Red and White: Wine Made Simple (1997)
My first book grew out of some notes I prepared for an introduction-to-wine course I conducted for the staff of a pub restaurant in Melbourne in the early 1990s. It was - I now realise - a manifesto for quality drinking: I was working on the premise that the more you know about wine, the more enjoyment and satisfaction you get from drinking it. But, crucially, I believed (and still believe) that talking, reading and learning about wine shouldn’t obscure the essential magic, wonder and beauty at the heart of the glorious liquid. The words, combined with Adrian Lander’s pictures, obviously struck a chord: the book won heaps of awards and is still selling, ten years later.
Published in Australia and the UK by New Holland

The Yarra Valley Wine Guide (1999)
I started visiting the Yarra Valley in 1992, soon after arriving in Melbourne. Not long after, I started working out in the valley, at the Coldstream Hills cellar door and winery. I soon fell in love with the place and wanted to write a book about its fantastically rich history (a history that I felt was in danger of fading into obscurity) and its present-day boom, including profiles of all the region’s wineries. So when the opportunity to do just that presented itself in the form of a bloke called Boyce Pizzey, keen to start publishing wine guides, I leapt at it. It’s just a shame all the research and hours and hours of travel didn’t reach a wider audience.
Published by Pizzey WIF (out of print)

Quaff (2000-2004)
From its first edition until 2005, I co-authored this guide to the best wines in Australia under $15 with wine writer Peter Forrestal. After a while, though, the annual tastings of thousands of bottles and casks of cheap plonk took their toll, and I had to retire, injured. Forrie’s still bravely soldiering on, though, and as well as still writing the book each year, he also posts regular reviews on www.quaff.com.au - subscribe to the weekly email newsletter for regular updates.
Published in Australia by Hardie Grant Books

Sniff, Swirl and Slurp: How To Get More Pleasure Out Of Every Glass Of Wine (2002)
Mitchell Beazley (the world’s leading wine publishers) commissioned this book, pitching it as a follow-on from Red and White. The assumption is that readers are already familiar with the basics of wine (what the different grape varieties taste like, for example), and want to delve a little deeper and expand their drinking repertoire. Once again, Ady Lander’s images break new ground for wine.
Published in the UK by Mitchell Beazley
Published in Australia by Hardie Grant Books

Oberon Kant’s Big Book of Wine (2002)
There’s a rumour going about that I might have had a hand in this hysterically funny little book. It’s just a rumour, though, and you know what rumours are like. Oberon was one of the characters created for the short-lived satirical wineweb site, www.spittoon.com.au: he was the pompous wine bore to end all pompous wine bores - the Sir Les Paterson of wine writers (it’s no coincidence that Sir Les wrote the foreword for Kant’s Big Book). Oberon was obviously way ahead of his time or far too sophisticated for Australian readers or both or something, because sales were dismal and the whole print run was soon pulped. You can, if you look hard enough, still find the odd copy that managed to escape the pulping at remaindered book sales; I picked up half a dozen in a book tent at last year’s Royal Melbourne Show ... If you do come across a copy, buy it and treasure it: the rumour is that it’ll become a cult classic. One day.
Published in Australia by Hardie Grant Books

The Really Useful Pocket Wine Book (2004)
A fun little distillation of the wine knowledge and tips I’ve accumulated in my books and articles and television segments over the years. Somehow I managed to convince my editor to let me do the illustrations: I wanted the book to have the feel of one of those 1970s Joy of Cooking-type instructive books, with simple pencil drawings.
Published in Australia by Hardie Grant Books