Ever been baffled by a wine list, stood perplexed before endless racks of bottles at the liquor store, or ordered an overpriced bottle out of fear ...
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Apr 02, 2010
Sarah
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This is partly an engaging, informative look at wine, and partly an exercise book with assignments to drink certain types of wines and notice their similarities and differences. (Here's a fun idea: form a club around this book and work your way through the wines together!) The point is not to find out what's "best," but to find out what you, the wine drinker, like best and how to find it in a store or on a wine list.
I didn't do the exercises. They're going to have to wait u More...
I didn't do the exercises. They're going to have to wait u More...
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Sep 30, 2011
Jon
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Didn't have a chance to finish this before I had to return it to the library. My impression was largely positive. I don't know much about wine and this book explains some of the basic and has a nice summary of several major styles. It also had good advice for a tasting. [return][return]The book did annoy me though with the poor layout of interviews and the like. Due to the narrow size of the book, the text is really tight. The interviews, are inserted directly into the flow of the text, int
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Sep 21, 2010
Sasha
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What an excellent book! Writing with a slightly raucous sense of humor, Grumdahl narrows the field to a certain number of grape varieties (what was it, 8?), tells you all about them in their different incarnations, and then sets out a plan of 5+ more specific types of wines from that type of grape, for you to drink for yourself. The idea is not so much to tell you what's good to drink, but rather to have you sample worthwhile representative selections from a broad spectrum of each type of wine,
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Jul 30, 2011
What an excellent and refreshing book! The whole philosophy is to find what you like while learning about wine by concentrating on one varietal at a time. She includes readable, interesting, and humorous backgrounds on the grape, terroir, and winemaking for each varietal, a shopping list cheat sheet, and tasting party suggestions for several key varietals. I highly recommend the book - now it's time to have some tasting parties!
Jan 31, 2011
Stacie
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Although there wasn't much new wine knowledge in this book for me, I still enjoyed it tremendously. I have followed Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl's writing for years in the City Pages and Minnesota Monthly, and her witty, engaging style really carries this book. I do plan to do some varietal tastings the way she suggests in the book for the grapes I'm not as familiar with.
Mar 18, 2011
Laura
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I enjoyed this one very much. Full of practical advice on buying and tasting the 9 most accessible and popular wines widely available to those of us living in America. Plus, this book is written in a witty, clever style that made the reading experience a pleasure. I highly recommend this to anyone who feels clueless about choosing wine.
Oct 04, 2011
Andrew
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A great primer for further exploration into the world of wine! Dara sets a great tone and illustrates perfectly that not all wine experts are NOT self-important windbags. Awesome, easy to digest information to make some of the more popular varietals a whole lot more accessible and less intimidating.
Jul 26, 2011
Yvonne
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If you drink wine, you should read this book. Dara Grumdahl's easy-to-read, yet informative guide, takes the mystery and fear out of choosing the "right" wine.
Dec 19, 2011
Debbie
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I am already quite a wine drinker. This book still had much to offer about how to taste and appreciate wines and I will follow all of her advice in order to learn to appreciate wine more (Is that even possible?) Grumdahl has such a wonderful, approachable, down-to-earth approach to wines that anyone will be comfortable with wine choices after reading this.
Jan 28, 2010
Nickymosk
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Love, love, loved it, and learned a lot too. I'm even thinking of attempting my own wine tasting now....
Aug 02, 2011
a book i'd like to purchase .. well write and very informative in a fun way .. L
Jan 24, 2011
Amy
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I love wine -- and Dara rocks. Read this a while ago but often go back to it. (Thanks, Courtney!)
May 11, 2010
Melissa
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Excellent book for any home library and a great gift idea for anyone who likes wine. Easy-to-read, entertaining explanations of wine basics and I got a lot of ideas of what to do for my next tasting party.
Jan 30, 2010
Acorn Public Library
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This book perfectly balances concise information with wit. What a thoroughly unpretentious delight!
Dec 09, 2011
Caroline
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Great introduction to wine! It gave me a bit of background knowledge so that I could better appreciate my honeymoon in Napa/Sonoma. I plan on trying all her tasting suggestions throughout the new year :)
May 19, 2010
Elizabeth
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Love it! Going to buy and work through the 7 varietals (see, I already learned something) the author describes in simple, amusing language.
Dec 04, 2010
This is no judgment on the book because I adore Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl -- I must just face the fact that I have no interest in reading about wine -- I only want to drink it. I only read the paragraph where she debunks decanting. I summoned this book from the request system at the library simply to luxuriate in my awesome power to do so.
Apr 14, 2011
Marilyn
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Easy to understand info about the different types of wines--as with all wine books, tasting is a must. I like the way the author groups the wines for comparison.
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