Good, Better, Best Wines: A No-Nonsense Guide to Popular Wines

by Carolyn Evans Hammond

Just tell me what's good!

The first buying guide to focus exclusively on the best-selling wines in North America that you can find anywhere! 

When it comes to wine, your "wants" are pretty a good wine, at a price you can afford, that's stocked at your local wine shop or supermarket. Good Better Best Wines gives you just that. It reveals in plain English, the good, better, and best wines available for the dollars you're willing to spend--up to $15--along with photos of clearly labeled bottles to make wine shopping easier. And because Good Better Best Wines is the first book to rank the best-selling wines in North America--think names like Beringer, Kendall-Jackson, and Woodbridge--you bet they'll be stocked at your local store. Inside you'll *The good, better, and best big-name wines under $5, $8, $11, and $15 for each major grape variety * Perfect party wines for specific occassions--weddings, dinners, backyard barbecues and more * Trade secrets for getting the most out of each wine, including storage tips, serving techniques, and food pairings Seasoned journalist and qualified sommelier Carolyn Evans Hammond makes wine accessible with her witty and light approach to the subject.  Her first book, 1000 Best Wine Secrets , earned critical acclaim,a nd her writing has appeared in such eminent publications as Decanter , Wine & Spirit International , The Times in London, and others. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2014

Reviews

[Claudio Arato]

This is a great little primer for anyone needing to get to the simple answer of what should I buy. It is for the novice. Easily written and laid out. Disappointing that no Canadian content entered the discussion but the easy blurbs and good size pictures make this easy planning and wine picking for anyone over 20.

[Carla]

It wasn't until I reached my late twenties that I began to appreciate a good glass of wine. I think my problem in the beginning was that I had no idea about the differences between the different types of wine and would just randomly choose a bottle based on price. This usually meant I grabbed a wine that tasted sour and was not easy to finish. Over the last years, I have learned to appreciate and develop a preference for specific brands and types of wine. I am in no way an expert but I do know what I like and what I don't like (I like a sweet, smooth taste with not too strong of an alcohol taste).

This well written and witty guide is the perfect guide book for those who love their wine but by no means want to be an expert - they want to find a great bottle of wine at the right price point.

Carolyn breaks down everything you ever wanted to know about wine - from just the basics about prices, the battle of the cap to how to get the most out of a bottle (which fortunately we have never had to worry about as we always finish a bottle once it is opened!). She then dives right into the world of white, reds, rose and sparkling as well as bargain, dessert and party wines. The book is roughly 238 pages long and each two page section carries information on three types of wines. My mind was officially blown at the sheer volume of wine brands she shared! Some of them were familiar but some were new to me. She gives a great background on what each wine tastes and I love how visual her description is (you can almost taste it) as well as sharing pretty neat did you know facts and food pairing tips (although I could have used without the amount of calories in wine - just joking!).

Carolyn has done an incredible job with this guide - she gives you advice that you didn't even know you needed to know, like how full to make the glass to ensure you can fully appreciate the taste and aroma of the wine and the perfect temperature to serve each wine at. She gives you such a great variety and different price points, I found a few wines in there that I have been hesitant to try but actually did after reading her work, I was not disappointed at all!

[Lisa]

I was very impressed with this book. I own a few books about wine, and this one provides the most useful information about wines you'll actually drink. This book is not a novel, it's more of a "buy this, not that" for wine. The author critics wines that are most commonly found in local wine/grocery stores, and all of them are under $15. A small book, easy to read, and full of information. The book is separated into sections (reds, whites, sparkling/dessert, etc) and within each section the author picks a common type of wine (riesling, chardonnay, pinot, etc). In the subsections, you'll see a picture of a "good" bottle, a "better" bottle, and the "best" bottle. Along with each picture, you'll find a brief description of the wine and some advice one what pairs well with it.

I hate going into the wine section and feeling like I'm playing a guessing game. Sometimes I pick based off the design of the label, and then wind up hating the wine, and wasting my money. This book is great- I plan on sticking it in my purse the next time I head off to the grocery!

[Josie]

We drink a lot of wine around my house and generally pick bottles based on things we've previously liked, store employee recommendations, sales, regions that we happen to be interested in at the time (New Zealand for awhile, don't remember why but lots of fun finds) or things that just look interesting. All good methods but sometimes it's helpful to have a slightly more consistent opinion to turn to. This book is so useful! It has helpful recommendations in realistic price ranges for wines I could actually find in my local liquor store. What could be better?! And it has wine snob bashing! I love hating wine snobs!!

[Joel]

Perfect for those that need to know what to buy at that wine shop that is really a beer or liquor store. These owner's can not help only have the mass produced bottles, but sometimes, that's all you can find.

[Mark]

A good book to have around when exploring everyday wines from the grocery store. The author briefly introduces the variety then offers a short description of wines costing below $15.00 and easily found at most places selling the beverage.

[Brian Williams]

The best thing about this book is the author's suggested choices of wines, graded by good, better and best in several price categories. There are white, red, roses and sparkling wines, and some "hidden gems". It's well worth purchasing, it's available at a modest price.

[Tony]

This book makes me want to drink more wine. Unfortunately, a lot of the brands aren't available in BC...

[Tim Duff]

Great way to find inexpensive but good, better & best wines.