11 Best Wine Making Books For Beginners This 2023
The process of making wine, from picking the grapes and fermentation to bottling, takes a lot of skills and time. So, if you are a budding winemaker who plans to put up a vineyard and craft this beverage, the best way to get started is to learn from the best wine making books for beginners.
Winemakers study for several years and expose themselves to the field before creating their products and selling them to the public. After reading the best wine making books, you might just have all the knowledge you need to be the next big name in the industry.
Our Top Picks
 
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Wine Folly The Essential Guide to Wine - Best Overall• Taste profiles of wine |
Wine Simple: Wine Making Book for Beginners - Best Value• Dynamic wine guide |
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Making Wild Wines & Meads - Most Unique Wines• 125 recipes for unusual wines |
1. Wine Folly The Essential Guide to Wine - Best Overall
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer, who is new to wine, found this best wine making book for beginners very helpful. It is a fantastic resource for quick information on any wine you would want to drink and eat with it. The graphics are equal parts gorgeous and informative, showing a single image of what an entire chapter of text would cover. With info on tasting and serving methods, pairings, almost every wine variety and style, and the essential wine-producing countries, better wine knowledge is just a quick page flip away.
Another customer said that this wine making book is written with sly humor and a fantastic depth of knowledge. The book includes wine-growing maps, tasting tips, kinds of grapes and the wines they make, and bits of wine lore.
Why We Think It’s Great
Wine Folly: The Essential Guide To Wine by Madeline Puckette combines sleek and modern information design with data visualization, giving readers pragmatic answers to all their wine questions. The book discusses the following areas: (1) detailed taste profiles of popular and under-the-radar wines; (2) a guide to pairing food and wine; (3) a wine-region section with detailed maps; (4) practical tips and tricks for serving wine; (5) methods for tasting wine and identifying flavors.
In addition, this wine making book for beginners is a great reference point for those who are not familiar with the Italian varieties of wine. It can also help ordinary people, like waiters at a restaurant, be more aware of the types of wine they serve. In the first part of the book, you will learn how to taste and judge wine, make informed tasting notes for future reference, what to look for in good vs. bad wine, how to store and decant, how to pair wine with several types of foods, and other essential knowledge.
The main portion of the book divides wines into significant styles. It gives a two-page spread for each variety which details the flavor profile, dominant flavors, pronunciation guide, where it is grown, what glass to serve it in, recommended serving temperature, drink-by dates, average lowest cost for decent quality wine of that variety, climate variations in taste, and other interesting and notable facts.
Meanwhile, the third section of the book divides wine geographically and includes maps for each country and what varieties are grown in what areas.
Who Should Buy It
If you want to have access to all information about wine making or wine in general, this is the book you should read. Not only does it contain varieties of wine across the globe, but it also gives depth to every wine’s flavor profile.
2. Home Wine Making for Dummies - Most Fun
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer has read this book from cover to cover, and he was convinced that it would tell the serious amateur winemaker everything they need to know. He added that this book should be your first investment if you’re considering producing wine, whether for home consumption or sale.
Another Amazon buyer found this best wine making book for beginners very informative. It did an excellent job explaining the fermentation processes, aging, and all the additives and chemicals involved in making wine. It also has a good explanation of the importance and procedures of sanitation.
Why We Think It’s Great
Home Wine Making for Dummies by Tim Patterson is a book dedicated to anyone who wishes to make their own wine at home. It discusses the art of wine making from grape to bottle; the correct type of grape to choose; the necessary equipment; the suitable yeast and other additives; and the needed time frame to store and age the wine.
This best wine making book for beginners explains how to craft bold reds and demure whites to enchanting rosés and delightful sparkling wines. Aside from the author’s words, the guide also features tips and hints from various professional vintners.
Another great thing this book offers is how it explains in detail the kind of grapes a winemaker should use. This is essential, considering that grapes are the primary ingredient that determines the taste of the wine.
Who Should Buy It
If you plan to grow grapes in your backyard or have already started doing so, you can pluck some and create your own wine by following this book. The process found in this wine making book is already complete for you to come up with the best tasting beverage.
