Customer Reviews

Italian Wine for Dummies

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Italian wine was for many years seldom more than pretty good--and then something wonderful happened: the global economy. All of a sudden winemakers everywhere were competing for customers everywhere, and for most of them that meant they had to improve quality, and fast. Italian winemakers responded and successfully to the challenge. They now produce some of the most esteems top-of-the-line wines in the world as well as an increasing nmber of wines that are real bargains (that is, you get <more> than you pay for). But too many wine writers have failed to keep up with this ar-reaching change, have failed to expand their horizons beyond France.

Not <these> writers. Authors of "dummies" wine books since "Wine for Dummies" in 1995, they have closely followed Italy's quality revolution, and so can point you to a world of pleasure you might otherwise miss.

After saying that much I'm in danger of repeating what I wrote in my review of the authors'"FRENCH Wine for Dummies," published
simultaneously, so you should scamper right over to my review of that book for more details. Then you'll have the complete rundown on both.

One thing I should add: these books aren't really for dummies. I keep them at hand and I know several other pros who do too.

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Bill Marsano is a contributing editor of Hemispheres, United Airlines' in-flight magazine, for which he frequently writes on wine and spirits. One of his Hemisphere articles won a James Beard medal in 1999.

This is a most appropriate way to begin the study of Italian wine - the theoretical part, that is. The book is concise yet clear and understandable, despite a substantial amount of new terminology. I use it also as a reference for choosing new Italian wines, when in a wine store. Must say though, that in these circumstances (in a store with people around me) the word DUMMIES, in big friendly letters on the book cover, is a disatvantage.

A wonderful text covering Italian wine in an easy to read format. You may browse through the noted sections and glance over the meat if you want a cursory education on Italian wine. There are very few in depth texts on Italian wine, mainly due to the convoluted DOC system and the overabundance of native grape varieties and grape psuedonyms. The authors give a valiant effort that is worthy of a read.

Pros: great knowledge, easy to follow
Cons: difficult Italian systems, poor maps

This book helps you select wisely amoung the countless wineries and labels of the delicious wine you will taste in Italy. The book makes it easy to understand which wine taste great in the separate regions, without having to know any of the stuck-up jargon wine experts blab to sound impressive. More importantly the book does not recommend the expensive wine to be best for your palate. You will find the bottles that taste like $50, but are less than $20.

If you are a wine-snob wanna-be, this is the perfect book to start your journey with. Written in an easy to understand language, a non-pretentious approach to a quite challenging topic. Becoming a wine connoisseur can be a very ambitious thing to do, but this book definitely puts things in perspective as far as Italian wines go.
I really enjoy reading it before opening up a bottle of a wine that I'm trying for the first time. Also a nice reference if you plan on starting a fun little wine club with your friends.
If you're interested in knowing more about wine in general, I would also like to recommend the Wine for Dummies which is an extremely good value for the information that is presented.

Although I loved this author team on past "Dummies" wine books, this one was a bit tedious. In the authors' defense, Italian wine is a complex and pervasive topic. The book covered every wine region and wine style in Italy and is not a book to curl up with, but rather one to utilize as a reference guide. It would be an essential piece of travel gear if one were going to Italy.

The book is long enough to find out if you will like the rest of the real book, but too short to require payment. This mini book is just a few chapters of the real book and it should be a free sample. The book seems to cover the basics well enough, but certainly has very little depth. Maybe that is why it is for dummies. Also the book seems to display a lot of lists of vintners with no commentary. If you take out the lists you really don't have much book.

This book might have been read once, slightly. Beautiful condition and less than half price even including shipping. It's smart shopping!

I am marrying into a family that appreciates wine for more than just "something as another alternative at dinner" and this book was a nice starter for me. I feel adequate knowing at least my hand from my foot now. This series is helpful overall and very thorough and this book is no different. For someone really knew nothing except the color before this was a helpful book.