His latest Wine Atlas of Australia and NZ is James Halliday’s Magnum Opus. It’s an extraordinary work to which I find myself referring almost daily. Australian wine is presented state, by state, region by region in a bright and sumptuous format packed with pithy information on hundreds of wineries. The colourful layout makes great use of excellent photography, ensuring that to browse through the book is an interesting and stimulating experience. Readers get the full benefit of Halliday’s fondness for detail, while his informative introductions to the various states and their regions are enhanced with fascinating breakaway stories on themes closely linked to the various regions and their leading personalities. This book is so far ahead of any competition in Australia that I can only feel sympathy for anyone who thinks they could do it better. It’s worth every cent on its Australian content alone. That it provides such detail and comprehensive coverage of much of New Zealand’s rapidly expanding wine industry is simply a bonus which every reader should appreciate. James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia and NZ is a large-format hard cover book which is presented in a hard-wearing case. It is published by Harper Collins and retails for $89.95. It is a must have for anyone who gets serious pleasure from Australian and New Zealand wine.
