Customer Reviews

The Wine Avenger

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book! It's a well-organized quick and fun read which I've returned to many times when selecting the small number of wines (typically 10 or less) we keep on hand in our home. While Willie's writing is laugh-out-loud funny, he really does give clear and useful advice, and I feel like we haven't made a bad selection since stumbling onto his book. My favorite advice of his is this about merlot: "Get a life!" I recommend this book to everyone I know who enjoys wine. You won't regret buying it.

A well written intro to wine that you can breeze through in a couple of hours. Gluckstern is very opinionated, to say the least! His basic philosophy on wine seems to be summed up as 1) it should go well with food 2) Instead of paying through the nose and drinking heavily oaked wines, save money and eat the oak chips directly. While this book hardly makes me an expert, it did give me a basic idea of what to look for when choosing a wine for food, and how to ignore all the hype surrounding wine. A superb book...

If you buy one book about wine, this should probably be it. It will open your eyes. Gluckstern cuts through all the nonsense that has congealed around wine, and explains what's really going on. It's also a very amusing book.

Among the jungle of wine books available, Gluckstern's stands alone. In a clear, trusting and friendly tone, he demystifies wine, debunks many myths about it, and provides the confidence and know-how to go out and explore wine on your own.

After reading this, you'll rarely get taken again by paid-off, know-nothing wine shop sales clerks, and you'll be able to navigate smoothly around restaurant wine lists. This book is long overdue and Gluckstern deserves some sort of public service award.

An enjoyable read and what seems like good advice-- a rare combination. I'm not exactly a wine idiot, more like a wine apprentice. Living in Europe these past five years has given me a pretty clear sense of what I do and don't know.

Gluckstern's book goes a long way toward filling in some of my more obvious gaps, and a really liked his ascerbic (even occasionally cranky) way of giving his views. He covers topics such as Quality, Oak (the MSG of wine), the different kinds of grapes, wine housekeeping tips, wine in restaurants and wines suggested to go with food.

A good gift for yourself or others.

Every time I go to a fine restaurant and see the wine list, I get the feeling that I get when I'm in an interview and have just been asked a question that I prayed they wouldn't ask. It's worse when there are a lot of people at dinner and the waiter asks you with a stoic expression, "and what will you drink, sir?" Sweat trickles down my forehead and after an interminable length of time (i.e. three seconds) I say, "Uh... water's fine for me."

If this is you, Gluckstern's book is a great way to learn about wine. Truly, there are so many wine books out there that are bigger than dictionaries and so generous with metaphors that even when you finish reading, you have no idea what you've just read.

But this book is different. Informative, funny, incisive, this is a great introduction. And a very logical book too, with a very practical and no-nonsense approach to wine (and food). And there are moments in the book when I literally burst out laughing.

I've learned a lot from just these few pages, and needless to say, now when I'm in a restaurant, I can fortunately tell the difference between a chianti and a pinot grigio.

This book is a great deal of fun to read, and provides a great deal of info for the wine novice. If you've ever stared blankly at a restaurant wine list, then this is the book for you!

This little book is a gem and a real bargain. In a small space it manages to cover the whole gamut of the wine world including European wines. It also cuts through the jargan and delivers what you really need to know in a straightforward and very witty manner.

I own a number of books on wine and if I had to choose between this book and keeping all of the other ones, I would keep this ONE book! It's really that good. It has saved me money in terms of buying good inexpesive wines, increased my enjoyment of wine with food by learning how to pair food and wine correctly. It also gave me the knowledge I needed to discuss wine intelligently with anyone.

This author is NOT out to be politically correct or to make friends in the wine industry. I think the same is true of the restuarant industry because he is very blunt in his criticisms, particularly of over-priced restaurant wine. His use of words along these lines accounts for much of the humor in his writing.

If you know of anyone who has wine as a hobby they will enjoy reading this. If you are intimidated by the world of wine, you wouldn't be after you finish this book. It will also save you money and open up new worlds in terms of differnt types of wine from all over the world.

Finally someone who is not afraid to spill the beans on mediocre wine & champagne producers around the world. If everyone read this book, we would never have to suffer through a poor wine list selection again. He gives much-needed praise to cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc, and clears up the mystery behind German/Austrian wines and all of those champagne and champagne-like choices. A must read.

After reading this book, my friends were amazed at how well I was able to choose a wine at dinner. The Wine Avenger taught me everything I needed to know, and it's hysterical to read!