Fine Wine Geek Links
Other Geeky Wine Sites
Note that the word geek
on FineWineGeek.com is used with great affection and admiration.
- Alessandro Masnaghetti's Enogea.
- This is THE source for detailed maps of vineyards. Covering most of the important regions
in Piedmont and Tuscany, and a growing list of other wine regions.
- For US residents, he recommends purchasing these from
Rare Wine Company.
- Enogea has also teamed with
Antonio Galloni's Vinous to
produce a superb set of maps of every section of Napa Valley which can be found
here.
- Rick Thompson Wine.
- Known to his fellow wine geeks as
Rico
, Rick has an excellent palate and a lot of experience.
- Rick is also one of the top authors on Rock Climbing. For example, his book
Shelf Road Rock is in its 3rd edition.
- Keith Edwards'
Wine -- Mise en abyme.
- Keith gets into the details of any subject he tackles. It's even in the subtitle to his blog,
A quest for knowledge. A mandate to share.
He's especially good on the geology of vineyards.
- Historic Vineyard Society.
- While there is nothing
geeky
about the mission of this society (the preservation of
California’s historic vineyards.), one of the main features of their website is an informative
listing of every old-vine vineyard in California, which is very much in the wine geek spirit.
Groups, Forums, and Bulletin Boards
- The Barbaresco and
Barolo on Facebook.
- A very civilized place for tasting notes and discussion on the wines of the
the Piedmont region of Italy.
- The FWG is one of the two admins for this group.
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous
has an excellent forum, especially for Italy and Burgundy. [Subscription required.]
- Since the merger with Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, this is also the best
publication for authoritative reveiws of most of the world's major wine regions.
- In addition to Antonio and Steve, their reviewers include Eric Guido, Neal Martin,
Josh Raynolds, and David Schildknecht who participate regularly in
discussions in the forum,
which is called
Your Say
here.
- Wine Berserkers.
- A good place to hang out on the Internet when looking for lively discussions about wine and
everything else.
- The philosophy here is to minimize restrictions on what can be posted, so it may not be for
the squeamish, but it is a place for hedonists of all stripes.
- Mark Squires' Bulletin Board on RobertParker.com. [now defunct.]
- As the name says, this BB was hosted by
RobertParker.com.
- As of April 26, 2010, you must subscribe to eRP in order to participate on the Mark Squires' BB,
so it's a much quieter place than it used to be.
- In the summer of 2019, this bulletin board closed for good.
- While Parker himself doesn't review as much as he used to, I think Monica Larner's coverage of
Italy is very good.
Wine Inventory Systems and Tasting Note Repository
- Eric LeVine's CellarTracker!.
Hands down, the best way to keep track of your cellar,
plus lots of useful information about each wine including over two million tasting notes.
Geeky Wine Books
- Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian D'Agata, 2014.
The bible of Italian wine grapes. A must-have book to fully appreciate the incredible
diversity of Italian wines.
- Italy's Native Wine Grape Terroirs by Ian D'Agata, 2019.
The companian to Ian's first book (above). The focus this time is on the vineyards.
Another must-have book to fully appreciate the incredible diversity of Italian wines.
- Italy's Noble Red Wines by Sheldon Wasserman and Pauline Wasserman,
1991. A classic book with deep coverage of the most famous red wines of Italy.
Dated, but still very useful.
- Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine
by Kerin O'Keefe, 2014.
The best recent book on these wines. There are a few curious choices (like the omision
of Vietti), but a very good book overall. Detailed producer profiles. Her palate leans
traditional.
- Inside Burgundy
by Jasper Morris, 2010.
Amazingly thorough and detailed book on the vineyards and wineries of Burgundy.
- Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte
by Suzanne Hoffman, 2017.
A gorgeous coffee table book on the wineries in southern Piedmont, focusing in particular
on the role of women in these wine families. Lots of useful information about
winemaking and history as well. Many wonderful photos.
- Reading between the Wines by Terry Theise, 2011.
A joyful and poetic book by one of the very best US wine importers.
My tag line,
Don't be meek, embrace the geek.
is from this book.
- The Original Grands Crus of Burgundy by
Charles Curtis MW, 2014.
A history of the great vineyards of Burgundy before the official classification,
including translations from classic books on the subject.
Wine-Related Blogs and Other Writings
Wine Stores
- Chambers Street Wines, New York City.
Specializing in new and old "naturally-made wine" especially from Italy, Burgundy, and Germany.
- Rare Wine Company, Brisbane, California.
Strong on Italy (new and old), Madeira, Rhone, Burgundy. Their well-written newsletter is a gem.
- Benchmark Wine Group, Napa, California.
New and old wines from the US and around the world.
- Flickinger Wines, Chicago, Illinois.
New and old wines from the US and around the world.
- Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.,
Chicago, Illinois. Retail and auctions for new and old wines from the US and around the world.
- Napa Valley Wine & Cigar,
on the Silverado Trail in Napa, California.
(Carrie and Randy Bowman.) Strong on California wines and affectionate customer abuse.
- Barolo-Brunello, Siegen, Germany
(Stefan Töpler aka Con Vino). Italian wine.
All orignal content © Ken Vastola