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Wine For Dummies [Paperback]

Ed McCarthy (Author), Mary Ewing-Mulligan (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews) |
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Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2006
Wine enthusiasts and novices, raise your glasses! The #1 wine book has been extensively updated! If you’re a connoisseur, Wine For Dummies, Fourth Edition will get you up to speed on what’s in and show you how to take your hobby to the next level. If you’re new to the world of wine, it will clue you in on what you’ve been missing and show you how to get started. It begins with the basic types of wine, how wines are made, and more. Then it gets down to specifics:
  • How to handle snooty wine clerks, navigate restaurant wine lists, decipher cryptic wine labels, and dislodge stubborn corks
  • How to sniff and taste wine
  • How to store and pour wine and pair it with food
  • Four white wine styles: fresh, unoaked; earthy; aromatic; rich, oaky
  • Four red wine styles: soft, fruity, and relatively light-bodied; mild-mannered, medium-bodied; spicy; powerful, full-bodied, and tannic
  • What’s happening in the “Old World” of wine, including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, and Greece
  • What’s how (and what’s not) in the New World of Wine, including Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa
  • U.S. wines from California, Oregon, Washington, and New York
  • Bubbling beauties and medieval sweets: champagne, sparkling wines, sherry, port, and other exotic dessert wines

Authors Ed McCarthy, CWE, who is a regular contributor to Wine Enthusiast and The Wine Journal and Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, who owns the International Wine Center in New York, have co-authored six wine books in the For Dummies series. In an easy-to-understand, unpretentious style that’s as refreshing as a glass of Chardonnay on a summer day, they provide practical information to help you enjoy wine, including:

  • Real Deal symbols that alert you to good wines that are low in price compared to other wines of similar type, style, or quality
  • A Vintage Wine Chart with specifics on numerous wines
  • Info on ordering wine from out of state, collecting wine, and more

Wine For Dummies, Fourth Edition is not just a great resource and reference, it’s a good read. It’s full-bodied, yet light…rich, yet crisp…robust, yet refreshing….

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Wine for Dummies, Mary Ewing-Mulligan teams up with hubby and fellow wine educator Ed McCarthy to guide us on an exhaustive, entertaining trip around the enological--that's right, enological--world. Though clearly experts themselves (Ewing-Mulligan is one of a handful of Americans holding the rare title Master of Wine), the authors assure us that even the most basic knowledge will undermine the very notion of wine pretension. It's as simple as this: "This wine is named for a grape variety. This wine is named for a geographical region. When they make this kind of wine, it goes into this kind of bottle." And so on.

By providing the context in which to begin exploring wine, Wine for Dummies can easily become the send-off for a lifelong education. McCarthy and Mulligan deflate many of the wine snob's attitudes; they assure us that most wine sold today is "good wine," and that any further distinctions made about wine are ultimately subjective. The practical, jovial mentoring the authors provide encourages readers to chart their own course toward drinking great wine (although the authors naturally recommend dozens of their own favorites along the way). In later chapters, McCarthy and Mulligan delve into more serious topics such as investing in and cellaring wine. Even these discussions seem appropriate, given that you'll probably find the allure of wine growing as its mystery subsides to the force of this superb introductory text. --Todd Gehman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“…friendly un-intimidating guide to all there is to know about wine…” (Irish News, 14th August 2004)

“…the no-nonsense guide to buying, storing serving and talking about wine…” (Choice Magazine, May 2004) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: For Dummies; 4 edition (October 9, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470045795
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470045794
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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Ed McCarthy
Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
203 of 206 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book offers an excellent introduction into wines. If you know little about wines, but want a quick, fun and easy way to learn, this book is for you. After reading this book, I was able to talk intelligently about the different varieties of wines, how wine is made and how to taste wines. This book has improved my social and professional life. At business dinners, I'm able to talk about wines and navigate through the wine list intelligently. On the social front, I recently held an amatuer wine tasting at my house and it was big success. One chapter in the book explains all the attributes and nuances you could sense in a wine. I organized the attributes with the descriptions in a table, with a few blank columns for wine tasting notes. My guests were entertained and educated at the same time.

The writing is clear and concise. The authors do not take a snobby attitude towards tasting; throughout the book, they emphasize that good wine is primarily determined by personal choice. They give you the tools to learn to taste and enjoy wine.

I read at an average rate. In about 2 hours, I was able to talk intelligently about the wine making process, understand how to taste wines, and navigate around wine shops. This book should be read over a period of several weeks so that you can actually practice what you've read. The only drawback with this book is that there are no colorful pictures and they weren't very explicit about which flavors to concentrate on while drinking different wine varieties.

Overall, this book is excellent for beginners. After reading the first few chapters, you'll go from beginner to an intermediate wine buff. I even purhased several of these books for my friends as Christmas gifts!

