Last updated 05:18, Friday, 28 November 2008

This is the time publishers launch wine books in the hope of maximising sales before Christmas.

The 2008 crop includes Malcolm Gluck’s The Great Wine Swindle, published by Gibson Square at £14.99.

Gluck was the champion of supermarket wine through his Guardian column and Superplonk guides.

Now he’s turned against them, lambasting their marketing techniques and uninspiring buying policies.

The book is an entertaining rant. Targets are as diverse as corks, awards, wine writers, even celebrity chefs.

Gluck makes serious points though, including a persuasive case debunking the French concept of “terroir”.

This is a thought-provoking read for enthusiasts but, to plagiarise the PM, no book for a novice – it might put you off wine for good.

Carlisle’s own wine guru, Jancis Robinson, has brought out How to Taste Wine, Conran Octopus, £16.99.

This is a practical manual systematically exploring grape varieties with suggestions of wines to taste and a section on food and wine combinations.

Her prose style, unlike Gluck’s, is unfussy and unpretentious, and she never talks down to the reader.

The book is full of insights. I didn’t know, for instance, that our ability to taste is at its keenest late morning.

Thoroughly recommended.