From the flood of wine books, another discovery is to be reported: The basic work on the harmony of food and German wines, the 830-page volume "Bonnefoit Deutschland" by Guy Bonnefoit, published in 2007, has been given an extremely practical little brother: The "jacket edition" has compressed the aromatic and oenological information into 130 pages - and, due to its size and weight, also "adorns", as Bonnefoit explicitly notes, "at least as well a lady's handbag".
The aroma atlas by the renowned sommelier, wine and gastronomy expert, which is unique in wine literature, meticulously lists which grape varieties grow in the German regions, districts and sites, and which aromas can reveal themselves to the beginner as well as the advanced wine lover, if only he is willing to trust his nose, his imagination and his memory.
Around 8000 food recommendations offer not only kitchen amateurs but also many practitioners of sophisticated cuisine valuable suggestions for optimal combinations of dishes and wines. This first volume, into which the results of countless hours of tasting and years of notes must have flowed with an incredible 10,094 wines tasted, was followed in 2008 by the volume on France - even more wines, aromatic descriptions and food recommendations: Not surprising given the diversity of grape varieties and great sites in this traditional wine nation.
But the volume is also problematic: a basic work that is not only intended for occasional browsing and specific reference at home, but also as a vade mecum for shopping and visiting the vintner, is too heavy for this at just under two kilos and too large in its dimensions.
Now the Kornmayer publishing house has found a remedy and listened to the Bonnefoit fans: with the "Jacket Edition", Guy Bonnefoit has actually succeeded in creating an "abridged version" of the aroma and taste encyclopaedia as a wine-sensory reference work for on the go. In this - it has to be said - overdue breviary, after introductory information on the optimal tasting of the purchased wines and their "marriage" with the aromatically matching dishes, the most important grape varieties grown in Germany are presented in an extensive chapter with their essential aromas and possible menu suggestions. In the following chapter, "The Wine Regions of Germany", one can then look up which grape varieties are typical for which growing regions - and how much the aroma spectrum of the same variety differs depending on the type of vinification and region and can therefore go with very different dishes.
The compact booklet allows you to taste with one hand and read with the other about the aromatic information you can get from the glass. Reasons enough to stow the "little" Bonnefoit, if not in the ladies' handbag, then in the glove compartment or backpack for the next wine tour.
Guy Bonnefoit: Bonnefoit Germany. Jacket Edition. Kornmayer-Verlag: Rödermark, 2009. ISBN 978-3-938173-75-6. 130 pages, 14 maps. Format: 19 x 9 cm, softcover. 14,00 Euro.