I've been drinking good wine for about 5 years now, collecting for 4, and seriously collecting for about 2. However, my experiences have been predominantly with domestic and Australian wines. While I have had many good wines from France and Italy, my knowledge of those areas is lacking.

I want to learn more about the wines of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc. Can you recommend a good book?

TIA!

I recommend both "The New France" and "The New Italy"

There's a "The New Italy"? "The New France" is excellent. I will definitely check out the Italy book, too.

parker's "bordeaux" book is awesome. that is if you like bordeaux.

Thanks Jones, I will definitely check it out.

Thanks Anthony, I do like Bordeaux, but I am looking for a book that covers more than just that region. That being said, I will take your advice once I get the basics down.

Thanks for asking the question Brad. I'd like to read some more about these areas as well. Any other book suggestions out there?

FWIW - "The New France" got some great reviews atAmazon. For those interested, it's only $30 at Amazon (and shipping is free).

Do you already have a good wine atlas? While Hugh Johnson's is the most famous work, I tend to prefer Oz Clarke's Atlas of Wine.

I like "The Wine Bible" by Karen MacNeil, it covers pretty much everything.

My wife bought me a copy of the Wine Bible. A very good reference.