The Wines of the Northern Rhône
John Livingstone-Learmonth
University of California Press
I bought my first book about the Rhône valley wines sometimes in the early 1980s. It was the second edition of a book written by John Livingstone-Learmonth. So JLL is certainly no novice to the Rhône Valley, nor to writing about wine. As a matter of fact, there are probably few people who know more about Rhône vines than him. And that is well illustrated by his new book about the wines of the northern Rhône. It’s a brick of 703 pages. But if you are interested in Rhône wines this book is a must. JLL explains the history of the Rhône wines (that he knows since long) and speculates about the future. It is obviously not something that you read from cover to cover but more of a reference book. The bulk of the book is taken up by profiles of the vignerons (and the appellations), including tasting notes, and you will find all the details you can ever think of wanting to know. There are also some excellent, but simple maps of the vineyards. The only thing that perhaps is missing is a bit more photographs to give the reader more of a feeling of how the region and vineyards look – but that would have made the book even thicker! (Instead you can go to our photo galleries and take a look.) Now we are only waiting for the next volume on the southern Rhône…
