Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedia of Wine 2001
★★★★★
This is one of the two best "pocketbook" descriptions of wine (the other is Parker's). You have to know something about wine before you can understand the terse descriptions, but if you do you can pop this book into your pocket when you want to browse your local wine shop or choose a wine from a restaurant menu. Getting all this information into such a tiny format is not easy. It is a toss-up whether Johnson or Parker are better at this job, the former being elitist conservative and the latter being fresh and rebellious. But you can't loose with either, and you might as well buy both!