Customer Reviews

The Wine Guy: Everything You Want to Know about Buying and Enjoying Wine from Someone Who Sells It

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Andy is a former executive who followed his dream of opening the type of wine shop, in New York City, that he HIMSELF always wanted to visit, but could seldom find. He has written this book in a very readable, accessible style. He speaks to you as if you were his client who might come in to his store to ask his advice, time after time, on what wine to buy for your various different needs, over time.

There was one really important thing I learned from this book, which was not covered in either my internet wine course, or in another excellent book I had purchased. That was wine BODY. In my wine-tasting group, we had been noticing the different percentages of alcohol marked on different bottles. But we didn't really know what that meant.

Andy explains that the very first thing you should consider in choosing a wine--even before taste--is body. Body refers to the weight of a wine. Wines can be light, medium, or full-bodied. Andy says the old rules about white wine with fish, and red wine with meat, have completely fallen by the wayside. The new rules say that warmer days, or more delicate foods, require lighter, more delicate wines. Colder days, or richer, bigger fare necessitate heartier wines. The degree of alcohol in a wine is an indication of whether it will be light, medium, or full-bodied. Generally light-bodied wines range from 7 to 10.5 percent alcohol; medium wines range from 10.5 to13 percent; and full-bodied wines are over 13 percent. I had never looked at wine this way, and found it an extremely helpful tool to use when selecting wine in a store.

One of the things I liked most in this book are Andy's suggestions for "educating your palate," or learning about the different grape varieties through a series of specific tastings. He talks about eight grape varieties that he calls "the everydays." He explains that once you know what these eight varieties taste like, and once you know among those which you like, and don't like, how you can make intelligent decisions about most wines on the shelf. He suggests which categories of wines to taste together (usually an Old World and a New World wine in a single grape variety, compared against a third wine, which is a contrasting type of taste, so that you can see the difference). For each grape variety, he gives a good description of what the grape is supposed to taste like, how the grape taste differs in Old and New World regions, and what foods he recommends pairing it with.

He then has another section discussing the lesser-known grape varieties. He also explains what each variety tastes like, and tells you who would like it. This is based upon you having discovered which of the eight varieties you like, to which he compares the new varieties. For example, he says if you enjoy Chardonnay, you might also like Viognier, or Gewurztraminer. He finishes with making two small, nifty charts, which could be easily photocopied and taken to the wine store. The first chart lists the "everyday eight" grapes across the top. Down the side are the other 16 grape varieties which are less common. You are to choose on top which varieties you like, and look for dots in the column below, which indicate which other wines you might therefore like. What a tool! The next chart (also on a single page) lists the 24 grape varieties discussed in the book (the "everyday eight" + the other 16) across the top of the page. Down the side are all the most common flavor descriptors (57), in alphabetical order. Under each wine, dots appear under the name of the descriptors that are supposed to describe each type of grape. Again, what a great tool! I know my wine-tasting group is going to really appreciate these charts, too.

I am so delighted Andy wrote this book and that I found it at Amazon. I live in Morocco. When you walk in to buy wine, help is absolutely non-existent. Now this won't be a problem for me anymore, as I will be able to make intelligent decisions myself. I have learned so much form this book. I literally could not put it down, and read it cover-to-cover (180 pages) in a single day. Andy's writing style is a pleasure to read, and he includes many clever anecdotes. He talks about his brother-in-law in California, who goes out to dinner, and phones him in New York to discuss the restaurant's wine list! He also uses many clever wordings throughout the book which even had me laughing out loud while reading. I especially enjoyed an anecdote he included about a philosophy class, which ends with a punch line about wine.

I plan to follow every one of Andy's wine-tasting suggestions. I would very much like to thank Andy for writing this book. It distills all of his hard-earned knowledge into an easy, useable, readable format, that can be referred to again and again.

The Wine Guy has changed my life. Or perhaps I should say enhanced my life. For years I've enjoyed drinking my nightly glass or two of inexpensive Cabernet or Chardonnay. My repertoire was limited by my lack of knowledge. Then The Wine Guy came into my life and a new world opened up. The authors, Andy Besch and Ellen Kaye, encouraged me to try different wines and to trust my own taste. I now understand that swirling, smelling, and tasting, instead of simply being pretentious, are practical testing methods. Then there's what wines go with what food? What wines come from which country? This all-encompassing book, written in a fun, easy-to-digest and remember style, has prompted me to adventure into trying wines I've never heard of-Tempranillo, Riesling, Sangiovese, and so on. Only one problem: Chances are, my $2-a-bottle case of Cabernet that's been sitting in the garage for months will sit opened forever.

Many of the wine books one may acquire (usually as gifts from well-meaning friends) are likely to be heavily dressed up coffee table editions that tend to remain corked through the years. Andy Besch and Ellen Kaye's The Wine Guy takes a refreshing and highly readable approach to the selecting and tasting process, imparting a great deal of the wisdom along with the knowledge. Even if you're the type who reads a wine list from right to left, you'll find that your options for enjoying wine will expand with the priceless insights offered here. Sante!

Andy Besch has removed the mystery that keeps so many from venturing forth into the fun adventure of enjoying good wine. This one volume is really all you need to get started. I only wish Andy had been open in Manhattan when I lived there!

Easy to understand and thorough. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak, after reading the book, and he's truly a people person and makes wine education understandable to all.

If you like wine, want to learn good ways to tell the differences between all those grape varieties, or maybe even want to know which wines to pair with which foods, then you might want to check out The Wine Guy : Everything You Want to Know about Buying and Enjoying Wine from Someone Who Sells It, by Andy Besch.

Andy, a former television executive, turned his love of wine into a very successful Manhattan wine store called West Side Wine. In The Wine Guy, he condenses his passion, knowledge, and love of wines into a very readable and useful book. You will learn not only about the different grapes, the different wine regions, and how to taste the wines, but you will also gain the confidence and knowledge you need to buy the wines you like, pair wines with foods, and try new wines you might enjoy. In a sense, this book trains you to be your own Wine Guy.

In addition, the book contains handy charts and tables so that you can learn to decipher wine bottle labels, pick wines according to desired flavors, decide which lesser-known wines to try based on your current preferences, pick which wines to try based on which grape, and determine which are the primary grapes of the different geographic wine regions. Amusing stories and insightful tips---from how to buy wine in restaurants to how to calculate the number of bottles of wine you will need for a party---add to the useful tables and wine knowledge, resulting in a very enjoyable book.

Cheers!

(reviewed by Kendall Giles)