3. From Vines to Wines: Wine Making Book for Beginners - Most Detailed
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer said this best wine making book for beginners is the most detailed one she saw. It didn’t only mention the technical words but also provided illustrations. Some reviews complain that not all pruning systems are covered. But if they are growing a few vines in their backyard, this book will do just fine.
Another buyer said this book is “supremely” well written. The step-by-step instructions gave her a hint of confidence to develop a vineyard on her 5 acres of land. This wine making book educated her about the proper workflow required to take on such a project. Plus, the read itself is payback enough for what the book cost.
Why We Think It’s Great
From Vines to Wines by Jeff Cox is a book covering the aspect of growing grapes to making the finest wines. Aside from the step by step word process, the guide comes with fully illustrated instructions on: (1) how to choose and prepare a vineyard site; (2) build trellising systems; (3) select, plant, prune, and harvest the suitable grapes depending on the climate; (4) press, ferment, and bottle wine; (5) and judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, and taste.
This book also has information on making sparkling wines, ice wines, and port-style wines, among others. The author’s tone is ideal for those who are just starting in wine making. The drawings also make the technicality of the subject easier to comprehend.
Who Should Buy It
If you are new to viticulture and enology, this best wine making book for beginners is your ultimate guide to make excellent wine. Aside from the detailed explanation, it also has practical suggestions and tips to grow your grapes easier.
4. Wild Wine Making - Best Recipes
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer said that the first three chapters alone are worth it. There are clear, concise instructions and explanations for what equipment and general ingredients will be needed. This book contains a step-by-step guide compared to searching online for instructions where there’s so much conflicting information.
Another buyer found a lot of helpful information in making wild wines through this book. He wanted to make wine from wild yeast, and it has some critical information about the process.
Why We Think It’s Great
Wild Wine Making by Richard Bender is your go-to guide for those who want to make wine at home with easy recipes to follow. This innovative manual features 145 recipes for boldly flavored wine, sake, and champagne. Instead of the usual and traditional wine grapes, the recipes use familiar fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
A colorful illustration accompanies each step, so it is easier to understand. It doesn’t have any complex ingredients or equipment that makes winemaking more challenging. The recipes can also be modified accordingly depending on the desired final product you wish to have.
Who Should Buy It
Definitely for beginners, this book does not focus on the complexity of wine making. Instead, it gives simple to follow step-by-step instructions on recipes that you can work on in the comfort of your own home.
5. The Home Winemaker’s Companion
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer said that this best wine making book for beginners is very detailed, right down to common errors. It has an exhaustive list of needed equipment for just starting and more advanced winemakers. The guide also has suggestions and recommendations on borrowing equipment that isn't used frequently but can be essential for certain types of wines.
Another buyer who is also a first-time winemaker considered this book as an indispensable bible. It is written in a way that a beginner can quickly get started making wine from grapes. The most rewarding aspect of having this book is his first batch of wine, which turned out to be quite palatable and worth sharing with friends and family.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Home Wine Maker’s Companion by Ed Halloran is an informative guide that gives its readers an overview of the wine making process from picking the finest grapes up until the finished bottle is served at your table. It also contains around 100 recipes of a wide range of delicious wines, ports, and champagnes.
The book also has a detailed explanation of the type of equipment that beginners should use when making wine. Illustrations also accompany each recipe to understand the instructions better.
Who Should Buy It
If you are just starting to make your wine, this book will answer all the questions that have been bugging you. This guide has all the necessary information you need from the ingredients, equipment, procedures, and tips.
6. The Wine Bible: Wine Making Book for Beginners
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer has been looking forward to this new edition of the Wine Bible, and it did not disappoint her. It has excellent updates and comprehensive new information. She works in the retail wine industry, and this book is necessary. She also recommends it to her regular customers who want to increase their wine knowledge because of the approachable style of the content.
Another wine enthusiast found this best wine making book for beginners like a Bible when she was learning about wine for the first time. The book is 1,000+ pages long, and each is packed with valuable information about regions, grapes, and wine history.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil is a bestselling book that informs the readers on the fundamentals of winemaking, tips, anecdotes, definitions, glossaries, and photos. The information used is taken from the author’s first-hand experience by visiting several vineyards worldwide.
