Book Review: The New York Times Book of Wine, edited by Howard G. Goldberg

To view a complete list of all the books I have reviewed on The Academic Wino, visit my Wine Book Library page and browse! 

This review has been months in the making, mostly because I have been very busy with many different things, and the book is an impressive 554 pages.  It is my policy to read the entire book before I review it, so sometimes it takes me longer than I’d like to get through it all.

That being said, The New York Times Book of Wine, edited by Howard G. Goldberg, is a massive 554 page book full of entertaining stories and anecdotes from the famous NY Times wine column.  Usually no more than a couple of pages each, there are more than 30 years of wine writing pieces from NY Times contributors Frank J. Prial, Florence Fabricant, R.W. Apple, Jr., William Grimes, Frank Bruni, Eric Asimov, and many more.

You can purchase the book on Amazon by clicking here! *affiliate link*

While the length of the entire book is certainly intimidating, it reads very quickly.  The only reason why it took me so long to complete it was because I only really had enough time during the day to read one or two stories.  Had I had hours to read, I would have blown through the book at record speed.  The stories are well

written and represent the best of the best in terms of NY Times wine writing up until printing (latest edition was printed in 2012).

One of my favorite things about The New York Times Book of Wine was the way that it was structured.  The brevity of each story made it so that I could still enjoy a little bit of reading even though I was utterly exhausted by the end of the day when I had time to read it.  I could read just one story if that’s all the juice I had left in my system, or I could read several if I had a little extra energy that night.  The beauty of The New York Times Book of Wine is that you don’t have to read it from front to back, and you can read it at whatever pace you’d like.  None of the stories are connected in such a way that you need to remember what happened

in the previous chapter to get through the next.  It’s basically a collection of short, entertaining essays all about wine and everything involved in making or drinking the beverage. I actually found this book to be a great travel companion, as when I am travelling I generally can’t keep my focus for long periods of time, and reading little short essays here and there in between staring out the window of the airplane and snacking on salty pretzels, was the perfect entertainment for my journeys.

You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy this book.  However, if you happen to be knowledge about wine, it is certainly a book you will enjoy as well.  In other words, this is written for everyone and every level of wine lover.  Even as someone who is pretty knowledgeable about wines, there were still several things I learned that I hadn’t been privy to prior to reading The New York Times Book of Wine.

The New York Times Book of Wine, edited by Howard G. Goldberg, is a fantastic gift idea for the wine lover, no matter how advanced or beginner that person may be.  I am certainly going to paw through this book again.

You can purchase the book on Amazon by clicking here! *affiliate link*

Enjoy!