Essential #8 – Wine Books

Almost two years have passed, and I am nearing the end of my current studies. During this time I have developed a profound appreciation for deep reading, which in turn has reinforced and expanded my knowledge of all things related to wine.

In the process, I have also begun to glimpse the truth – that on the path to mastery, there are no shortcuts. One could read all the wine listicles in all the websites of world, yet they would never achieve true understanding.

Today, all the wisdom in the world can be accessed in the palm of your hand through smartphones and the ubiquitous, inescapable internet, but the overwhelming majority of us are content to just search up what we need in the moment and, when it passes, to forget it in a flash. Even if one takes a short wine course, without constant reinforcement the information that is picked up will drift away, becoming murky.

Of course, not everyone needs to study deeply into wine. For many, a cursory search on their phones will meet their needs. But for anyone who is more than incidentally interested, there is no substitute for a really good book.

One of the best decisions I ever made was to purchase an ebook reader. Today there is no excuse not to read, when you can carry hundreds of books in your pocket. The only things lacking are colour (vital for maps, such as the Atlas above) and the ability to flip through at random – I find sometimes I would like to refer back to a previous page/chapter to link it to concepts revealed further in.

I have memories of my father – in my youth I would often find him in his study, reading glasses on and reading all manner of books. He studied and practices law (a fortuitous coincidence with our family name, perhaps) but also read on subjects as diverse as philosophy (Eastern and Western), ethics, history and Chinese astrology. He even took it upon himself to learn another language, Japanese, and when we traveled to Tokyo together he was a slightly awkward but effective translator.

I was never the academic type, but perhaps my father was indirectly communicating to me the importance of reading and study. As I mature and progress with my diploma, I am increasingly able to appreciate this.

Rather than being stressed out with work and learning, being able to sit down and consider deeply the subject of wine over a good book has given me greater contentment and satisfaction than ever before.

No matter what you are doing or where your passions lie, I hope you will also be able to find the same, through deep reading and contemplation.

Read more: The Essential Points Of Port Wine