
Review: A great book for a beginner. This book doesn't rate wines, it teaches you about how they are made, what flavors each grape is known for, what regions grow each type of grape and so on. Immensely useful information. I have used this as * a learning tool,
* a reference when I'm curious about a wine I've found
* to settle arguments with family over wine labeling
* a reference to decide which wines may be worth trying from a specific region. As a reference, the book is not encyclopedic, but it doesn't attempt to be either. The book is a bible in the sense that it gives you a good solid overview of a wine region, it's styles of wines, and some of it's representative producers if you want to start trying out the regions wines. It is quick to point out that the ultimate judge of a wine is the drinker, and you shouldn't be shy to decide you do or don't like a wine despite it's reputation. I like that and believe it is a good approach.
Rating: 
Summary: a general book
Review: I am a wine lover and i though this book would enhance my knowledge, but it did not. It is a general wine description book. The market has a lot more to offer.
Rating:
Summary: The Title Is Correct -- The Bible of Wine
Review: I think "The Wine Bible" (TWB) should be the third book purchase for wine beginners (after "Wine for Dummies" and "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course"). TWB is full of good information. Of course, the first section is a must-read. Then, the sections are split into separate geographical areas and are very good and very detailed, while still being easy to read (the author's "education" background is readily apparent and helpful to the reader). I especially liked the depth of information that is presented in a friendly manner. For example, I wanted more in-depth information on Valpolicella. Most books given only a paragraph to it, if they give anything at all. Over several sections, this book probably had close to three pages (a lot of text on each page) which is about ten times the information of the competition. And no, this book is not lopsided in favor of information on Italy. That is just one example of why this book gets five stars. There are many other cases of information that other books do not contain or they gloss over. This book has a lot to offer.
Rating:
Summary: The Title Is Correct -- The Bible of Wine
Review: I think "The Wine Bible" (TWB) should be the third book purchase for wine beginners (after "Wine for Dummies" and "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course"). TWB is full of good information. Of course, the first section is a must-read. Then, the sections are split into separate geographical areas and are very good and very detailed, while still being easy to read (the author's "education" background is readily apparent and helpful to the reader). I especially liked the depth of information that is presented in a friendly manner. For example, I wanted more in-depth information on Valpolicella. Most books given only a paragraph to it, if they give anything at all. Over several sections, this book probably had close to three pages (a lot of text on each page) which is about ten times the information of the competition. And no, this book is not lopsided in favor of information on Italy. That is just one example of why this book gets five stars. There are many other cases of information that other books do not contain or they gloss over. This book has a lot to offer.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly the book I was wanting to find
Review: I'm not going to go much in depth about the specifics of this book since I feel other reviewers have already done that. All I want to say is that this is precisely the book I was wanting to find on wine. I was, like possibly most people who would buy this book, not totally in the dark regarding wine; but I didn't know there was this much to know about it! Karen MacNeil does a great job of presenting a huge amount of information clearly and specifically.
The book is never boring. I managed to finish it all in a one week vacation in Huatulco Mexico (not the best place to look for the wines mentioned in the book). Got the best tan I've had in a long time!
Rating:
Summary: Exactly the book I was wanting to find
Review: I'm not going to go much in depth about the specifics of this book since I feel other reviewers have already done that. All I want to say is that this is precisely the book I was wanting to find on wine. I was, like possibly most people who would buy this book, not totally in the dark regarding wine; but I didn't know there was this much to know about it! Karen MacNeil does a great job of presenting a huge amount of information clearly and specifically.
The book is never boring. I managed to finish it all in a one week vacation in Huatulco Mexico (not the best place to look for the wines mentioned in the book). Got the best tan I've had in a long time!
Rating:
Summary: Tastefully written-eminently sippable
Review: It was certainly a surprise when my wife presented me with my copy of Karen MacNeil's The Wine Bible. She had been doing some Amazon gift shopping for a friend and took the opportunity to give a gift to her husband as well. Seems she had recently attended a cooking demonstration at one of Manhattan's great restaurants, Tabla, and Tracy, the sommelier, suggested that The Wine Bible was one of the most comprehensive and up to date books on the subject. One does not digest 910 pages in a sitting, but a perusal of several known wine areas, and a careful review of the indexes indicate that this is a book to be reckoned with. You won't find every wine, but those you do are sure to please. Written with clear, unpretentious prose, this book is one you will be happy to have on your reference shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Daunting Task
Review: Kudos to Karen MacNeil for completing a daunting educational task. Although this project was vast, Karen's amazing subject mastery and economic use of poetic language both informs and delights her reader. The Wine Bible is a perfect bedside book for both the serious and not-so-serious wine connoisseur because one can pick it up and start reading and learning from any page.
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