Beverages Books

As the wife of a homebrewer, I often pretended to listen to my husband's dreams of one day starting his own brewery. After five years of pretending, I realized he was serious when he handed me Beer School and said, "If you're ever going to get on board, you've got to read this book." As a medical professional, the idea of reading a "business" book made me yawn. To my surprise, I couldn't put it down. I felt as if Tom and Steve were sitting across the table, telling me their story over dinner. Their honesty was both eye-opening and inspiring. I learned so much from Beer School and enjoyed every second of it. Reading this book gives you a good idea of how difficult it is to be successful in starting and running your own business, all the while making you feel like you can do it.
BTW-after reading Beer School, I finally got on board with my husband....founder of Tallgrass Brewing Company!

I've no great interest in the brewery business, but I do enjoy well-written, instructive tales of entrepreneurship. 'Beer School' definitely falls into that category. One-time journalist and co-founder Steve Hindry can really write. No surprise there. The pleasant surprise is that ex-banker and fellow co-founder Tom Potter's chapters are just as enjoyable. Like their beer, the chapters go down smooth. The arrangement of the book makes it clear who's written what parts - the chapters are given names that start with either "Steve Tells..." or "Tom Tells...". Where Steve has written a chapter, we get Tom's viewpoint with "Tom Weighs In," and vice-versa. Sounds sort of clunky, but it's well executed by the co-authors. They clearly worked very closely in shaping a final, cohesive product. As a result, the format works well.

What drew me to the book originally was the forward by Mike Bloomberg. His endorsement is good enough for me.

By nature, I am not a "reader"... I have a large stack of books that I've picked up over the years to pacify me while traveling. Most still have their respective airline ticket stubs safely marking the spot where I left off reading. So yes, it's a tad ironic that I'm now leaving a book review here... However, I read this cover-to-cover in two (long) evenings (that alone will tell anyone that knows me that this was a really good book!) so I'm at least qualified to comment on THIS one.

I've homebrewed for a couple of years and am in the early stages of investigating the feasibility of trying to make a living out of brewing. The story in the book really struck close to home for me... My potential partner and I work in fields that really couldn't be further from the brewing industry, much like the authors. While I know that the odds are against us, it was refreshing to read a story of someone that took a swing at it and hit a home run.

The book is by no means a step-by-step business plan for starting a brewery. It is much more a story of the trials and tribulations that faced them as they progressed from a crazy dream to a crazy success. It's a story about partnership. It's a story about taking a leap of faith. So don't purchase it expecting a step-by-step recipe for you to go out and quit your day job, but do purchase it and expect a general high-level look at starting a brewery, some good general business ideas that you may not have thought of, and a good story to tie it all together.

I found it to be a very honest, open story... The authors take turns writing chapters, and there were at least a couple of times that they were so honest that I caught myself thinking "Jeez, I'm pretty sure that the other guy's going to read this... Are you sure you wanted to say that?!" As you progress through the book though, you learn that this is just the relationship that they've built over the years... Very honest and open with one another whether it is good news or bad. I think that reading about the partnership was really one of the biggest take-aways that I got out of the book, but it certainly has more to offer than that.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and would have no issues whatsoever giving it a very high recommendation for anyone that is considering starting ANY new business, brewery or not.

I just finished Beer School and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a beer lover, and a fan of Brooklyn Brewery's products, I enjoyed learning about how the beer came to life, as well as the birth (rebirth?) of craft brewing in the United States. Mayor Bloomberg was right in the introduction, the book will make you thirsty.

As for the business aspect, I teach high school economics and intend to use some examples cited in Beer School to illustrate my lessons. If I taught on the college level, this book would be one of the required readings. It is a great example of entrepreneurship, economies of scale, marketing, start-ups, and business plans.

Just from a title perspective, this book was too good to pass up... Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter. But even better, the book delivers the goods on a number of levels. One of the most enjoyable business book reads I've had in awhile...

