Book reviews: The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide: Rioja, Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley
Website: https://academieduvinlibrary.com/
Not so much a book review as a shout out for three books, which are part of the Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide series from Academie du Vin Library, the prolific (relatively) new wine book publishing house, which now includes the Classic Wine Library series.
The three books from this (so far) five book series are as follows.
First we have Rioja, by Fintan Kerr. He’s a bright new voice on the wine writing scene and he’s actually living in Spain, based in Barcelona. It’s one of the first of the series, and the format has evolved a little bit since then, but think of this as a sort of Lonely Planet guide with a wine focus. It’s accessible and well written, giving some background to the region and its wines, and then advice on how to plan a trip to the region. And it’s handily sized, which is important when you are travelling.
Then we have Bordeaux, by Georgie Hindle. She writes for Decanter and is based in the region, so she’s a great pick to write this guide. This is such an important wine region, but it’s complicated for visitors. Bordeaux is a great city, but most of the vineyards are quite distant. And most of the fancy places are hard to visit unless you have an in. So this is why this guide is so useful. It’s really well informed, and the introduction section tells you all you need to know about the history and present of Bordeaux. As with Fintan’s guide, there are prospective itineraries and listings of the best places to stay and eat. And as with all three that I’ve seen in this series, it’s beautifully produced, and a lot is packed into its compact frame.
Finally, there’s the newcomer: the Rhône Valley, by Matt Walls, who is the obvious choice to write this book, as the leading English language expert on the region. The format has evolved a little, and this book has enhanced utility if you are actually using it as a travel guide. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Rhône over the last few years, and his advice is spot on. The section on hotels and restaurants (with price bands indicated) is particularly useful.
There’s nothing like travelling to a wine region to begin to understand its wines, and these books fill a gap in the market for those intending to put feet on ground in pursuit of interesting bottles.
