Customer Reviews

Wine Secrets: Advice from Winemakers, Sommeliers & Connoisseurs

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

 

 

Most wine books are terribly written. There's a reason for that. We have too many wines and too few adequate concepts to communicate exactly what to expect from them -- something impossibly complicated by the fact that each and every food will alter the experience of the wine it's paired with.

The state of wine knowledge is especially difficult for the waiter. His job is to communicate clearly and quickly, to summarize, clearly explain and help the guest make the right decision. Yet those who make explaining wine their business are, perhaps by nature, attracted to endless detail, fascinated by the differences in terroir yielded by south facing limestone slopes versus north facing limestone slopes. Even if I shared their interest, as a waiter I don't have time for it.

Enter Wine Secrets. Marnie Old has assembled winemakers, chefs and sommeliers to tackle all the important issues. More importantly, she's has edited them into precision and focus. She's given me concise ways to describe almost every issue that will come up at the table in a way that illumines rather than obfuscates. Every waiter should have this book.

Guests too.

For the past ten years, I have gradually come to appreciate a good glass of wine, but recently came to the realization that I had actually LEARNED very little. I could discern some obvious points about dryness and such, but I had absolutely no grasp of the basics of wine tasting and varietals.

What I was looking for, essentially, was a compact yet in-depth, accessible yet technical review of wine in general. Something that would cover the basics of tasting, region, production, etc. There are certainly a lot of options out there (including some 400- and 500-page textbook-like behemoths), but Wine Secrets fit the bill above and beyond anything else. The book is a portable hardcover gem that provides the perfect level of detail for any newcomer or lazy novice (like myself.) If you feel at all intimidated by some of the more expansive standards like Zraly and Parker, this book is your launching point.

This book is so informative and easy to understand. It is probably the best wine book I've read. Thank you!!

Purchased this as a Chistmas present. Cannot review contents, but this book dealer was on the fast track for delivery.