Brunello di Montalcino: Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy’s Greatest Wines

i wanted to read about Brunello on the plane as my wife and I were on our way to Montalcino. (1) I got an education. Previously, I knew a little, just enough to dangerous-s they say. But, after reading the book, it enabled me to buy some really nice bottles of Brunello that I might have over-looked or just not developed the interest to find. (2) This book could have been drier than even the worst Brunello. Instead, O'Keefe's writing displayed both a lively wit, a depth of the subject, and a love for Brunello. Like Brunello Reserva, it was surprisingly good. Standing in a wine store in both Montalcino and San Quirico, I remembered stories about many of the brands displayed from her book. Her book certainly increased my love of Brunello, and it certainly enriched my trip to Tuscany. In fact, I now own a few bottles of 2010 Brunello that I would not have put the effort into finding had it not been for her book.

Phenomenal. A beautiful explanation of the history of the region, the geology and lay of the land, the producers and potential future challenges for brunello makers. This book is organized in the exact way that you want for a wine book and it delivers on that structure with just enough detail to keep things interesting but not too much to bog you down. Great read for anyone who appreciates Italian wines.

I love Brunello, but after reading some of the posted reviews, I was afraid this book would be too technical. I bought it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. Yes it does cover technical subjects, like clones and vinfication, but the author writes in a very easy to understand and entertaining style, so I followed everything and learned a lot. The best part was the breakdown of Montalcino into subzones. I've been thrilled by many Brunellos, but disappointed in others and now I know why. I've already tried some of O'Keefe's suggested Brunellos, and have loved them. Highly recommend this book for Brunello fans looking for the best from Montalcino. As a last note, the photos by Paolo Tenti are beautiful and complement the book very well.

If you're well past wine geekdom 101 and want to get serious about a particular region like Brunello Di Montalcino, this is a must read. I already have three "encylopedia of wine" books that do a decent job of skiming every region on the planet. Lately, I'm prefering to buy and read books that dig more deeply into a particular region I already love like Burgundy or one I want to know a lot more about. I don't think I'm being a wine snob when I say this book is not for casual wine drinkers unless, perhaps you've traveled the region extensively and accidentally fell in love with this unique expression of the Sangiovese grape. This is a refreshingly honest take on Brunello sans the 100pt scale from the critics. My only beef with this book is I'd like to contact the author with a few questions. Since the book is written with passionate wine geeks in mind, I would have included an email address for follow up questions in the book itself or on the author's website.

Having been a wine lover for some time, I never realized how complex the great wines are. Kerin gives you a complete education on Brunello di Motalcino, its historical background, how it's made and a description of the top vinyards. If you want to learn about Brunello this book is for you.

Incredible document on the various regions of the 'Grand Cru' of Sangiovese. You will be introduced of all the vintners of note, with detailed descriptions of the 'house' style. It clearly comes from a long personal connection to the region and its growers.

I got this book as I was interested in learning more about Brunello wines and read the positive reviews. I'm glad I did as the book is very enjoyable to read and explains the history behind Brunello di Montalcino. This author is very passionate about Brunello and you can feel this passion when reading the book. The classical Brunello style, the Brunellogate scandal, and the beauty of terroir driven Brunello wines is covered in this book. I enjoyed reading the book found it easy to read and had a greater understanding of Montalcino and Brunello after that.The authors recommended Brunello producers and vintages are covered in the book and that alone is worth buying the book for those who want to collect Brunello wines.

Fabulous research and information. I have had many conversations about wine and am excited to incorporate this knowledge with my friends. I also appreciate the research done at individual wineries, which will enable me to choose which ones I would rather visit.

Nice detail on the history of Brunello. Excellent write-up on individual vineyards and wineries. The book was copyrighted in 2012 which makes it a little dated. I would have like some information on the fabulous 2010 vintage and the wines produced from that vintage.

The Montalcino's need to develop a system to identify specific zones, regions and elevations to accurately present their wine and reward those producers who have stayed true to their heritage.

i wanted to read about Brunello on the plane as my wife and I were on our way to Montalcino. (1) I got an education. Previously, I knew a little, just enough to dangerous-s they say. But, after reading the book, it enabled me to buy some really nice bottles of Brunello that I might have over-looked or just not developed the interest to find. (2) This book could have been drier than even the worst Brunello. Instead, O'Keefe's writing displayed both a lively wit, a depth of the subject, and a love for Brunello. Like Brunello Reserva, it was surprisingly good. Standing in a wine store in both Montalcino and San Quirico, I remembered stories about many of the brands displayed from her book. Her book certainly increased my love of Brunello, and it certainly enriched my trip to Tuscany. In fact, I now own a few bottles of 2010 Brunello that I would not have put the effort into finding had it not been for her book.

