The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine [Hardcover]

Ray Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2005 | Series: Good Life Guides Series

Finally - a good book about good wines that everyone can use! More than just a comprehensive list, The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine is a primer that will give you confidence in your own taste. And it will help you describe what you like to others without the pretensions often associated with wine.

Designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know about delicious wines in a deliberately short read, the Guide will:

-- Show you how to easily negotiate any restaurant wine list.

-- Teach you how to successfully navigate even the fanciest wine list.

-- Help you create smiles at your next dinner party.

Use the included Comment Section to keep a record of your adventures, and to make reordering your favorite wines a breeze.

Whether you're a new enophile or an old pro, The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine will provide you with tasting and buying strategies to use when dining out or entertaining at home - while making you feel like an expert at both.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A slim, commonsense, pocket-sized primer for novices on the selection, purchase, and storage of wine. RECOMMENDED." -- Library Journal, December 1, 2005

"Halleluiah -- a book that makes me, a beer guy, want to tackle the world of wine!" -- Pete Slosberg, Founder of Pete s Brewing Co.

"If you want to try, buy or sigh about wine this is the book for you." -- Jill Ditmire, Food and Wine Writer, Indianapolis Star

"Johnson's cut-to-the-chase approach to wine appreciation, leavened with humor and free of pretension, is just what consumers are thirsting for." -- Jerry Shriver, USA Today. 2005

"You can learn a whole lot about wine here, and not spend your life doing it." --Fred Tasker, Wine Columnist, Miami Herald

From the Author

How do you get girls to notice you in college? Order a bottle of wine in a restaurant. It was enough to get me hooked, and after I started waiting tables it became clear that the easiest way to build my check average was to sell wine.

I went deeper into the subject, traveling to Europe and tasting regularly, and after a few years of drinking rare and expensive vintages became a wine snob. Fortunately I came back to earth while working at the Christian Brothers Winery in the Napa Valley, where thousands of visitors from around the country were as delighted with their White Zinfandel as with their critically acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon. The experience cured me of my snobbery and helped me to appreciate the pleasure that even a simple wine can give us.

In 1998 I started teaching, and discovered that in my classes and wine tastings students asked the same questions I heard so many years ago. This guide is a compilation of my answers, and will help new enophiles (wine lovers) to develop confidence in their own taste while learning where to find favorites in restaurants and shops.

Old pros will discover helpful tips on everything from serving to storing to giving the gift of wine, while cutting through the pretensions that are sometimes associated with fine vintages. Most importantly, this guide will prove to sophisticated wine lovers and newcomers alike that the keys to enjoying great wines are already in their mouths, and that wine tasting is its own reward on the path of the Good Life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: TasteWine (December 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594110816
• ISBN-13: 978-1594110818
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let the Bacchanal Begin, February 11, 2006

By 

Nicholas Bonesso "lephilistine" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine (Hardcover)

Ray Johnson's handy guide to "Enjoying Wine" is the perfect resource tool for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by having to choose a wine. In simple, useful and humorous chapters, Johnson takes his years of experience and breaks down the do's and more do's of wine appreciation. He discusses everything from retail sales, marketing a brand, restaurant lists to how to pair wine and food. This book also has worksheets that allow you to apply the knowledge you've gained along the way. A delightful read from a man who obviously knows and loves his wine.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best WIne Intro Book Ever, March 25, 2006

By 

Twig - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine (Hardcover)

There just isn't a better introductory wine book available. I imagine someone who doesn't have much experience with wine picking up this book, and immediately understanding the excitement of learning about wine, finding out what you like best and becoming a life-long wine lover! The book gives a sure formula for trying the various classes of wines to narrow down the vast number of wines available, then learning what to look for within the classes you prefer. Even though Johnson is a widely-proclaimed professional wine educator and taster, there isn't a hint of snobbery, just plain language, written with humor and appreciation. Don't get me wrong, long-time wine drinkers will love the book too!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the facts..with a bit of humor, February 22, 2006

By 

R. Trost "rich trost" (burlingame, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good Life Guide To Enjoying Wine (Hardcover)

Finally, a book that gets us out of the musty cellar and the dusty library for a bit of fresh air, sunshine and fun with wine. A great book for anyone who's tired of the "wine snobs" going on and on...and who just wants to enjoy a great glass of wine and wants to know more about what they're drinking!