Mastering Wine: A Learner's Manual [Paperback]

Tom Maresca (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 1994

This completely new and updated edition of the 1985 classic "Mastering Wine," winner of the Cliquot Prize for best wine book of the year, provides a complete course in tasting and understanding the virtues and flaws of wine of all kinds -- in your home and without bankrupting you. Tom Maresca's ingenious do-it-yourself guide to mastering wine is based on comparing two wines at a time; his one unyielding rule is that there is no wrong answer to the question 'Which wine did you like better?' Each pair leads you to the next, and your own taste charts the course. You may proceed through the carefully planned sequence of over 40 different pairs of reds, whites, roses, and sparkling wines, or follow the directions to the wines of a particular region or a particular class, such as Cabernets.

Whichever route you opt for, "Mastering Wine" can provide you with an acquaintance with the major kinds and classes of dry dinner wines, a painless introduction to wine terms, and practice in the art of tasting and analyzing wine -- of any kind. Anyone who would like an introduction to wine or a wider appreciation of the infinite variety of wines will find "Mastering Wine" the only practical, enjoyable, and affordable choice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fine points of wine tasting remain a mystery to the majority of Americans. Here, the author's goal is to enhance enjoyment of wine drinking, and the method he advocates is comparison tasting. Maresca opens with an overview of tasting techniques and wine jargon, and reviews the various taste sensations and flavors on which readers should focus to develop their palates. One must be motivated to progress through the tastings described39 comparisons are set forth, covering 78 wines. Yet readers' work will be rewarded with a good working knowledge of the wines of the world as a basis for further reading and tasting. The author's style is pleasing, but he sometimes overplays his empathy with the neophyte. The wines reviewed are generally available across the country. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This is a do-it-yourself course on wine tasting, aimed at the novice. Maresca's premise is that one learns best by doing; 39 pairs of wines (specified by label and vintage) are offered for tasting and comparison. These tastings are the basis for a discussion of wine types, styles, and terminology. While Maresca's book is not intended as a comprehensive guide, occasional notes add technical background. The tone is informal; readers are instructed to trust their own tastes. Maresca has tried to select wines that are well distributed, but some readers will probably have trouble obtaining them. This may limit the utility of an otherwise novel and informative approach to the subject. Recommended. Bruce Hulse, Columbia Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; Rev Upd Su edition (January 14, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802132987
• ISBN-13: 978-0802132987
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,839,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Maresca has been writing about wine for 30 years. He is the author of two wine books, Mastering Wine (which won the first-ever Clicquot Prize for Wine Book of the Year) and The Right Wine. He is currently a frequent contributor to Decanter and Quarterly Review of Wine. He is also the co-author, with his wife, Diane Darrow, of two books on Italian food, wine, and dining: La Tavola Italiana and The Seasons of the Italian Kitchen. Now retired, he was a professor of English at Stony Brook University and has published four books on academic subjects. Visit his blog at http://ubriaco.wordpress.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Matering Wine, November 23, 1999

By 

The Wine Dictator - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Wine: A Learner's Manual (Paperback)

Tom Maresca is a wine writer who generally shys away from going over the top with wine snobbery, and as a result his magazine and newspaper columns are easy, enjoyable, and worthwhile reading. He has very good wine knowledge and could easily speak to the geeks about the terroir of different areas of Bordeaux, but he's just as comfortable coming down off the high horse and addressing the rest of us when we can't decide between a rose from Mateus or Almaden.

Thankfully, Mr. Maresca wrote a wonderful reference back in 1985, that has since been updated. Mastering Wine is broken down into three parts: the first 25 pages deal with the essentials of learning how to taste and properly enjoy wine. The huge second section of the book is nothing but wine flights; that is, two wines paired against each other and compared. The final appendix is a very descriptive chapter on how to read wine labels, broken down by wine region. Overall, I think that this is one of the very first books a wine novice should purchase, for several reasons.

First, it's well written and easy to understand. Secondly, The Dic firmly believes that wine flights are the best way to educate a person's palate, and this book makes it very easy to do the flights on your own, in your home, or with friends. Most of the wines are fairly well known and can be purchased just about anywhere, and are not necessarily expensive (in fact, most of the flights consist of wines under $15).

Learning how to taste wine---which really is training your nose and palate to appreciate the subtle, beautiful nuances of fine wine---can be extremely difficult, especially when you don't have a decent tutor to teach you what to look for. Since we can't all afford to have The Dic make house calls, I highly recommend this book as the next best thing. Consider a self-help book for wine.

The Wine Dictator.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners on up, June 5, 2002

By 

Kathleen S. Leahey (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Wine: A Learner's Manual (Paperback)

This book is especially geared to help people developing their palatte in pursuit of greater enjoyment and comfort with wine. It's not full of jargon and it's very user friendly. It breaks down the tasting process in different tasting sessions in a hands-on format. One is meant to drink the described wines while using the book. The tastings start at simple and obvious differences between wines and gradually get more advanced and nuanced. My only complaint is that this 1992 edition bases its tastings on wines which are not always easily available anymore.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing side-by-side wine comparisons, April 17, 2011

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Wine: A Learner's Manual (Paperback)

Fun! Indeed, the book begins with the author's statement that (Page 3): "This is a do-it-yourself wine book--a teach yourself project. The first premise is that wine is fun." The book is based on comparisons between two wines--and this is done 39 times, featuring reds and whites and roses and sparkling drinks. The first section focuses on getting introduced to wine (such as what one needs to do the comparisons).

Some of the comparisons are kind of interesting to me, since I have tasted at least one of the wines. For instance, Jadot Beaujolais (1990) and Sutter Home California Zinfandel (1989). I really enjoy the Beaujolais and find the comparison as described in the book intriguing. Or Mouton Cadet (1988) versus Beaulieu Vineyard Beautour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (1989). On occasion (more so in the past than now), I enjoyed Mouton Cadet (also selected by George in an episode of "Seinfeld").

Whites? One comparison of interest to me: Trimbach Alsace Riesling (1988) and Trefethen Napa Valley White Riesling (1989). I have enjoyed the Trimbach greatly, so the comparison meant something to me. Sparkling wines? Freixnet versus Korbel? I've had both and don't really enjoy either. On the other hand, another comparison features Veuve Clicquot Brut, versions of which I have enjoyed greatly.

All in all, lots of fun reading this book. And the suggestions for tasting are entertaining.