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Links
Wine Discussion, Opinion, Phenomena & Reference
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(last updated
April 10, 2009
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Sadly, our latest check of links on this page found many formerly recommended sites taken over by Link Farms that offer no content; we removed them. |
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Dictionaries
& Encyclopedias
Audio
Wine Dictionary this section of Strat's
Place has over a thousand entries, with more than half offering audio
WAV files for correct pronunciation, although the entry definitions
are quite brief.
RECOMMENDED
Encyclowine
is a new, evolving online user-contribution wine reference that's
off to a fair start with very good interface and great navigation,
but most definitions need some tweeking for it to be considered a
serious reference source (I'll contribute when I can...).
How
to Pronounce French, German and Italian Wine Names
- phonetic pronunciation for over 15,000 names, terms, regions, grape
varieties, etc. RECOMMENDED
Natural
Products of Wine, created as a class
project of Professor Andrew Waterhouse's students at the University
of California at Davis; covers a wide range of chemical properties
and considerations of wine, from effects on human health, to wine
spoilage, to wine aging. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
Vines.Org is
a fairly impressive-sized online data base with many
categories of wine interest, including such unique
listings as Aromas And Compounds Found In Wine and
the Tree of Appellations. The encyclopedia is nicely
cross-referenced although not comprehensive and parts of the site are badly in need of updating. RECOMMENDED
Wine
Lexicon - part of Robin Garr's Wine
Lovers Pages; easy to browse, it provides a handy color key, to tell
immediately if the term is a grape (red), wine type (purple), region
(blue) or tasting term (green); also features audible pronunciation
links, in MP3 format. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
Winemaking
Dictionary - ingredients, equipment
and common (sometimes archaic) winemaking terms; thorough and fast.
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
Discussion
& Opinion
Mark
Squire's Wine Discussion Board, part of the Robert Parker site,
has many interesting and timely exchanges, although sometimes tends to be clique-ish and egotistical in the tradition of one-ups-manship.
RECOMMENDED
Wine
Making Radio a 20-minute bi-weekly audio show produced by amateur winemakers
offering interviews, technical tips and other information of value
to both home winemakers and wine enthusiasts, available to download in several formats. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
Wine
Making Talk Wine making community discussion forum
including topics regarding wine, winemaking, regions,
vineyards, cellars, cooking, travel, etc. RECOMMENDED
Jancis
Robinson is one of the top wine authorities in the world and a very prolific writer. This site promotes the many media forms of her published works.
Rogov's
Wine & Food Pairing Articles -
enlightenting and entertaining;
Rogov is always a sensible, enjoyable read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
West
Coast Wine.Net began as a forum
site, devoted to wine-related discussion themes (Tasting Notes, Values,
Travel, etc). Editor Brad Harrington has nicely morphed his site into
more of a wine e-zine, with columnists, news, and feature articles.
RECOMMENDED
Miscellaneous Reference
Discover California Wine is an excellent new site from the Wine Advisory Board. Fully searchable with sections devoted to grape varieties, wineries, AVA's, it is the place to go when planning a tour or asking questions such as "What wineries produce wine from the Barbera (or any other) variety?" HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
European
Vitis Database
Sonoma
County Wine Library
Super
Gigantic WWW WineGrape Glossary (on
Strat's Place) is a database of every grape variety you could possibly
run into and many you probably never will. Anthony J. Hawkins is to
be applauded as the force behind maintaining and updating this huge
undertaking. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
Wine
Files is two databases
of wine information containing citations to material in government
publications, newspapers, and trade journals dealing with the business
and technology of wine, wine making, grape growing, wine business,
and wine history. Wine Files collects current information
(1988-present). California Wine History Files (1849-1999)
has over 30,000 entries, collected by historian Charles L. Sullivan.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Wine
Literature of the World - part of
The State Library of South Australia, this collection was begun in
the early 1800s. Its online collection is broken down into several
interesting subject areas, each with its own sponsor. Makes great
browsing while sipping. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED