Wine Style: Using Your Senses To Explore And Enjoy Wine (Includes Pull-Out Wine Wheel) [Hardcover]

Mary Ewing-Mulligan (Author), Ed McCarthy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2005

From the bestselling authors of Wine For Dummies, a different way to choose and enjoy wine

Because the choices in a wine store or on a wine list can seem limitless or intimidating, wine drinkers often stick with what they know, such as Merlot, or go with the choice made by a wine critic or a waiter. This appealingly straightforward and unintimidating guide will help wine drinkers discover what they like and make informed choices. The authors identify 12 wine styles, or taste categories, including four for red wine and four for white wine. For each style, the authors detail how it tastes, where it comes from, grape varieties that are common for the style, and a few recommended wines. The style "Soft, Fruity Red Wines," for instance, includes U.S. Merlots, Beaujolais, Burgundies and other Pinot Noirs, and southern Italian reds, among other wines. Complete with tips on pairing wine with food and a pull-out wine wheel to help readers remember the styles, this is the refreshingly different book wine drinkers have been waiting for.

Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Master of Wine, and Ed McCarthy, Certified Wine Instructor (New York, NY), are among the best-known, most widely respected wine experts in the United States. They have appeared frequently in the media, including on television's Food Network and CNNfn, and have written seven wine books in the For Dummies series.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Have you ever felt uneasy or overwhelmed when buying or ordering wine? Do you long for a different, more personal way to choose and drink wine? If the answer to either question is "yes," then this is the book for you. It will help you discover wines you like and make informed choices by introducing you to wine styles.

With an unpretentious approach that's as inviting as a glass of a favorite wine, respected wine experts Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy identify twelve distinct wine styles, or taste categories, including four for red wine and four for white wine. The style "Soft, Fruity Reds," for example, encompasses many U.S. Merlots, most Beaujolais, many Burgundies and other Pinot Noirs, several Southern Italian reds, and similar wines. The guide details the taste profile that characterizes each style—whether a wine:

• Is light or full bodied
• Has a soft or firm texture (mouth feel)
• Has a low or high flavor intensity

You'll also find the wine regions and grape varieties that commonly fall into each style to help you narrow down your choices, as well as detailed lists featuring wines you might want to try. When you discover a wine you genuinely enjoy for a particular occasion or with certain foods, you'll want to explore other wines of that style. Best of all, you will feel free to experiment and ask specific questions of waiters, sommeliers, and wine shop experts to find the wines that you like.

Complete with suggestions for pairing wine with food and two wine wheel illustrations for easy visual reference, this practical, personal guide will help you learn how to taste and appreciate wine and make up your own mind—comfortably and confidently.

From the Back Cover

Which Wine Style Matches Your Taste?

Who knows more about great wine than you? No one—when it comes to what wines will actually be "great" to your taste. Wine labels and recommendations can help you make choices, but ultimately you are the best judge of the right wines for you.

Wine Style classifies and describes wines by different tastes, or styles—including four for red wines and four for whites—to make it easier for you to identify wines you like. You don't have to memorize the details of wine regions and grape varieties or master wine vocabulary to select a good bottle of wine—though if you want to delve that deeply, this book is a great starting place. Wine Style inspires and empowers you to explore wine with an adventurous spirit and to discover wines that you enjoy. Cheers!

"Not only do we get the usual erudition and insight on the glory and beauty of wine from Mary and Ed, but in this inspired volume we get profound expertise in everyday terms. Drinking and learning about wine is stimulating and fun. Reading Wine Style is more than mouth-watering; it gets all the senses excited."
—Charlie Trotter

"Finally, a (soon-to-be) grape-stained guide that speaks to wine lovers in their native tongue: Taste! In penning Wine Style, Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy have crafted a book for everyone —and anyone—who ever felt frustrated connecting their palate preferences to a pleasing bottle of vino."
—Joshua Wesson, Co-founder/Chairman of Best Cellars

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764544535
• ISBN-13: 978-0764544538
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Think That You Already Know About Wine, Then Read This Book!, March 29, 2010

By 

Arius325 (Great Neck, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wine Style: Using Your Senses To Explore And Enjoy Wine (Includes Pull-Out Wine Wheel) (Hardcover)

This book deserves more attention from wine-lovers like me than it seems to have gotten.

It is not a book for wine novices, I think. For them, a more general book--like "Wine for Dummies", written by these very same authors--would be a better choice. However, if you already know something about wine regions and wine varietals, and if you already have tasted a range of wines in an informed way, then this book is the next step in your wine education.

The authors identify and describe 12 worldwide "wine styles" (i.e., grouping wines by how they TASTE): four red-wine styles, four-white whine styles, two rose-wine styles, and two sparkling-wine styles. This is a very useful--and somewhat novel--way to approach wine. It presumes (correctly, I think) that when you are deciding which wine to open for dinner, for sipping, etc., the most important consideration is how it actually will taste, in broad terms. The authors have taken their expert knowledge of wines and applied it in a very original way to give us a new framework with which to make wine choices. I was impressed by how well-organized and thorough this little book is, while being very readable at the same time.

What did I get out of this book? Among other things, I came to see that there is a "fresh and spicy" style of red wine, typified by Argentinian Malbec, which I now have tasted for the first time, and love. And the same for Argentinian Viognier, an "aromatic white". I also am starting to try "earthy whites", which I never had understood before. I'm sure that sooner or later I will re-read this book, looking for more insights such as these. Kudos to the authors for a job well done!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great wine book, February 5, 2009

By 

S. Berkowitz (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wine Style: Using Your Senses To Explore And Enjoy Wine (Includes Pull-Out Wine Wheel) (Hardcover)

This book was very informative and helped me understand how to better categorize wine while I am tasting it. The wine wheel was a great addition.