|
Light reading about wine
Sometimes you want to read about wine for enjoyment but you really don't feel like studying wine. Today, with just over a week left to get in those calls to Santa for stocking stuffers, let's take a reader's look at a couple of new wine books that should serve you well in those less serious wine moments. Also in today's report, you'll find a link to this year's edition of a perennial wine-reference favorite that I like to find hanging from my mantel every year.
Designed primarily for newcomers and apprentices in the world of wine but with plenty of interest for more serious students of the grape as well, it's neatly organized in the form of 108 short articles presented under wine-learning categories like "Appreciating Wine," "Basic Grapes" and "Basic Regional Styles." It goes on to varied topics including "food and Wine," "Restaurants" and information about buying, storing, handling and serving wine, and more. The articles are short - typically two or three pages each - but not at all "dumbed down," highlighted with bright graphic sidebars and tips from noteworthy wine figures. I like Oldman's style, which is first-person, literate and intelligent yet conversational and breezy. I suspect if I sat down with Mark over a few glasses of wine - something I wouldn't mind doing - we would discover that we share similar attitudes about wine and wine writing. Just for fun, here's a quick sample of Oldman's prose, from Chapter 32, "Red Burgundy: French Pinot Noir, Gloriously Aromatic and Silky."
Well, you get the idea. Maybe this story resonated with me because I shared a similar reaction the first time this happened to me, at a "cult" winery in Spain. But if "literate and intelligent yet conversational and breezy" appeals to you as much as it does to me, you'll want to put this book on your shopping list.
Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine is published by Penguin Books, December 2004. To read about it on Amazon.com, click
Her new book, Waiter, There's a Horse in My Wine, with cartoons by Gary Hovland, is a collection of 65 short wine columns, assembled into four broad categories, "Preliminaries," "Wines," "Around the Globe" and "Drinking and Tasting." Rosen's shtick is humor, and the cover of her book is not shy about declaring her "America's Wittiest Wine Critic." Her style is light and breezy, too. Here's a sample from an early chapter, "A Very Good Year: Do vintages matter?"
Waiter, There's a Horse in My Wine is a 304-page trade paperback published by Dauphin Press in Denver. Its publication date is March 15, 2005, but Amazon.com says it's ready to ship within 24 hours of your order. For more information click
The world of wine has changed a great deal over those years, and Johnson's publishers, Mitchell Beazley, have managed to squeeze a little more information into the undersize volume every year. The 2005 edition, just out, holds the line at 288 pages, and it's still helpful to have a magnifying glass to scrutinize the tiny print that's needed to fit in many thousands of short reviews, ratings and vintage advice for wines around the world. Someone in Mitchell Beazley's marketing department a few years ago changed the name from "Wine Encyclopedia" to "Wine Book," but the contents remain encyclopedic. When I'm traveling light and can't take an entire wine library along, I simply tuck this one slim volume into my travel kit.
To read more about Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2005 on Amazon.com, click
TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.  Saratoga Wine Exchange Still Time to Ship for Christmas! The Saratoga Wine Exchange is your source for fine wine online! Spend less time searching web sites for that rare vintage or gift - we've done the work for you! Our online store is easy to use, flash-free and full of fine, rare and collectible wines including Kistler, Turley, Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estates, Plumpjack, Mouton, Latour and many more. Find exactly what your cellar or gift list needs right here, 24-hours-a-day, with just a click of your mouse. Our holiday gift sets feature 2 or 3 bottles, are tastefully boxed and include a gift card. These pairings are unique and affordable, making them perfect gifts for your loved ones, corporate clients and friends.
Shopping for wine should be easy and enjoyable, not time consuming. Just visit
SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 |
