The Wine Brats' Guide to Living with Wine [Paperback]

Mike Sangiacomo (Author), Jeff Bundschu (Author), Jon Sebastiani (Author), THE WINE BRATS COALITION (Author), The Wine Brats Coalition (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 1999

The Wine Brats' Guide to Living, with Wine is an irreverent guide to wine and wine culture. Not only does it help destroy the myth that wine is merely the drink of the rich and bored, but its unique step-by-step approach to becoming a wine connoisseur can turn even the greatest winephobic into a wine lover. Among its many fun and practical tips, this innovative book shows you how to build a wine cellar in your bathroom using household objects, how to decipher the various labels to choose the right wine to go with takeout pizza, and the basics of how a grape makes its way into a bottle.

From the beginner's guide to corkscrews to how to host your own wine tasting, The Wine Brats' Guide to Living, with Wine is a wine lover's guide for real people.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Get Wine Brats in your brain, and you'll cast aside those fruit-salad-style wine reviews, drive your four-wheeled wine storage facility down to the bottle barn, and find some juice that doesn't suck. You'll be moved to throw a vino soirée... even if you only own three plates that match. There you have it: Wine Brats is the first translation of a wine-lovin' guide into the Gen-X language. A collection of essays centered on the way "real people" might acquaint themselves with wine, the guide has four divisions, best described as education, celebration, vinification, and geekification. Behind the irreverent humor infusing many of the essays, the guide is replete with studiously down-to-earth advice on wine. Yes, Jack in the Box grub complements Gallo of Sonoma Cab, and it's even better if you "supersize this one by hitting the 'repeat' button on Jimmy Buffett's 'Cheeseburger in Paradise'". But just a few chapters away, a Master of Wine is further deconstructing the myths of food and wine pairings through one of the book's freshest technical passages. Wine Brats Coalition members, including the Sonoma-raised editors of this eclectic volume, make one thing clear: they're very serious about taking wine life a lot less seriously. --Todd Gehman

From Booklist

Wine renaissance is a popular term in the restaurant and beverage industries. It refers not just to increased wine consumption but also to the amount and types of wine being made and to the general public's attitude toward wine. This last area is the main concern of the Wine Brats, which was founded by three sons from different California wine families. Campaigns against wine's snobby reputation aren't new, but the Wine Brats are the first group to do so with the shtick of youthful irreverence. Still, the Wine Brats' motives are relevant and well founded. Consumers, young and old, are interested in good, low-cost wine, and the wine industry has responded with many affordable bottlings that require little or no aging. The best parts of this short-essay-oriented book deal with common questions about wine: shopping in stores, online, and from restaurant lists; enhancing yet relaxed ways to taste and pair wine with food; wine-making regions; wine grapes and names; and other publications. Dane Carr

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312204434
• ISBN-13: 978-0312204433
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,352,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning about wine CAN be fun and non-intimidating!, July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wine Brats' Guide to Living with Wine (Paperback)

Don't let the lighthearted, chatty tone of the book fool you -- this book has real, solid information. Yes, it talks about varietals, fermentation, and has some technical wine info, but it also talks about integrating wine into your lifestyle, something that many books overlook. It's written for regular people, not just for people with fat bank accounts. Wine and popcorn, pizza, Chinese take-out -- why not? It's delicious!

I loved the *practical* suggestions on how to start a wine collection -- e.g. skip buying a few lattes each week and buy a bottle of wine instead. The winemaker's diary was also a treat to read -- it made me appreciate wine a whole lot more.

The only tiny problem I had with the book -- no index! Oh well, the fresh, fun and informative content in this book more than makes up for it.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff, December 29, 2002

By 

Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wine Brats' Guide to Living with Wine (Paperback)

This book has great stuff. Ignore the fact that GenXers are the authors -- they have experience with wine and it shows (they are also excellent writers). Their material is presented in an easy-to-read non-pretentious informative manner. There are many things that are not covered in most other wine books that I have read. Not to mention that it is one of the few books that are up-to-date. Subjects are handled like large family picnics -- lots of information passed on the by-the-by and quaffed like liquid manna. Definitely a must-read for wine lovers.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for actually helping you choose wine, February 9, 2005

By 

kiwanissandy "Go Bucks!" (Heart of Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wine Brats' Guide to Living, With Wine (Paperback)

The entire book is about wine but actually nothing useful in helping you pick one. The book concentrates on details of aging, fermentation, barrel size but no actual wine suggestions. I needed help on picking a wine to serve with dinner. I don't care how large the barrels are its aged in, and it included a diary of their wine traveling adventures. What?! Who cares about 2 dudes traveling and drinking? I'll watch Bill and Ted's Adventures if I want that. There are a lot more useful books on the market than this one.