While it covers making wine, this book is more inclined on the various wine regions located in China, Japan, Mexico, and Slovenia. It gives the readers the whole experience of all the geographic locations where wine is cultivated. Moreover, in each region, the author points out the best winemakers she met while researching.
The book is written in a casual and entertaining manner, which is appealing to those who don’t like to learn on a rigorous approach. This new edition also gives more details on fascinating historical and cultural information about grapes and wine in general.
Who Should Buy It
This best wine making book for beginners is ideal for those who want to broaden their knowledge about wine cultivation. If you are interested to know where and how grapes are processed before they are turned into delicious wine, this book has all the facts you need.
7. Wine Folly Magnum Edition
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer who has been associated with the wine industry for 40 years found this book with a fresh and new approach to learning wine. It contains details that surpass what you usually find in other wine books. The author, Madeline Puckette, has an uncanny way of providing facts that are easy to understand and fun to learn. Once you pick up her book, you won’t stop reading it.
Another buyer commented that those who are new to wine or studying wine should purchase this book. The author has added more grape varietals, improved on the map section, and broken down food pairings. Moreover, the feel of the book’s cover is impressive.
Why We Think It’s Great
Wine Folly Magnum Edition by Madeline Puckette is the best wine making book for beginners who plan to expand their approach in wine. It features more than 100 grapes and wines color-coded by style to make them easier to identify. It also includes a wine region explorer with detailed maps of the top wine regions.
Another great thing about this book is that it comes with a chapter dedicated to the best food pairing of different types of wine. It is filled with colorful illustrations and flavor and aroma wheels that allow the readers to visualize and understand wine easily. In addition, the content is presented in a less intimidating way, so it is easier to comprehend.
Who Should Buy It
Anyone who learns quickly through illustrations or designs will love this wine making book. While the texts are understandable, the colorful and precise drawings make the content more friendly and lighter to digest.
8. The Joy of Home Wine Making
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer said this is an excellent book for an amateur winemaker, especially one who is interested in using fruits or other ingredients. The book reads more like a conversation with the author than a dull textbook.
On the other hand, another customer said that this wine making book was informative and enjoyable to read. The easy and logical layout of the content and the recipes all look amazing. She is gearing up to start making her first batch of wine and is very excited.
Why We Think It’s Great
The Joy of Home Wine Making by Terry Garey is a comprehensive guide to creating delectable wines in the comfort of your home. Whether you are eyeing for port and sherries, whites, reds, and rosés, this best wine making book for beginners will help you create your wine even without a vineyard!
The book provides all the essential information from inexpensive ingredients and materials, aging, bottling, racking, and blending to the experimenting process. The content has a conversationalist tone that makes you more interested in flipping and reading every page.
In addition, it has a step-by-step first-gallon recipe that only needs the following equipment and ingredients: recycled gallon or 4L glass jug, plastic wrap, rubber band, funnel, chopstick or other stirrers, frozen juices, lemon juice, and wine yeast.
Who Should Buy It
If you want a wine making book with a conversationalist and friendly tone, this one is the best choice. Considering that wine is a heavy topic to discuss and learn, the light storytelling approach of the author makes the content more fun and interesting.
9. Making Wild Wines & Meads - Most Unique Wines
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What Customers Have To Say
A customer has been using this best wine making book for beginners for about two years, and every recipe she tried has turned out wonderfully. It contains excellent basic information and instructions about winemaking as well as recipes to try. This book is not very complicated for experienced wine-makers, but it still provides a wealth of reliable ideas for experimenting.
Another customer thinks it’s a “fantastic” book with great recipes. While all recipes require Campden tablets, yeast nutrient, acid blend, pectin enzyme, and tannin powder, it is still worth trying out.
Why We Think It’s Great
Making Wild Wines & Meads by Rich Gulling and Pattie Vargas invites you to a world where wine making is not a dreading task. Their best wine making book for beginners offers 125 recipes of unusual wines that are not only made from grapes but also herbs, fruits, flowers, and honey.