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68 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Not bad, but not great September 24, 2006
By r
Format:Paperback
This was my first book on wine. I've read numerous books on beer, so that was my background coming into the book.

There's a lot of info in the book, but I feel like there is too little practical info and too much "academic" info.

Indeed, three-forths of the book are devoted to the history and geography of wines. Don't get me wrong, this stuff is extremely important; it is the geography and the winery which makes the wine what it is. The problem is that in this regard, the book reads more like "Wine for Experts" than "Wine for Dummies".

In a book for complete novices, you would expect a table, chart, or other easy-to-read section on all of the major types of wine, broken down by various properties such as appearance, smell, taste, etc. "What's a Chardonnay? What's Pinot Noir?" But there isn't anything like that. There are a couple of pages which briefly mention three to four of the most popular varietals in both white and red, but that's it. There's a short section on how to smell/taste wine, which is good, but then you're left to page after page of French legal classification systems and all kinds of other stuff.

Again, that "stuff" is important, and I'm glad it's in there, but it's kinda difficult to get a *basic* grasp on wine by reading all of the expert material, when they never gave you a halfway decent foundation to start with (and I even speak French; if you don't, it will be an even steeper learning curve). And that is my problem with this book.

This is an okay book, but if one of my friends asked, I could not honestly recommend it to someone who knows absolutely nothing about wine. If you already have a fair amount of experience with wine, then you will be okay with this book, but if you are a complete beginner, I would recommend something more basic, because this book really isn't for "dummies" in the subject.
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86 of 93 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not an expert oeneophile (in fact, I can't even spell it), but I am an interested amateur who has read about 5 basic books on wine ranging from Parkers famous one to lesser known tomes (the Windows on the World one is good too). I think this dummies book offers the least pretentious and most concise overall guide to wine. It does cover a lot of ground which is why the same authors have separate books on white and red wines. On the bright side, you'll learn about every major grape variety and region in the wine world and how to find great bargains. I really enjoyed the tone and attitude -- the authors clearly know a lot, but make it clear that you don't have to be a wine snob to really enjoy wine.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting, but....
This is an interesting book. It contains a lot of useful information regarding wine. However, I think it contains way too much information. Read more
Published 1 month ago by seashell824
Wine for Dummies
ordered this book as prize for a wine tasting (last place). The winner thoroughly enjoyed getting the book, was well received.
Published 11 months ago by HN
Informative
I actually had a more then average knowlage about wine before I bought the book and I still learned alot.
Published 13 months ago by gary
Wines for Dummies Audio Book
Very enjoyable book. I am always looking to learn more on wines and this was just at the right level for those looking to find out more about this delightful subject.
Published 15 months ago by Mary
Wine for Dummies
I was surprised just how good `Wine for Dummies' actually was. It is completely engaging, jargon free, and eases you into all aspects of wine with minimal fuss. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Spider Monkey
Great Book
The book was in good condition, and it arrived very quickly. This book is perfect for people learning about wines, and all the "For Dummies" books are written in a very readable... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Movie Buff
Wine for dummies book
I ordered this book for my mother, she is a wine lover and she found the book helpful. the whole family likes wine and enjoys hearing about it and reading about it too. Read more
Published 16 months ago by wellwaters84
Intro to wine
The discs were a good introduction to wine. However, they didn't teach a lot about wine, but more about how to conduct yourself at wine tastings and concerning wine at restaurants. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Bruce J. Slack
Actually not all that great a book
I was truly a dummy when it came to wine at the time I read this book. Unfortunately, Wine for Dummies was not very enlightening. Read more
Published on February 22, 2010 by telmar
Great Service!
Wine for dummies is a must! And shipping was super fast! Anything you need to know when starting out with wine, is right there in the book!
Published on October 6, 2009 by Michelle L. Opsahl
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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We visit wineries all the time, and when we do, we usually end up talking with the winemaker about how he makes his wine. Read the first page
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wine bug, wine zones, major wine regions, sparkling wine producers, many red wines, wine circles, most white wines, recommended producers, grape name, generic wines, wine collectors, grape varieties, other sparkling wines, word champagne, premier crus, viticultural areas, wine terms, older wine, grape variety, base wine, geographic indication, more tannic, vintage chart, wine school, varietal wines
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Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, New York, Pinot Gris, South Africa, New World, Napa Valley, Pinot Blanc, San Francisco, Cabernet Franc, Chianti Classico, Chenin Blanc, New Zealand, European Union, Loire Valley, Rhône Valley, Côtes du Rhône, Left Bank, Pinot Grigio, Dom Pérignon, United States, Côte de Beaune, Right Bank, Russian River Valley
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