Phenomenal. A beautiful explanation of the history of the region, the geology and lay of the land, the producers and potential future challenges for brunello makers. This book is organized in the exact way that you want for a wine book and it delivers on that structure with just enough detail to keep things interesting but not too much to bog you down. Great read for anyone who appreciates Italian wines.

I love Brunello, but after reading some of the posted reviews, I was afraid this book would be too technical. I bought it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. Yes it does cover technical subjects, like clones and vinfication, but the author writes in a very easy to understand and entertaining style, so I followed everything and learned a lot. The best part was the breakdown of Montalcino into subzones. I've been thrilled by many Brunellos, but disappointed in others and now I know why. I've already tried some of O'Keefe's suggested Brunellos, and have loved them. Highly recommend this book for Brunello fans looking for the best from Montalcino. As a last note, the photos by Paolo Tenti are beautiful and complement the book very well.

If you're well past wine geekdom 101 and want to get serious about a particular region like Brunello Di Montalcino, this is a must read. I already have three "encylopedia of wine" books that do a decent job of skiming every region on the planet. Lately, I'm prefering to buy and read books that dig more deeply into a particular region I already love like Burgundy or one I want to know a lot more about. I don't think I'm being a wine snob when I say this book is not for casual wine drinkers unless, perhaps you've traveled the region extensively and accidentally fell in love with this unique expression of the Sangiovese grape. This is a refreshingly honest take on Brunello sans the 100pt scale from the critics. My only beef with this book is I'd like to contact the author with a few questions. Since the book is written with passionate wine geeks in mind, I would have included an email address for follow up questions in the book itself or on the author's website.

Having been a wine lover for some time, I never realized how complex the great wines are. Kerin gives you a complete education on Brunello di Motalcino, its historical background, how it's made and a description of the top vinyards. If you want to learn about Brunello this book is for you.

Incredible document on the various regions of the 'Grand Cru' of Sangiovese. You will be introduced of all the vintners of note, with detailed descriptions of the 'house' style. It clearly comes from a long personal connection to the region and its growers.

I got this book as I was interested in learning more about Brunello wines and read the positive reviews. I'm glad I did as the book is very enjoyable to read and explains the history behind Brunello di Montalcino. This author is very passionate about Brunello and you can feel this passion when reading the book. The classical Brunello style, the Brunellogate scandal, and the beauty of terroir driven Brunello wines is covered in this book. I enjoyed reading the book found it easy to read and had a greater understanding of Montalcino and Brunello after that.The authors recommended Brunello producers and vintages are covered in the book and that alone is worth buying the book for those who want to collect Brunello wines.

Fabulous research and information. I have had many conversations about wine and am excited to incorporate this knowledge with my friends. I also appreciate the research done at individual wineries, which will enable me to choose which ones I would rather visit.

Nice detail on the history of Brunello. Excellent write-up on individual vineyards and wineries. The book was copyrighted in 2012 which makes it a little dated. I would have like some information on the fabulous 2010 vintage and the wines produced from that vintage.

The Montalcino's need to develop a system to identify specific zones, regions and elevations to accurately present their wine and reward those producers who have stayed true to their heritage.

This is well written, and done so by someone who relishes the quality of refined (not international) Brunello. I wish that more estates were profiled. Pour a glass of Brunello, make a snack, and sit back and read this well researched account.

This is as good as her book on Barolo and Barbaresco. I love it that she finds under the radar producers. The ones I've been able to find, I haven't been disappointed.

I bought the Kindle vision of the book. It gives a very good description of Brunello wines covering the history, terroir, producers, trends and politics. In particular, I found the detailed description of the leading producers by sub-region and their style very useful. I can recommend it to all lovers of Tuscan wine.

An in depth look at one of the finest wine producing regions in the world. Brunello stands as one of the benchmark wines of today, understanding it important in the development of and individuals wine pallet.

Great resource for background / history of brunello as well as thorough details on best wineries by area. Well done!

If you are interested in Bruenllo- you will find out every thing you ever wanted to know, well written and incredible well.

this is the most comprehensive and well-written book on brunello di montalcino..... ms o'keefe's emphasis on small producers is to be commended as these are often overlooked in most other publications! would be a great gift for the wine enthusiast or for yourself....

