The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil

I was having wine withdrawal when I was in Hawaii, both drinking and reading about wine. I found this book at the Ala Moana Shopping Center Barnes and Noble and bought it to have something to read, it did not disappoint. Although it was published in 2000, which makes some of the information a little dated, most of the nearly 1000 page book was filled with timeless details.
Author, Karen MacNeil advises that you can read the book from any chapter, including a tour of wines around the world with chapters on every wine region of the world including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United States, Australia---you get the point, she begins her book with information on viticulture and enology. MacNeil walks you through the noble grapes (Vitis vinifera), red and white winemaking, champagne making, literally everything you need to know about wine before the chapters on the wines of the world. There are interesting tidbits of information highlighted in tan colored boxes and there I learned that the punt of a wine bottle was not made for the wait staff to put their thumbs into and pour the wine, but because when the glass was initially blown, the cut end would make the bottle unstable when it was put on the table.
Before leaving Hawaii, I gave this book to my son-in-law who is a bartender at 53 By the Sea. It is indeed a Bible of a Wine book.