Home Winemaking Chem 101 [Paperback]

Curtis W. Irion (Author), Curtis Irion (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2000

Home Winemaking is quickly becoming a popular hobby to the wine enthusiast. With a simplified bit of fundamental chemical principles one can expect to consistently produce sound, tasty wines at home. You don't have to be a scientist to appreciate what happens as grapes turn into wine but a little chemistry knowledge can go a long way to make you appreciate the wines you make and may even impress your friends.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Curtis W. Irion, Ph.D has been an educator in biology and chemistry for twenty seven years. His interests include running, gardening, and home winemaking. His special interest in making biochemical research easy to understand to the nonscientist is a basis for this book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris (August 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738828122
• ISBN-13: 978-0738828121
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,742,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great information, but rough around the edges., January 20, 2003

By 

Jesse Williamson (Medford, Oregon, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Winemaking Chem 101 (Paperback)

I really did enjoy reading this book, and I commend it very much because it did accomplish its mission: I learned a great deal about wine, and got a glimpse of the complex chemistry behind it. On that level, this is a great success for the layman-- if you took some college biology or had chemistry in high school, there's a very good chance that you'll find this text perfectly approachable. If you didn't pay enough attention, there's a section in the beginning that will help you out... sort of. There begins the trouble.

There were a few problems I had with this book, and the most notable was that the editing was very problematic; examples included misspellings, very awkward language, and most troubling many leaps without solid explanation. The author often contientiously discussed such passings, explaining that the chemistry involved was complicated, but at many junctures the leaps simply happened.

This is a book that also seems to have difficulty determining it's audience at times. For example, there's "ye old lecture on atomic structure", but no guide to reading chemical formulae. A reader capable of reading the notation probably doesn't need a reminder about the difference between protons and neutrons. A reader requiring such probably isn't going to be ready to understand more complicated reactions.

I am in the end happy that I bought this book, and really do want to stress that. I also think that there's a better book somewhere inside of this one, and that's the one that you should purchase unless you don't mind a rough sort of text.