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The Wine Lover's Companion (Paperback)

by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
Rich facts and details about wine spice a compendium of wine information, from grape varieties and ordering wine to understanding the world's wine-growing regions. More than 3500 wine-related terms are explained in a fine dictionary-style presentation. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

Paperback: 644 pages
Publisher: Random House (March 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812014790
ISBN-13: 978-0812014792
Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #510,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	46% buy The New Wine Lover's Companion 4.9 out of 5 stars (17) $10.19
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	11% buy The New Food Lover's Companion 4.8 out of 5 stars (35) $11.55
	8% buy The Wine Bible 4.5 out of 5 stars (82) $12.97

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive yet compact. Great wine resource for the $, December 31, 2001

By	Robert D. Dickey (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I work part-time in the wine industry and found this book to be a wonderfully comprehensive, concise resource on wine growing, making and drinking. (There's a great companion book by the same authors on food.)

The sample pages show the depth of the definitions. The book is not nearly as detailed as Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine--which all serious wine industry people should have in their library. But neither is it as expensive nor as cumbersome. You can actually take this book to a wine tasting or have it beside you at a wine event or in a tasting room.

This is not simply for wine "drinkers" --comparing varietals, regions and/or vintages. It does give generic information to the wine drinker: types of wine and grapes, taste (earthy, fruity), typical cellaring time, what makes a good representation of that wine. But it doesn't give information on a specific bottle of wine. That's more appropriate in a time sensitive format.

But this book does cover the whole spectrum of winegrowing to wine drinking. It's a good resource for:
� An introductory winegrowing (viticulture) class since it explains the various bacteria, mildew, grape components, etc.
� An introductory winemaking (enology) class since it explains fermentation (primary, stuck and malolactic), brettanomyces, chaptalization, etc.
� Wine drinkers who have an occasional question about a grape varietal, a wine region or a wine term.

It is not the MOST comprehensive resource. That would be the Oxford Companion. But the only person who has found it lacking has been a friend who is studying for the Masters of Wine designation. That's a process that requires you to know all the wines in every country.

The only change I'd suggest would be to drop the names of the US wineries except for the truly historic ones like Gallo and Mondavi--and those that pioneered winemaking in the US. We now have over 800 wineries in California and more are being added yearly. A book like this can't keep up. And shouldn't try. It's enough to include AVA's--several new ones were added last year. To list a sample of current wineries gives a "hit-or-miss" feeling to this book. And it's clearly well organized and researched.

I bought four of these books last year (along with the Food Lover's Companion) to use as gifts--including one set to a winemaker. This year I used the Wine Lover's Companion as a speaker gift in a community college Wine Marketing class. Even speakers who ALREADY HAD the book appreciated it! A restauranteer said his copy was always upstairs when someone downstairs needed it, etc. A wine retailer said one of the nice things about it was that it included pronounciations....can we say Mourvedre? sure we can.. at least with this book.. : )

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for both novices and experts!, June 4, 2001

By	"winewright" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

I got this book because the owner of a wine store I buy from said it was the best, all-around reference he'd ever seen. "I always find what I'm looking for," he said. This guy's an expert so that was good enough for me. And he was right. This book is packed full of an incredible amount of useful wine information. I particularly like the phonetic pronunciations, which make me sound like I know what I'm talking about. Thanks to this book, I'm no longer intimidated when I'm talking about, ordering, buying or simply enjoying good wine. It's great for everyone from beginners to experts!

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, complete, and necessary for any wine lover, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

I came across this book recently, and I could not put it down! In addition to the basic descriptions, the author has added little bits of trivia that are as fascinating as they are informative. Anyone who loves wine as I do will have a blast. From Alsace to Zinfandel, it's in here!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!
This book is very helpful, it has everything you could want to know in it.

Published 4 months ago by Miranda J. Schar

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Non-French beginners
What really drew me to this book was the phoenetic entries for all those hard-to-say words. I myself enjoy wine immensely, however I was always a little embaressed asking for... Read more

Published on April 5, 2003 by Bradford Hull

4.0 out of 5 stars Great pocket reference!
Useful not only for beginners but for travelers seeking a portable reference for on the road. Varietals, regions, and terms are laid out in a concise and easy-to-use/easy-to-find... Read more

Published on May 22, 1998

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