Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #331342 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 768 pages

Synopsis
James Halliday's "Australian Wine Companion" is the most authoritative and entertaining guide to Australian wine available.Fully revised and updated to bring readers up-to-the-minute information, this is a must-have volume for wine lovers as well as those looking to add a touch of class to their wine rack. The features include: expert tasting notes on over 5,000 wines; profiles for over 1,600 wines; detailed information on wineries - including opening times, contact details and web addresses - featuring 169 new entries and top-rating wineries of the year; vintage rating charts for each region; plus a map of the wine regions of Australia - and a guide to the best places to stay, eat, and drink for those who want the full Australian wine experience.

Customer Reviews

Definitive, and indispensable if you're heavily into Oz wines
I bought this several months ago (and I have the 2010 version on order), so I must like it. Basically if you are a big Oz wine fan, you need this with you when you venture online or into a wine shop. Can't decide between Wine X from winery Y and Wine A from Winery B, where both seem the same quality and are a similar price? Dive into this and you might learn that Y produces a veritable wine lake of mediocre plonk of which X is only an average example, while B is a smallish, high quality producer and A is a really tasty and very good value-for-money buy. Very easy-to-read style; my only criticism is a) can I have it for less money (especially if I'm prepared to buy it every year)? and b)(having bought the damned thing) why can't I search and read it online?

James Halliday Austalian Wine Companion
Well worth purchasing (every couple of years or so) if you want a more detailed assessement of Austalian wine and Halliday does seem pre-eminent. However, the love Halliday has for his subjects does tend to lead to perhaps too high an overall rating for wine producers (it is rare to find any producer who is not either 4 or 5 stars) with the result that there are very few harsh comments made about poor wines. The quality of the actual book itself (e.g. low quality paper, etc.) could improve somewhat given the reasonably high price. But, in summary, a down-to-earth, non pompous reference work which is all encompassing.

The Reference for Aussie wines
Outstandingly knowledgeable. Very user friendly.
Pleasantly written. I shall buy every coming edition. Nils Julin