The New Spain : A Complete Guide to Contemporary Spanish Wine (New (Mitchell Beazley))

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Summary: The Best Reference for Spanish Wine Currently Available ...
Review: I am a relative newcomer to the world of wine but because my wife's family is from Spain I thought that Spanish wines would be a good place to start (and perhaps teach my wine connoisseur friends something). Reading Wine Spectator and other wine books you hear about the exciting new developments coming out of Spain and how many critics are big fans of Spanish wines. Perhaps it is the romantic notion of Spain itself and Spaniards robust love of the simple things in life that add to Spanish wine's allure.

Because I wish to learn more about Spanish wines in particular, I have searched far and wide for good resources focused directly on Spanish wines. I have purchased Jan Read's Pocket Guide to the Wines of Spain but that is just a laundry list of wineries by region with perfunctory and cursory ratings that are not even broken down by vintage. There was little in the way of description of the grapes, the wineries, the region, the history etc.

Based on the reviews of "Rioja and It's Wines" I did not purchase it because it was supposedly more of a travel book than a wine book. I have Jeremy Watson's book on order but it is taking up to 2-3 months to get it. Up to now, the best reference I had was Robert Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide.

How happy I was that my search brought me to John Radford's book, "The New Spain: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Spanish Wines." If you want, like me, to learn more about Spain as a winemaking country, I would highly recommend this book. This book can sit on your coffee table. It has nice pictures and much more in-depth description of the current state of the Spanish wine industry. Radford's descriptions of each region are interesting and well written and a pleasure to read. I certainly found myself excited to explore the wines that Spain has to offer. Those of you who are looking for a good reference on Spanish wines in particular, Radford's book is the one to purchase. It will be your primary reference to Spanish wines and should you embrace all of the information in this book you will be the expert amongst your friends and colleagues.

Happy wine drinking, I hope you enjoy your exploration of the wines Spain has to offer.

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Summary: Fabulous Photography!
Review: John Radford's book is worth acquiring for the pictures alone! I was amazed at how the photos reminded me of my own wanderings around the Spanish countryside. They truly capture the deep colors of the vineyards and surrounding land that makes this book invaluable for the armchair traveller. Grape varieties and regions are dealt with in detail. If you want to have a great book on wine, and see amazing pictures of seldom seen Spain, this is THE book!!