Interesting that you mention the first few chapters. I ignored them initially and went for the sections I was most interested in, after that randomly expanding. (The reason I read it that way was that I was travelling an awful lot, and with the book being too heavy to take with me I approached it bit by bit during the short moments when I was at home.) Because of this approach I loved the theme that runs through the book as it allowed me to read it in small bits, to use it almost like a compendium, but still have the feel it comes together. That's something I haven't found often in a wine book of this type, and because of that I wasn't too concerned whether I agree with all the detail or the structure.
Also, I found the scientific approach refreshing (despite it resulting in much detail) considering how often wine is indeed mystified even by those who claim to demystify it. I remember having been told by so many winemakers or authors that you can taste the type of slate or clay in a wine, but who has ever checked what elements the roots of the grapevine actually extracts from the ground and which of those can actually influence the taste of the wine? These are the aspects of the book I'd recommend to you, and maybe you will find something of interest there.
P.S. I was also made aware of the book by Jancis (I think it was a tweet) where she referred to Lewin as a friend, I seem to recall.
In reply to I bought this book on the by Andrew Connor
Interesting that you mention
Interesting that you mention the first few chapters. I ignored them initially and went for the sections I was most interested in, after that randomly expanding. (The reason I read it that way was that I was travelling an awful lot, and with the book being too heavy to take with me I approached it bit by bit during the short moments when I was at home.) Because of this approach I loved the theme that runs through the book as it allowed me to read it in small bits, to use it almost like a compendium, but still have the feel it comes together. That's something I haven't found often in a wine book of this type, and because of that I wasn't too concerned whether I agree with all the detail or the structure.
Also, I found the scientific approach refreshing (despite it resulting in much detail) considering how often wine is indeed mystified even by those who claim to demystify it. I remember having been told by so many winemakers or authors that you can taste the type of slate or clay in a wine, but who has ever checked what elements the roots of the grapevine actually extracts from the ground and which of those can actually influence the taste of the wine? These are the aspects of the book I'd recommend to you, and maybe you will find something of interest there.
P.S. I was also made aware of the book by Jancis (I think it was a tweet) where she referred to Lewin as a friend, I seem to recall.