Contents: Steve Tells How Choosing a Partner Is Like a Second Marriage; Steve Discusses the Importance of Building a Solid Team; Tom Talks about Creating the Business Plan - A Money-Raising Tool and More; Tom Asks, "What's the True Mission of the Business?"; Steve Discusses the Keys to Successfully Motivating Employees; Tom Tells the Story of Their Dot-Com Revolution - Fishing for Finance and Failing; Steve Talks about Building a Brewery in Brooklyn; Steve Discusses Publicity - The Press Wants You!; Steve Reveals How the Revolution Kills Its Leaders First; Tom Talks about Cashing Out and Reinventing the Business, Again; Tom Wants to Know If You Have What It Takes; Timeline; Index

Hindy was a foreign correspondent for a news agency, and Potter was an executive at a bank, but both felt as if they wanted to do something different in their lives. Their love of home-brew beer gave Hindy the idea of starting a brewery in their hometown of Brooklyn, a city rich with brewery history. Potter was less convinced about the whole project until he visited a homebrewer's convention in 1986. This was right at the start of the microbrew phenomenon, and they decided to seriously pursue their dream. The book chronicles their work from 1986 through 2005, while also distilling what they learned about entrepreneurship along the way. And since this is beer "school", each chapter ends with them giving themselves a grade on how they did in that particular area. Unlike many business books that make the principals all-knowning and omniscient, Hindy and Potter are brutally honest about what worked and what didn't, where they were skillful and where they got lucky. It's a fascinating read, both for the brewery story and for the business insights.

There aren't too many business books with stories about being robbed at gunpoint of $30000, visiting a metal fencing operation to get a fork-lift battery charger back, and getting a visit from organized crime and union leadership, intent on getting a piece of their business. Even if you dropped the business lessons, the narrative of the Brooklyn Brewery would be enough to make this a recommended read. When you add in the small business information, this becomes a must-read for anyone dreaming of starting their own business. And if you're already interested in homebrewing or microbrews, then this book will probably end up being read in a single sitting.

An excellent read on a number of levels...

"What to Drink with What You Eat" is a comprehensive resource to guide anyone interested in pairing the right beverage with whatever you may be serving. It is a must have reference for the serious host or hostess.[...]

Everyone knows how to spot a wine snob, high class, arrogant, sips a little wine, smells it. Well now you can be that person w/o having to be arrogant. This book will explain what wines go with what foods, why you sniff a wine, how to taste it, what to look for in a wine and many other fun facts.

Everyone knows that red meat and red wine go well together but what goes well with a roast,or short ribs, heck even meatloaf? This book will help you.It goes beyond just main ingredients, it teaches you to also look at the other aspects of it as well such as different herbs, spices, the marinade you use, and how your going to cook it. Even mashed potatoes have more than just potatoes.

I have worked in restaurants and even have a degree in culinary and I must say, this is a good point to start with and even to look back as a reference point. I own all three reference books Culinary Artistry, The Flavor Bible and this one and I read them almost every day. Great series of books by the authors, I trust these books like I trust my chefs at school.

I have been "into" wine for a long time (before it became mainstream to
be "into" wine). I have tasted many different varieties of wines from all over the world, have many books on wine and love finding that perfect match between food and wine. I love having wine with my meals and when you can get that perfect match -- it can be heaven.

This wine book is amazing!!! In one section they go through every wine imaginable and tell you what foods will go with it -- HIGHLIGHTING those foods which will go VERY good with it. Then they have another section in which they do the complete opposite (I.E. given a food, what wine will go with it).

There are lots of comments by great chefs, recipes and a section where
each chef lists his favorite wines and what he likes to pair with it.

I love this book and highly recommend it.

I may run out of superlatives in the course of this review, so I'm just warning you now. What to Drink with What You Eat is absolutely the most spectacular book ever written about pairing food with wine. It will turn you instantly into a world-class sommelier, confidently able to pair virtually any cuisine with a compatible choice. What's more, the recommendations extend far beyond wine to include beer, sake, spirits coffee, tea and different types of water, so even a teetotaler can derive some value. There isn't a food- or wine-lover on the planet who wouldn't benefit from having the book always on hand as a resource.

The secret sauce here is that the authors, who have great credentials themselves, have also enlisted the input of dozens of top sommeliers and other authorities to create an uber-reference, one that gains considerably from its generous tendency to be more rather than less inclusive in offering up suggestions. Think of the principle of "the wisdom of crowds," but here the crowd are all experts and have the chops to back up their opinions. The list of foods, cuisines and beverages that are explored is truly encyclopedic, so odds are pretty good whatever you want advice on will be covered. For example, speaking of secret sauce, you'll even get suggested pairings with a Big Mac.