The ingredients and equipment featured on each page are easy to gather in your local markets. Some of their recipes include the following final products: Apricot Wine, Dry Mead, Marigold Wine, Almond Wine, Cherry Melomel, Cranberry Claret, Peapod Wine, Lemon-Thyme Metheglin, Strawberry Wine, and Rose Hip Melomel.
Who Should Buy It
Not everyone is fond of the usual wines you would get in the store. So, if you are the type who likes to experiment and want to try unique wine flavors, this book is a helpful guide. It features recipes that use other vegetables and fruits aside from grapes.
10. Wine Simple: Wine Making Book for Beginners - Best Value
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer said that this best wine making book for beginners rekindled her love of wine. The book is practical as it teaches the basics anyone would need to know. For those who want to learn more profoundly, the author points you in the right direction and offers suggestions on wine tasting.
Another shopper commented that it is a fun and colorful book. The author doesn’t assume that the readers know everything, so he did a great job covering all topics. There are also interactive infographics to accompany the texts.
Why We Think It’s Great
Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm is an essential and dynamic wine guide for the new generation of wine lovers and winemakers. It features key varietals and winemaking regions, how to taste wine, when to save and when to splurge, and how to set up a wine tasting at home.
It also teaches the readers to expand their wine knowledge and tasting palate through topics such as building a flavor library, a cheat sheet to good wine vintages, tips on troubleshooting tricky wines, and how to saber a bottle of champagne.
The visual and user-friendly approach of the author will inspire the readers to be more confident in crafting their wine. The illustrations are also pleasing to the eyes, which makes the heavy texts easier to comprehend.
Who Should Buy It
Learning wine making can be challenging if you have a short attention span. However, with this best wine making book for beginners, you will not have difficulty turning every page and eventually finishing the book.
11. The World Atlas of Wine - Most Informative on Wine Regions
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What Customers Have To Say
An Amazon customer commented that this best wine making book for beginners is full of new information and updated maps and appellations. It is suited for those curious about the history of wine - where it came from, what the climate needs to be, etc.
Meanwhile, another wine lover said that the book contains highly detailed maps for all major regions and even insightful overview maps of emerging areas such as Japan and China. Aside from the maps, the authors also laid out geology, climate, history, and viticulture or vinification for each region.
Why We Think It’s Great
The World of Atlas by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson is the 8th edition of the book since it was published in 1971. Critics recognize this book as one of the essential wine books you should have, primarily because it has all the updated information on the field of wine.
This best wine making book for beginners offers an academic tone for those readers who want to expand their knowledge about the technicalities of wine. It features old and new wine regions, together with the topographical difference of each of them.
Who Should Buy It
Interested in the different wine regions around the world? This book is specifically created to discuss what goes inside the vineyards where wines come from. It features wine regions not only in the United States but even in China and Europe.
Wine Making for Beginners FAQ
1. Is it worth making your own wine?
Nothing is unworthy if you are the one who made it. The process of making your own wine is not easy, and most of the time, you will fail first before succeeding.
However, the reward of the final product will repay all your hardships once you finally had a taste of your own mixture. Plus, wine sold at stores is quite expensive. If you make your own at home, you get to save more and have unlimited servings for your family and friends.
2. How soon can you drink homemade wine?
Homemade wine can be consumed after two months. This is usually the estimated time it takes for the whole wine making process to be finished. However, it is suggested to let the wine stay for a few more months for more decadent flavors and aromas.
3. Does homemade wine get stronger with age?
No, it doesn’t. The alcohol percentage of the wine is determined during the fermentation process. Once the fermentation is over, the alcohol level remains constant.
Conclusion
Making your wine can be challenging and intimidating. However, these best wine making books for beginners have all the necessary information you need to succeed in your first batch. From various recipes, types of grapes, and wine regions worldwide, these page-turners will serve as your guide as you walk through the process of wine making.
Out of all the books listed, the number one spot goes to Wine Folly The Essential Guide to Wine because of its detailed information on the types of wine and the food that pairs well with them. The second and third spots go to Wine Simple: Wine Making Book for Beginners and Making Wild Wines & Meads for their unique and delicious wine recipes.
Which among these wine books for beginners will you read first? Let us know in the comment section.
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