What an amazingly impressive book, this Opus Vino ($75.00).
Editor-in-Chief Jim Gordon is a man for whom I’ve had the deepest respect from day-one when I entered the wine business. That was nearly 20 years ago. Formerly the managing editor of Wine Spectator, and now the managing editor of Wines & Vines, Jim’s got solid cred… and now this hefty body of work has landed in my hands.
What a delight to learn that Jim has been quietly working with a very prestigious group of wine writers behind the scenes. Now, this group effort has come forth in what is one of the most important books of our times.
The word “opus” is Latin for “work.” The plural of opus is “opera”… And, this book is a vinous opera of regions, people, places, and things all attributed to wine. It is an Opus Vino most assuredly.
For those who love massive references books…
When Jose spied this book in my office, he told me that he wanted Santa to know that he would love to own this one. Funny… we share all the books in this house; but, he wanted to have this one become his very own after I reviewed it, and so it was delivered to him during the holidays.
This new book is cited as being a new look at a new world of wine from a new generation of wine writers. It explores more than 4,000 of the world’s most significant wineries. It includes well established producers and it also contains some rising stars. It’s an invaluable reference book, and for a wine lover who wants to be up on what’s the most current wines of the world, you’ll make his or her heart do a flip, just as it did to Jose’s, when he spied it in my office and wanted to claim it as his very own…
Authors include the following:
- Sarah Abbott MW ~ Côte de Beaune section and Côte de Nuits panel
- Sarah Ahmed ~ Loire chapter
- Jane Anson ~ Bordeaux and Southwest France chapters
- Andrew Barrow ~ Alsace section
- Tyler Coleman (Dr. Vino) ~ Beaujolais section of Burgundy and much of the Loire
- Laurie Daniel ~ Most of the section on most of the Central Coast of California
- Mary Downey ~ Southern Rhône chapter
- Mike Dunne ~ Inland California and Mexico sections
- Sarah Jane Evans MW ~ Spain chapter, except for the sherries
- Catherine Fallis ~ Mâconnais and Côte Chalonnaise sections
- Michael Franz ~ Northern Rhône
- Doug Frost MW ~ US Heartland and Southern states
- David Furer ~ Belgium , the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and much of the Central and Southeastern Europe sections
- Caroline Gilby MW ~ Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia sections
- Francis Gimblett ~ North Africa
- Jamie Goode ~ Australia, New Zealand, and Portugal
- Lindsay Groves ~ Turkey and Lebanon sections
- Susan Kostrzewa ~ South Africa chapter
- Peter Liem ~ Champagne
- Jeffrey Lindenmuth ~ New England, New York, Mid-Atlantic states
- Wink Lorch ~ Jura and Savoie chapter
- Sarah Marsh MW ~ Chablis, Meursault, and Côte de Nuits sections of Burgundy
- Jane Masters MW ~ Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, Corsica, and Vins de Pays chapters
- Peter Mitham ~ Canada chapter
- Michael Palij MW ~ Central Italy and South and the islands chapters
- Tim Patterson ~ northern parts of the Central Coast and Southern California
- Stuart Pigott ~ German-speaking countries, and wine making revolution underway in China and Japan
- Emma Rice ~ England and Wales sections.
- Peter Richards ~ Chile and Argentina
- Eleonora Scholes ~ Russian, Moldova, and Ukraine sections
- Lisa Shara Hall ~ Pacific North West
- Magandeep Singh ~ India
- Tim Teichgraeber ~ Napa Valley and Carneros chapters
- Tart Q. Thomas ~ Greece, Cyprus, and Israel
- Dirceu Vianna (Junior) MS ~ Brazil and Uruguay
- Wolfgang Weber ~ Northeast and Northwest Italy and Tuscany chapters, and Slovenia
- Alder Yarrow ~ Sonoma and Marin chapters
I’m happy to say that I know most of the people on this list of wine writers, and I’m further delighted to know that there’s a new list of wine writers for me to explore.
It’s a keeper and I’ll still keep it very close, even if it’s now Jose’s.
This Amazon video says it all, and is a short minute and a half review of the book’s splendor.
TRANSLATION from Russian:
But if you forget about the strange prehistory with a million dollars, an available published book The Wine Opus deserves our attention. A very useful reference book, covering all wine regions of the world, everyone is a map with the location of farms, and a list of farms – updated, there came new wineries that have become known only in recent years, and their best wines. Description of nonequilibrium bit, some of the farms are described quite full, some just named, however today it is the most complete directory of all more or less prominent wine farms in the world. Besides – the collecting team of authors includes the known authors were previously heroes of our articles. For example, Jamie Goode, Dr.Vino and “our” Eleonora Scholes (she wrote in The Wine Opus about the wines of Russia, Moldova and Ukraine). You probably know and many more from the list of authors.