The crowning glories of the book are chapters 5 and 6, which really should be turned into a searchable database online and made available via PDA. These chapters are mirror images, one that starts with the beverage and suggests foods, and the other that starts with the food and matches the drinks. I'm telling it to you straight: if you've ever had a moment's hesitation about what to bring to a dinner party or just flat out what might go best with your frozen pizza, the answer is at hand. Wanna build the meal around a special bottle of wine? No problem. In fact, I'm not sure this book isn't subversive in the sense that it does such a great job of simplifying a complicated subject and making it accessible that it renders real-life sommeliers unnecessary.

Of course, that's a ridiculous notion; I'm just stating it for effect. You still need a sommelier to put together a wine list, add a personal perspective, precisely match the cuisine of a restaurant to its wines and gauge the "readiness" of any particular client to explore new territory. But if you live in New Jersey, where the only advantage of archaic, Prohibition-based liquor laws is the plethora of BYO restaurants and thus there are very few sommeliers period, this book is like manna from heaven.

I don't mean to imply that What to Eat is prescriptive to the point where you aren't allowed to express yourself and exercise free will. Quite the contrary. The book does a splendid job in the first few chapters of breaking down various pairing conventions developed over the past 20 years (plus of course the most classic matches) and providing guidelines that anyone can build on, and the authors encourage imagination and experimentation.

Let's go with a real life example, my first since I bought the book, and quite an "acid" test at that. I was asked by a hostess to suggest something that might go with roasted sea bass served with a Mediterranean ragout of red peppers, tomatoes, olives, and capers. My first instinct when approaching anything Mediterranean is to go with the "territory," which means for me clinging to the coastline from Provence to Sicily. Here I would have gravitated toward a white because a tannic red wouldn't go anyway and it's summer now and a chill is definitely welcome. Besides, I'm not sophisticated enough to figure out what to do with capers to begin with, so why not let a thousand years of local experience do the hard work for me? Then, I turned to chapter 5 and looked up sea bass. There were 16 suggestions, but nothing related to a Mediterranean ragout, which would clearly provide the dominant flavors to the dish. So with a little trepidation (are they going to whiff on my first challenge?), I looked for "Mediterranean" and sure enough found the following entry: "Mediterranean Cuisine (eg anchovies, olives, peppers, etc) Champagne, rose; Chateauneuf-du-pape, white; Pinot blanc; red wine, esp. tart Old World; rose; verdicchio, esp with onion-based dishes." Not feeling wholly comfortable yet, I cross-referenced the pesky caper and found: "Beaujolais, high acid; beer; Muscadet; Pinot Grigio/ Pinot gris, esp. dry; Pinot Noir, esp from Russian River Valley." That's enough breadth for anyone to find an appealing option.

The genius of the book is the exhaustive number of dishes and international cuisines covered. I'm sure there are some things you can eat that aren't paired here, but I'm not sure why you would want to! Also, while it wasn't true for my sea bass, many if not most of the listings actually go a step further and provide recommendations specific to the actual method of preparation. It's not just one size fits all. Pasta with artichokes? Check. Pasta with sardines? Check. You get the idea.


I haven't been this excited about a wine book in a couple of years, maybe since reading Andrew Jefford's The New France The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides). If you have even a passing interest in drinking wine with your meals you'd be crazy not to buy this book. It has the potential to enrich every dinner (and the occasional lunch/brunch/breakfast?/snack) you eat for the rest of your life, and if that isn't enough hyperbole, I don't know what is.

(3 1/2 stars)

After reading the slew of five-star reviews for this volume, today I drove to Barnes & Noble fully ready to purchase it. After spending a fair amount of time in the aisle surveying its contents, I ended up not getting it, and thought I would explain why not for the sake of those Amazon readers whose considerations might be similar to my own.

I think the issues of relevance are 'who you are' and what you're looking for in a book like this. I certainly understand why great wine aficionados (presumably with money and time), critics, sommeliers, restaurateurs, and the like would desire and benefit from a work of such sophistication and scope. But for the hobbyist (like myself), it was just too much. A little 'highbrow' for me -- and I suspect I'm not alone. I didn't find it nearly as accessible as, for example, Karen MacNeil's Wine, Food, and Friends (which I bought). MacNeil's book has a seasonal presentation, and, while evidencing an expert's range of knowledge, seeks not to lose sight of practical concerns (such as $$). In a nutshell, What To Drink . . . has a more encyclopedic approach (and does include beverages beyond wine), while MacNeil's is user-friendly and more what I was looking for. I wish it were possible to buy chapters 5 & 6 of Dornenburg & Page's book separately, because they comprise a tremendous resource for ongoing reference. The one surprise regarding Dornenburg & Page was that in a product of such erudition, it lacked an index.

