‘The Wine Bible’ is updated: What’s changed in 14 years?

  • By S. Irene Virbila Los Angeles Times
  • Thursday, October 1, 2015 6:06pm
  • Life

It took Karen MacNeil 10 years to write “The Wine Bible,” her best-selling book. Published in 2001, it has sold 750,000 copies, astonishing for a wine book. On Oct. 13, the second edition — five years in the research and writing — arrives on bookstore shelves.

The new book is much more than an update. Since 2001, the world wine scene has changed so much that MacNeil has rewritten 80 percent of the book. The manuscript ran to 5,000 pages, which translates to about 1,200 pages for the finished book.

The circumstances as she writes it are very different, too. In 1991, when MacNeil started researching the first edition, she was not the star that she is today: a highly respected wine educator and chairman emeritus of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. She is also a James Beard Outstanding Wine and Spirits professional and was the host of the PBS show “Wine, Food, and Friends with Karen MacNeil.”

For a Q&A with Jeff Alworth, author of “The Beer Bible,” click here.

After the first book was published, a lawyer friend of hers calculated that she made six cents an hour in the 10 years it took her to research it.

“Every fact was checked by U.S. postal mail,” she says, “and in the latter part of the 10 years by the incredible invention of the fax machine.” MacNeil does not rely on secondary sources. “I do all primary research, so I don’t copy something from Jancis Robinson or Steven Spurrier or anyone else.”

She says trying to find out a simple thing — such as the amount of sugar in Hungarian Tokaj — can take three weeks of phone calls and emails to find the right person and to really understand whether she has the correct fact.

“Every chapter becomes like an old-style photograph,” says MacNeil. “I have easily 45 versions of the chapter on Bordeaux. It starts out basic, then gets richer and fuller, richer and fuller until it’s done.”

“The Wine Bible” is loved because it’s written by a single passionate voice. “What the Internet doesn’t tell you is why things matter. That’s what’s fascinating to anyone who loves wine,” says MacNeil.

Slovenia and Mexico were not included in the first edition. She’s added sections on Peru and Uruguay and expanded coverage of traditional areas such as Spain. Sections on New Zealand and Sicily are greatly expanded. “In the last 15 years, the wine industry has developed at warp speed on every continent,” says MacNeil. “The big growth areas for wine consumption are China, Russia, and the U.S. of course.”

The second edition of “The Wine Bible” will be published as an e-book, too, and it will be published in many more languages.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.