Wine Science Principles and Applications 3rd Edition by Ronald Jackson
98 out of 100

Published Thursday, September 23, 2010

Overview

I had seen the book Wine Science at Google books online, whenever I was researching a difficult technical aspect of wine. The information appeared to be tight, concise and from what I could determine - accurate. So, purchasing a copy was something I looked forward to. I had hoped that this technical book would be an invaluable research aid, and while this is true it is not the nirvana I had hoped for.

On the one hand I loved this book on the other I loathed it. While the book certainly explains many parts of vines and wine-making it is essentially a text book for a course somewhere in the world. The content is thick with technical and scientific jargon and there is certainly little attempt to make the book compelling or easy to read. But it is very thorough in answering many questions I have. However the deeply academic nature, and its continuous use of biological and chemical terminology make the book hard to dip into. You need to start sections at the beginning of the chapter to build up the background to understand a short section of the book you're interested in. That’s not to say it doesn't do an adequate job of explaining many of the technical terms it uses. It's just that there are so many of them, that the language is difficult to access without a university level understanding of biology or chemistry or both. My chemistry was once at 1st Year University level and this book is pitched at a level of at least this, if slightly higher. My biology level is lower and I found much of the section on vines very hard work, but understandable even if I had to read some sections more than once. That is not to say I did not learn a great deal - it's just that it is such hard work to understand.

If you are willing to invest the time reading then this is an invaluable reference source with detailed information on almost all scientific aspects of veins and wines. Amongst it's 713 pages chapters include:- grape species, vineyard practices, site selection, chemical constituents of grapes and wine, fermentation, post fermentation treatments and sensory perceptions. There are flashes of brilliance in the book, which completely debunk many myths believed by many non-technical wine people.

This book is a fantastic reference for those with a more than passing interest in science. For these people this book should form a foundation reference book along with the Oxford Companion and the World Atlas of Wine. And Hugh Johnsons Wine Companion.

I rated this book end to end very highly because the content is so useful to know and almost impossible to find elsewhere. But it is only useful to it's intended audience which should be Wine Makers, Master of Wine students and all those who love science and wine. For those people I rate this book 98 out of 100. But please do not get it if you are not scientifically minded.