So, bearing in mind the two questions I started with, I hope some of these thoughts will be helpful in informing your purchasing decision.

When we were planning our vineyard we needed all the help we could get. From Vines To Wines was one book kept by the bedside for constant reference during the planning and planting stage. (The other book was "Vineyard Simple." The illustrated guide to pruning is exceptionally well done. Now that we've made it through year 1, I find myself going back to the book time and again. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in planting a vineyard. Craig Justice, Webmaster of Winemaker's Journal and Founder, Blue Merle Vineyard & Winery

I gave this to my father and he was so excited because it focused a lot on building a good trellis with good illustrations and also good for prunning.
These are two things that lack in other books that i have bought him (and that I am starting to be interested in, too).
Of course the book covers all aspects of the grape and wine making process, but the trellising and prunning in more detail was very welcome.
Recommended on all aspects.

This is indespensible for home winemakers. Period.

If you are a person engaged in wine studies, this is an essential first look into serious technical winemaking aspects. Before delving into more serious technical manuals such as "Understanding Wine Technology" and "The Science of Wines from Grape to Glass".

Pros: wonderfully written in laymans terms
Cons: drawings sometimes difficult to distinguish

We wanted a resource for the wine process from growth to the glass.
Everything you need is in here.

This book tells you everything about growing grapes and producing fine wine. It even deals with the choice of grape-varieties suited for your climate. It is almost perfect. I think many Europeans will read this book, and it would have been perfect if it included the Meditteranean countries in the tables of climate-zones and selection of suitable varieties. It is very difficult to find this (about Europe) on the internet. But a great and very useful book.

Very funny, but goes on a bit too long, especially given the fact that the theme is rather narrow. Worth a read if you like ironic and sarcastic humor, but you may find about 2/3rds of the way through that you get the joke and decide to move on. Recommended with reservations.

I'm far from the level of alcoholic that Rich talks about, but alcohol is incorporated into my lifestyle, and I really enjoyed this book. The chapters are fairly short with short paragraphs, and the book altogether moves rather quickly and stays entertaining. As someone who usually gets bored by the end of a book, this was not a problem for me. I would recommend this to anyone who drinks even casually as a fun read.

This book is so good its scary. Its not just about drinking (though it is primarily about drinking) it's about a true "seize the day" mentality and damn the torpedoes! It's a "Dangerous Book for Boys" that may actually be dangerous.
Packed with useful tidbits about bar etiquette and what it means to be a drinker, as well as a clear love of the history of libations and those who choose to partake of them.
And joy to read over and over and share with friends.

This is an excellent book but I was a little disappointed to see that it was mostly recycled material. I am a subscriber to the Modern Drunkard magazine and it seems this paperback is a collection of their most amusing articles and such.

Nevertheless, it's absolutely worth purchasing, especially for those of you whom are not aware of the magazine's existance. It is laugh-out-loud funny, informative (believe-it-or-not) and encouraging for those of us who continue to lead a shameless life of debauchery.

I read this while on vacation at the beach. Please ensure that your cooler is fully stocked prior to cracking the spine. What a great find! This book is too funny for me to do it justice.

I purchased this paperback version at Fisk University in August 1978 and it has been with with me since then. I love the recipes in this book and the stories behind them. I have my original paperback copy @$2.75 a copy. I cooked several recipes from this book, although I knew how to cook from my mother. I am sharing this book with my young co-workers in my office as the bible for Southern cooking and sharing a family story. I love the recipe for the potatoe salad and am preparing it for my company's picnic this week.

Thanks for sharing,
Loren

This is as interesting as a "reading" book as it is as a cookbook. The recipes are very creative, too. A lot of "homestyle" cookbooks just seem to be "1,001 things to do with canned soup" but this one isn't like that at all--the recipes are genuinely interesting and are varied, from ice cream to homemade wine to Sunday dinner.

I purchased this book in hardbound when it came out years ago. I used it until the pages fell out. Now, I'm older and can't consume so much butter and sugar other artery clogging ingredients, but for special occasions I pull this baby out and go to town. Mmmm-mmm-good!

This is definitely a keeper. I really wanted a good recipe for macaroni and cheese and my family loved the one that is in this book and requested that I make it again. It has that old fashioned consistency and taste just like my grandmother use to make when she was living. I can't wait to try the others. You can't go wrong with this book. If you don't know how to cook, people will think you can.

My mother gave this cookbook to me when I was in college. She wanted me to learn how to cook. I was a bookworm who was more interested in history than cooking so I always resisted.

