This book is a review by people who know the wine, the history and what the wine should be from year to year. It provides a great perspective on the state of Italian wine and it's place in the industry.

I see the validity of the points of the other reviewer here, but I'll be frank, this book is just not set up well and nor does it have any type of approachability for even the wine professional. If you're looking for any kind of a casual book, this is NOT it. You will have to wade through literally hundreds of pages and indexing (in a horribly small print) to find anything you are looking for or will find useful.

See my FULL review for the 2006 edition of this book if you'd like more examples. I've used both it and the 2008 for very specific things. But in general, I'll never purchase another from this series and will probably have very little reason to use either of them again. They are just not easy to use or approachable.

The eleventh edition of Italian Wines 2008 is a translation of the 21st edition of the Italian version. It is the world's most complete guide to Italian wines. Over 16,000 wines are reviewed, selected by more than 120 tasters.

Wines are rated from one to three bicchieri ("glasses"); a Tre Bicchiere ("three glasses") award is high praise indeed. The book contains an enormous amount of information about each of the producers covered as well as useful appendices about past award winners and how they have aged, the best producers, and increasingly information about wineries that are sensitive to the environment or that seek to use natural or biodynamic methods in producing wine.

The Italian version was a great success from the very first edition. Much of that success came from the close relationship with the Slow Food movement, which is one of the publishers of the series. (The Pleasures of Slow Food: Celebrating Authentic Traditions, Flavors, and Recipes by Eric Schlosser, Corby Kummer, and Susie Cushner is an excellent introduction to the movement.)

A couple of years ago, Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement, announced that he felt this annual guide had become too commercial and he wanted to replace it with a more wholesome guide in line with the principles on which Slow Food is based. Certainly many of Slow Food's other books have a much more purist focus than the Gambero Rosso wine guide. However, the guides are proven money makers, and the series still continues, despite hot debates about the future. One straw in the wind; the sensitivity to environmental issues has increased in each of the past three issues.

Economics and politics play a major part in the ratings. Wines are rated in "peer groups" so that a Tre Bicchiere from one group might be a much better wine than a Tre Bicchiere from another group. Many readers hate the peer group approach, feel the three glass system lacks the sensitivity of Parker's 100 point system, and bemoan the politics inherent in the awards. (This is Italy after all and the publishers make no apologies for political decisions.)

Whatever the weaknesses in this series, anyone seriously interested in Italian wine simply has to buy each of these volumes. Over time they become an enormous reservoir of information. The more casual wine lover probably should find a simpler, more direct approach to learning about Italian wines. A couple of suggestions might include Vino Italiano Buying Guide - Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Quick Reference to the Great Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich or the even more general guide by Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2008: 31st Edition.