I've read Kerin's book probably three times. It's well written, opinionated and a reference which I have returned to time and again.

I enjoyed this book very much! I really do like the author's style and complex knowledge on the subject.

Kerin SHOULD be born in MONTALCINO! Her book is amazing!

A book of good information without the usual wine blah blah.

He & his family visited Italy this past year and his hobby is wine making. His daughters were fighting over who gets to read this book first!

I like the author's passion and advocation of the traditional style. The selected wineries reflect such passion. Analyses are to the point and appears to be from her own research. But for those who likes big ripe fruity wine style, don't buy this as the author intentionally omitted any reference of specific wineries.

Good description of the politics and drama of the Tuscany Wine world. Wonderful description of a really special wine area.

It is the only dedicated to Brunello di Montalcino. It is complex and based on deep personal experiences. Very nice and useful. Thank you.

Apparently, she's not very liked in Brunello...that's what many of the producers said to me when I mentioned that book at the 2014 Benvenuto trade tasting in Los Angeles. I liked the book personally....and she's hot lady...so, she's got that going for her.

I bought this book for my son for Christmas. He is a wine connoisseur and he loved it very much.

All in all a good read on the subject. The author knows her stuff. Pretty objective on most issues, not so much on others.

The wonderful book will help you to understand the history and tradition driving the Brunello DOCG as well as its recent issues. Also included is a wonderful personal review of many of the individual wineries and their wines. A MUST HAVE if you intend to purchase and consume Brunellos intelligently.

I really enjoyed the first book Kerin O'Keefe wrote about Biondi Santi, but after reading the great 'professional' reviews, thought this one might be too academic for my level of knowledge. I was wrong. This book is wonderful! It was written so clearly and with such genuine expertise and knowledge of the region, the grape, the whole process. I learned so much. Ms O'Keefe has such an attractive respect for the subject that it is contagious! She has me wanting to learn more about the fabulous, smaller, family run Italian wine houses. (I agree with Mariella, Paolo Tenti's photos are perfect.)

I got this book as a gift from friends who know I love Brunello and have collected quite a lot of it in the past few years. I was skeptical because all the books I've read on Italian wine have been either just opinions, or personal memoirs, or too generalized. This wasn't. It's filled with documented research on every aspect of Brunello and the author's opinions seem based on research and fact. I only wish this book came out before I bought some of the Brunellos I spen a lot of money on and which aren't aging well. This is a must-have if you love Brunello.

An enjoyable book that explains why Sangiovese grown in other parts of Italy and the world is no match for Montalcino. Mrs O'Keefe explains in a clear fashion the fascinating insights of microclimate, soil, viticulture and enology that make the difference. In the second part of the book there is an excellent guide to 58 producers that the Author rates as the best. A must have for all wine lovers.

From the novices (mine) point of view this is a fantastic guide to Brunello. The author, right at the beginning, nails her colours to the mast about what she thinks is "classic" Brunello. And she doesn't pull her punches on what she considers "modern" Brunellos that are aimed at a specific market / group of influential critics. From reading her criticisms of the darker, more potent and early drinking Brunellos, I knew they weren't for my palate so that means, for me at least, that I can trust her judgement on the more traditional Brunellos she praises throughout the book. The history section is a great introduction to the region, contains everything you need to know without overstaying its welcome. Concise, clear and helpful. The writing is pure and you can feel the passion the author has for the region and its wines. She doesn't side step the issues Brunello has faced in the last decade or so, from the blending scandal to the in-fighting to plant more Brunello vineyards in areas not deemed suitable. It will be interesting to see if the bigger producers manage to push through measures that would surely only harm Brunello as a great wine. The producer / subzone section of the book is even better. It clearly (with the help of maps, although my North & South Montalcino maps were the wrong way round!) sets out where the producers are based and gives a brief history of winemaking in the subzone. The author explains how the altitude / soil in each cru helps give the grapes their distinctive character and how this is displayed in the bottle. The book is very good in breaking down the producers different bottling's and helpfully moves up the scale, giving opinions and drinking windows on certain vintages of the wine. Finally, you have a vintage guide going back further than I will ever find bottles for. Useful is not the word, as I knew next to nothing about the region, the wine, the good vintages and the one's to avoid before reading the book. Just a really great read that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone wanting to learn about Brunello. Now I need to save up and buy some wine!

Bought as a present and it was very much appreciated.

My favourite wine appellation and a good book. What else ?

Best book I read over my favorite wine. Great level of detail but easy to read. If you want to understand the different areas around Montalcino this is your book