She gave me the first edition of this cookbook a small paperback with the yellow cover and the same picture of the Darden sisters. Once I began reading this book I fell in love with the idea of learning to cook.

The recipies all worked great for me but what I really loved was how they tied each person to a group of recipies and how their family history was inter-connected to cooking.

It is a great cookbook yes but an even greater celebration of family.

Right now, health officials that directly control the physical condition of most of our population make their decisions based on data bought and paid for by agribusiness, or data that is a century old. Everyone in such positions, both in the FDA, CDC, USDA & state regulatory boards, is morally beholden to read this book and to understand the truth.

Of course, they won't, and it will continue to be easier to buy crack cocaine in the USA than it is to purchase the most perfect and complete food available to man. At least Schmid's writing will empower those of us who do understand what controls the food supply to argue intelligently in favor of raw dairy, and to spread enlightenment in our small spheres.

This book will be the foundation to a world of politics and potential that you probably didn't have a hunch existed in the realm of food science and politics, especially with a food so fundamental as dairy and a subject so fundamental as food!

I have purchased many copies of this book, and I read it over for pragmatic and enjoyment purposes. The author has a clean, but interesting style that will help you see through any dogma about to cook, or not to cook your dairy; and who is taking away one of those options from you.


I certainly hope you'll be able to get your hands on some of the right raw dairy that works for you, after reading this book!

The wealth of information in this book more than makes up for a little bit of disorganization at times and some typos.

In a nutshell, it encapsulates the history of milk production in this country and re-visits all significant studies about the health properties of milk to show unequivocally that certified, clean raw milk is what we all NEED to be drinking, not the pasteurized stuff that destroys enzymes that are very important for human health.

Many alternative health remedies these days recommend to not drink dairy. The reason is that PASTEURIZED dairy contribues to chronic health problems, while RAW dairy helps fix them due to its enzyme and probiotic bacteria content. The two products are not really even comparable from a health standpoint, though both are called milk and both are white liquid.

This message needs to get out. Certified raw milk is not dangerous. Buy the book. Loan it to your friends. Pressure your local government to allow raw milk sales and allow people the choice and opportunity to become healthier.

Awsome book. an eye opener to anyone interested in what goes in your body.
scary realisation. after reading this book your friends will think you are insane. it is almost as if you discovered smoking is good for you. Noone would believe you!

A MUST READ

Schmid very carefully tells the history of milk and once you are informed you will be sickened by current "legal" dairy practices. If you have ever driven by large dairies (especially in Idaho) and inhaled the stink of confined cows and observed the mud and filth they live in this book is a must read. Rock on "Real Milk".

Classic drinks with tasteful recipes. The book itself has an air of sophistication, and so will your drinks if they are prepared accordingly.

This book was fun and fascinating. It had a lot of facts and lore included as well as delicious recipes and pictures. It goes through the basics, such as terms and descriptions, as well as gives tips in each section. I have many cocktail books, but will refer to this one time and time again. It should be on everyone's shelf!

Every serious bartender should have this book in his or her collection. It's sleek modern meets art deco with its arsty type and angled text. Also, the most famous bartender in America of the wrote it.

Cheryl Charming

If you are into the art of coctails, and want a book that uses no premade mixers, this is the book for you. This book is very informative. Way more than a recipe book, as I read I aspired to be a gourmet bartender. This book makes mixing drinks an art.

If you are a bartender looking for more knowledge to better yourself at your craft..then this is the book for you. I've even started doing training from this book for my new guys...Mr. DeGroff is the best! I can't wait to go to his B.A.R. classes. Anyone interested in making the most delicious drinks whether it be at the bar or at your house...you need this book!

BOOK OFFERS A WEALTH OF INFORMATION. PUT THEORY INTO PRACTICE AND OVERALL HEALTH DRAMATICALLY IMPROVES. FLIPPING COIN, IF YOU'RE FIT, YOU OWE IT TO OTHERS TO SHARE BOOK AS IT'S USER FRIENDLY AND AN ENJOYABLE READ.

Great book...learned lots of new and interesting things about tea that I never knew - I highly recommend it!

