Wine book reviews
Best white wine on earth
Stuart Pigott 

Stuart, Tabori & Chang, New York, 2014

'Riesling is a democratic wine you can afford,' says Stuart Pigott, an ex-pat Brit who moved to Germany to work as a wine journalist, and who also spends some of his time in New York. He describes it as 'an authentic wine that hasn't been bastardized by corporate bean counters and marketing departments. It tastes of where it grew, who made it, and how the growing season was.' It's a good start to a very good book, in which Pigott shares his love for this grape, which he describes as the 'white wine of our times.'

Pigott's writing style is grippy and pugnacious, and it's easy to read. He makes a really plausible case for Riesling being the most interesting of white varieties, and time spent with this book just makes you want to go out, grab a bottle of Riesling and sink it. He takes us on a tour of the world of Riesling, and he's a reliable guide, picking out all the top producers and capturing in words what makes each region special.

The book is nicely presented in a square, two-column format, and the only shame is that more use isn't made of the full colour printing to include better photopraphs.

As a rallying cry to Riesling lovers worldwide, and to bring to fruition latent love for the grape, this is an excellent book. I just can't see someone doing the same for Chardonnay. Chenin Blanc, maybe?

Buy:

On amazon.co.uk - Best White Wine on Earth

On amazon.com - The Best White Wine on Earth: The Riesling Story

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