But whether your goal is to build a working library of the best wine books that includes some canonical titles, or to just learn a little bit more about pét-nat and natural wines so you can order wine in a restaurant more confidently, this sommelier-approved list will be a good starting point. A sommelier, or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. Early wine stewards were usually rejected cooks, kicked out of the kitchen and sent to the basement, usually with a chip on their shoulder (Steinberger 2008).

By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. Not all of these are wine books for beginners, and some are admittedly on the more-expensive side. What Does a Wine Steward Do There are certain skills that many wine stewards have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. Here, we surveyed sommeliers and wine buyers to find the best books about wine for enthusiasts of every persuasion.įor our primer on wine books, we consulted a group of sommeliers that includes Aldo Sohm, wine director of three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin and the face of Aldo Sohm Wine Bar Belinda Chang, James Beard Award–winning sommelier Victoria James, beverage director at Cote Ashley Santoro, regional beverage director at the Standard Alexis Schwartz, sales representative at Brooklyn-based wine importer Zev Rovine Selections and Carla Rza Betts, co-founder of An Approach to Relaxation.Įach of these experts sent us a list of books, from their most-referenced wine encyclopedias to the books they give as gifts to fellow wine lovers, and we only included titles that were recommended by two or more of the sommeliers. Welcome to Reading Lists, comprehensive book guides from the Strategist designed to make you an expert (or at least a fascinating dinner-party companion) in hyperspecific or newsworthy topics.

French wine steward