Wine For Dummies Author: McCarthy | Language: English | ISBN:
1118288726 | Format: EPUB
Wine For Dummies Description
From the Back Cover
The fast and easy way to demystify and enjoy wine
Wine enthusiasts and novices, raise your glasses! The #1 wine book has been updated! If you're a connoisseur, Wine For Dummies will get you up to speed on what's "in" and help you take your hobby to the next level. If you're a newbie, it'll clue you in on what you've been missing and show you how to get started in the wonderful world of wine.
- Wine 101 — discover which grapes are used in winemaking, the basic types of wine, how wines are named, and how to properly taste wine
- Pour your heart out — find out how to shop for wine, decode restaurant wine lists, remove those stubborn corks, and pair wine with food
- Visit the old world — take a tour of the major wine regions of Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, and Greece
- Get in with the new — adventure to Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa, and then take a look at the major wine areas in the United States
- Catch the wine bug —get the lowdown on how to describe and rate wines, store wine properly, and pursue your love of wine
Open the book and find:
- How to decipher cryptic wine labels
- Hands-on info on how to pair wine with food
- How to open, aerate, and store wine
- Where to get deals on great wines
- Tips on choosing wines that please your palate
- How to taste and rate wine like a pro
- Plain-English explanations of wine terms
Learn to:
- Understand grape varieties and wine styles
- Decipher wine lists and wine labels
- Appreciate wines from around the world
- Select, store, open, pour, and enjoy wine
About the Author
Ed McCarthy, CWE, is a regular contributor to WineReviewOnline.com and Beverage Media.Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, is president of the International Wine Center in New York. Together, they are the authors of many For Dummies wine guides, including Italian Wine For Dummies.
- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: For Dummies; 5 edition (August 31, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1118288726
- ISBN-13: 978-1118288726
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Overall this is a good book, worthy of a four star review. The reason for my two star review is because of Chapter 7, Confronting a Restaurant Wine List. This is the one chapter that obviously is written by people who don't have experience in the area they are talking about and didn't bother to consult with people who do before making some bold assumptions. This chapter is full of misinformation, negative assumptions, and directions on how to conduct yourself in a restaurant that if followed, make for a less enjoyable dining experience. In short, this chapter tells you to be infuriated by a lot of things that are just standard restaurant protocol.
I have worked in fine dining restaurants as a server and captain for many years. Ordering wine at a restaurant and talking shop with the server or sommelier once you have some wine knowledge is a fun part of the experience for all who are involved. It is a shame that this book has the potential to ruin that for its readers by putting a negative spin on a lot of things that are just normal happenings with restaurant wine lists and dinner service. So I'm going to quickly address some of the points:
1. It starts by saying that it is infuriating that wine lists sometimes only tell you the name and price and that sometimes they won't have the wine you ordered in stock that night. Well, if a wine list with 500 bottles had an extra two lines describing each bottle, the list would be so overwhelming and take forever to get through. You could have 50 Cabernets in a row that all say "Notes of chocolate, leather, cassis and tannins". You're going to judge the wine by the familiarity with the producer, vintage, region and questions you ask your server.
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