In April we always put a circle around the 23rd, as it’s World Book Day. At Coviñas there’s nothing we like more than to have a book and a glass of wine to hand when we want some downtime.
This day promotes reading, and also celebrates publishing trade and author copyright. Although Unesco confirmed the date as International Book Day in 1995, in Spain this had been celebrated from way back. It was King Alfonso XIII himself who signed the 1926 Royal Decree that established the Spanish Book Festival. In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that it was the Spanish who put this global celebration on the map, or in the calendar.
April 23 was chosen as an appropriately symbolic date as it marks the deaths of such figures as Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Garcilaso de la Vega, William Wordsworth and Josep Pla.
April 23 also happens to be Saint George’s Day (who, as Sant Jordi, is also the patron saint of Catalonia). In honour of this, it has become a tradition to give loved ones a book on this date.
We are taking this a step further, and are going to give a book and wine (naturally) to friends, family, or ourselves. So, we’re recommending two different types of book today: some educational ones, full of great wine-related information, and novels in which wine looms large. Here goes!
EDUtainment Books:
– ATLAS MUNDIAL DEL VINO (THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE)
This is a favourite bedside book for wine trade professionals. There have been seven further editions since it was first published in 1971. It’s a genuine masterpiece that takes us into just about every nook and cranny of the wine-producing world. Climate change, advances in winemaking techniques, fashions and fads, new wine regions …, all are addressed in the latest edition of this book. Every true wine lover ought to have this in their library. For the perfect gift, give someone a copy of this atlas and bottle of Enterizo Gran Reserva.
– WINE: IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
If the world of wine seems daunting, this is the book for you. Learning about wine can be fun, a lot of fun, as you’ll see when you read it. Find out the best wine for a Saturday lunch or a Sunday dinner, learn whether to put your wine in the fridge or not, and whether it needs opening a few hours before drinking … This is the book for those who have been umming and ahing about wine. Enjoy soaking up the book’s advice along with a nice drop of Aula Verdejo.
– LA CATA DE VINOS (WINETASTING)
This book takes us deeper into the culture of wine: from basic tasting techniques to the mysteries of serving wine and what food to match it with, while dipping into grape varieties, winemaking or the emaning of protected designations of origin. All this is communicated in a simple, practical and enjoyable way. The book guides the reader properly into the culture of wine. This is a book for reading with relish, just as we would roll an Al Vent Sauvignon Blanc around our tongue.
Novels and fun reads:
-EL SILENCIO DE LAS VIÑAS (THE SILENCE OF THE VINES)
This fascinating story takes place among the vineyards of the Penedès, set against the thrilling backdrop of the story of Cava and how it’s made. So, we learn about the phylloxera plague that devastated the vineyards of Europe, and the story behind the emergence of the powerful families who would come to dominate this market, the battles over production levels and the price paid for grapes and … a mysterious accident (or was it?). Best enjoyed with our own Cava, Enterizo Brut Nature.
– Y ELLOS SE FUERON (AND THEY WENT AWAY)
This novel tells the story of an Andalusian family that is driven by the phylloxera plague to emigrate to Mendoza (Argentina) which is experiencing a winegrowing boom. Love, passion, disappointments are all interweaved in a deft plot in which the vineyard plays a key role in the lives of the protagonists. We read it in one go while refilling our glass of Aula Crianza.
– LA CATA (TASTE)
This short story is already a classic. It grabs the reader from beginning to end and has wonderful illustrations. It can be read in one fell swoop (in about the time it takes us to drink a couple of glasses of Adnos). Written by Roald Dahl (of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” fame).
– LOS IGNORANTES (THE INITIATES)
We love this graphic novel, a must-read for lovers of comics and wine.
It’s an exciting novel that really brings to passionate life the world of vineyards and wine, in which a writer of comics who knows nothing about the world of wine and a winegrower who has hardly turned a single page of a comic match each other perfectly. Like this book and our Veterum Vitium.
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