The Persistent Observer's Guide to Wine

While most introductory wine books treat the subject of wine as a curriculum to be presented in more or less detail (from the mind numbing “complete” guides to misleadingly “simple” ones), this book keeps the focus on the reader and the challenges faced by ordinary consumers when they try to understand wine. Through a series of ten engaging conversations, the author coaches the reader through the steps needed to become a consummate wine consumer, concentrating on common stumbling blocks, pitfalls and sources of confusion. Instead of presenting a curriculum in a categorical fashion, this witty, fast-paced book shows you why learning to trust your own instincts is more important than studying diagrams of the tongue or pouring over aroma wheels when you’re learning how to taste wine. It explains how and why labels, ratings and marketing ploys can mislead you and what the most persistent misconceptions are about serving and storing wine. You’ll learn how to make excellent pairings with little fuss (it’s not really about food), how to read between reviewers lines, and how to converse with sommeliers and retailers and discover whether they are trying to help you or giving you the run around. Without giving you any tables, charts or listings of regions and producers, or requiring you to memorize a glossary of definitions before you can understand what the author is saying, this book communicates all the essential skills you need to fall in love with wine and become a very savvy consumer. Filled with unique insights and down-to-earth, practical wine advice, you need to read this book so you can understand what the others are really trying to say.