Drink This: Wine Made SimpleEver 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 of the scathing judgment of a restaurant sommelier? Before she became a James Beard Award—winning food and wine writer, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl experienced all these things. Now she presents a handy guide that will show you how to stop being overwhelmed and intimidated, how to discover, respect, and enjoy your own personal taste, and how to be whatever kind of wine person you want to be, from budding connoisseur to someone who simply gets wine you like every time you buy a bottle. Refreshingly simple, irreverent, and witty, Drink This explains all the insider stuff that wine critics assume you know. It will teach you how to taste and savor wine, alone, with a friend, or with a group. And perhaps most important, this book gives you the tools to learn the only thing that really matters about wine: namely, figuring out what you like. Grumdahl draws on her own experience and savvy and interviews some of the world’s most renowned critics, winemakers, and chefs, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., Paul Draper, and Thomas Keller, who share their wisdom about everything from pairing food and wine to the inside scoop on what wine scores and reviews really mean. Readers will learn how to master tasting techniques and understand the winemaking process from soil to cellar. Drink This also reveals how to get your money’s worth out of wine without spending all you’ve got. At last there’s a reason for wary wine lovers to raise a glass in celebration. Savor the insider’s viewpoint and straight talk of Drink This, and watch your intimidation of wine transform into well-grounded, unshakeable confidence. |
Contents
TASTING WINE | 3 |
ALPHA MALES | 139 |
PRINCES | 203 |
SPAINS GREATEST GRAPE | 226 |
THE HEARTBREAK GRAPE | 251 |
Acknowledgments | 331 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acid American apple Australian Barossa Valley barrels basic better blend Bordeaux bottle of wine bottom-shelf Brunello Burgundy Cabernet Sauvignon California called Cellars Chablis Champagne Chardonnay Château cheese cherry Chianti Classico chocolate Conversations with Bigwigs cork cost drink expensive feel field guide flavors France French fruit glass gnon Gran Reserva grapes Grenache grow Italian wine juice label malolactic fermentation Merlot names Napa Valley Notes on Tasting oaky pair pepper percent Pinot Noir Pouilly-Fumé red wine restaurant Rhône Ribera del Duero Riesling Rioja ripe Sancerre Sangiovese Sauvi Sauvignon Blanc scents Shiraz single-vineyard smell Sniff sommeliers Spanish spicy style sugar Super Tuscan sweet Swirl Syrah tannin tasting markers tell Tempranillo terroir there's things toast unoaked varietal vines vineyards What's white wine wine critics wine grapes wine list wineglass winemaking winery Zinfandel