“I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.” ― J.K. Rowling

A good book can indeed transport you to faraway places and open your mind to new possibilities. Sounds like magic to me! And even more magical is losing yourself in the pages of a book while sipping on a delicious glass of wine.

Here are three books, and three wines, for your favorite bibliophiles and wine lovers.

The Wine Bible (3rd Edition) by Karen MacNeil

If I were stranded on a desert island, I would want to while my days away with The Wine Bible. MacNeil’s writing is easy to read, clearly written, and chock full of information. She captivates the reader by delivering facts with humor and grace, never trying to impress with mundane details or pretentious jargon.

The book is organized primarily by country and the significant wine areas within each. A colorful sidebar at the beginning of each section, “The Quick Sip,” relays the region’s most important facts in three or four sentences, an easy way for a reader to get an overview before delving deeper.

And being that wine is so intertwined with the culture of a place, The Wine Bible travels beyond a strict wine focus, with loads of information about the history, architecture, and people, and most of all, food, including mouthwatering photographs of everything from oysters to garlic prawns, olives, and tiramisu.

Graphically, the book will keep your interest, too, with photographs, sidebars, and colorful maps of the major appellations. You can easily read the book from beginning to end or use it as a reference book as I often do, choosing a particular topic or wine region to focus on. Either way, you’re sure to bump up your wine knowledge.

An impressive wine to gift with The Wine Bible: Château Pichon Baron, Pauillac, Bordeaux. (Average SRP $226, depending on the vintage).

From page 120 of The Wine Bible: “Pichon Baron is one of the most powerful and full-bodied of all Bordeaux, but also one of the most graceful. Dark and dense, it rolls out of the glass with aromas and flavors reminiscent of black licorice, black cherry, Asian spices, cigar box, and forest underbrush.” (Page 120, The Wine Bible).

Purchase The Wine Bible at winespeed.com ($39.99).

Malbec Mon Amour by Laura Catena and Alejandro Vigil

Wine lovers, especially fans of Malbec, will go crazy for this beautifully illustrated tribute to an ancient red grape variety that is very popular today. Expertly written (yet with an engaging and whimsical style) by Laura Catena, managing director of Argentine’s Catena Zapata winery, together with the winery’s wine director, Alejandro Vigil, it details the Malbec’s beginnings in Bordeaux, France, and how it traveled to Mendoza, Argentina where it has become the country’s signature variety.

The book delves into the Catena Zapata family history, particularly that of her father, who is credited with putting Argentine wines on the world map. It also discusses the importance of terroir and the effects of climate change in general, and specifically in the major wine areas in Mendoza.

A great value wine to pair with Malbec Mon Amour: Catena Malbec 2019 (SRP $18). A blend of the family´s historic high-altitude Mendoza vineyards, this fresh and flavorful wine’s fruitiness—blackberry, blueberries, black cherry, plum—melds seamlessly with the leather, pepper, vanilla, and smoky notes. Rich, velvety tannins and a long, elegant finish make it an excellent choice for pairing with holiday meals, including brisket, turkey, baked ham, and strong cheeses.

Purchase a copy of Malbec Mon Amour ($24.99) via Amazon.

**On page 270 Casteren uses a Sicilian Grillo wine as one of many examples to help readers verbalize what they are sensing.**

Anyone Can Taste Wine (You Just Need This Book) by Cees van Casteren

Describing the taste of wine is a struggle for most people, even seasoned wine tasters. Author and Master of Wine Cees (pronounced Case) van Casteren has created a tasting method that helped him ace the Master of Wine exam and can be used daily by all wine lovers.

In Anyone Can Taste Wine, Casteren shares his technique which employs the acronym CHARACTER, (Color, Harvest aromas, Aromas of winemaking, Ripening aromas, Acidity, Candy (sugar level), Tannins, Ethanol (alcohol), and Relative fruit intensity) to guide readers through the wine tasting process, turning aroma and flavor attributes into words.

In a glowing review on janisrobinson.com, wine writer Tamlyn Currin writes, “This is the book, hands down, which I would give to someone who came to me saying, ‘I want to learn more about wine. Where do I start?’”

Anyone Can Taste Wine’s easy-to-understand tasting method and straightforward, colorful graphics do indeed make it a delight for anyone who has a thirst for wine knowledge. Currin says the book is aimed at wine lovers and enthusiasts rather than MW students trying to pass exams. “As a result,” she says, “the tone is much more relaxed, even playful (it kicks off with one of Roald Dahl’s wickedly cynical but hilarious short stories) and the book is gorgeously bright. A much-needed splash of colour in a run of black-and-whites.”

Purchase a copy of Anyone Can Taste Wine ($39.95) via Amazon.

Wine to pair with Anyone Can Taste Wine: Donna Fugata Sursur Grillo 2021 (SRP $21).