Within a few days of starting this diet, my appetite was shrinking! The tea really works well as an appetite suppressant. I'd reccommend this to anyone who likes tea and wants to lose weight. It's great that the book includes a meal plan for people who like structure and food suggestions for people who want to be more flexible.
You don't absolutely have to eat the foods "Dr. Tea" mentions in the book, you can eat other low calorie dishes from the basic suggestions (you can even eat lean steak, it's on the list of protiens!) provided that you drink enough tea. And it's not too terribly hard to get the amount of tea it specifies: just brew a bunch in the evening, cool it down, and put it in water bottles in the fridge for the next day. Or make a thermos of hot tea before you go to work. Take tea with you wherever you go, and you'll have no problem drinking enough.
You're supposed to drink tea when you're hungry between meals instead of snacks. What I've been doing is drinking tea when I'm hungry, then if I'm still hungry after that, I eat something small and heatlhy, like a piece of fruit. That works better for me.
"Dr. Tea" even has suggestions for what tea to drink when a craving hits. Granted, many of the teas he suggests are his own blends which he sells at [...], but then again he's the only one who's come up with teas specifically designed to satisfy cravings.
All in all, this is the best weight loss plan I've ever tried!

Neat book and have enjoyed reading and learning and think much of the information is true and good to follow.

This book recommends that you drink at least 8 cups of tea per day. If you're making hot tea, this is really inconvenient, especially if you're a busy person. I bought some of his teas and I was disappointed -they weren't as good as I hoped.

This is the best wine book that you will ever find. Gluckstern explains the different wines in a down to earth manner. He is all about drinking wines that taste good, not wines that some overblown critic tells you are good. If you want the real story on wines get this book to help you out!

Very good reading for beginners. This little book will teach you a lot in less than 200 pages. Its strength relays on the tips for picking wine and how to match it with food. The author is very enthusiastic about whites, yes, especially for German whites, but since they are not the most popular or well known, the information turns out to be valuable. If you don't feel confident about what you know, keep this book close and open it any time you have to make a decision. It has a helpful index.
One mistake, though, in page 168. Ceviche is not Mexican, but Peruvian in origin, though it's true that a Proseco, like any other sparkler is good match for it. Most Peruvians eat their ceviche, and their amazing seafood, with beer, when the perfect company is near by: the Blanc de Blancs from Tacama (from Ica, in the southern coast of Peru).
The Wine Avenger is a very accessible book and will be enjoyed by beginners and people who want to avoid a sophisticated vocabulary (i.e. most of us).

The best aspect of this book is that it tells you in good detail how to pair wine with food. One of the most under-appreciated wines, the German Riesling, is also one of the best food wines, and is an excellent value because it is so un-loved by the popular wine community. This book shows you how to love Riesling and many other inexpensive, food-friendly wines. I first read this book many years ago and still consider it to be the best book I have ever read on wine.

I love Willie, and recommend this book to anyone interested yet intimidated by the world of wine. His whole thesis is that most of us drink our wine with food, and the market is flooded by expensive wines that are almost completely incompatible with the food we eat today. Thus, readers of this book experience a wealth of insight about inexpensive wines that will truly be enjoyable with meals at home or out in restaurants. He explains the often complex world of European wines (most of which continue to represent a better value than their New World counterparts, both in cost and taste), inflicts a mortal wound on the logic of those for whom chardonnay and merlot are the beginning of white and reds everywhere, and generally has a lot of fun presenting his world to the layman. There isn't an ounce of pretension in this book, and because of that, its accessible to everyone, even those who already have a bit of wine knowledge. It should be noted, also, that he's no gifted amateur. He's been in the business for decades, and has written the wine lists at several excellent restaurants. Cheers!

This little book is a gem and a real bargain. In a small space it manages to cover the whole gamut of the wine world including European wines. It also cuts through the jargan and delivers what you really need to know in a straightforward and very witty manner.

I own a number of books on wine and if I had to choose between this book and keeping all of the other ones, I would keep this ONE book! It's really that good. It has saved me money in terms of buying good inexpesive wines, increased my enjoyment of wine with food by learning how to pair food and wine correctly. It also gave me the knowledge I needed to discuss wine intelligently with anyone.

This author is NOT out to be politically correct or to make friends in the wine industry. I think the same is true of the restuarant industry because he is very blunt in his criticisms, particularly of over-priced restaurant wine. His use of words along these lines accounts for much of the humor in his writing.

If you know of anyone who has wine as a hobby they will enjoy reading this. If you are intimidated by the world of wine, you wouldn't be after you finish this book. It will also save you money and open up new worlds in terms of differnt types of wine from all over the world.

This is a very detailed and useful reference for understanding more about the Italian wines and the region. I appreciate the link to the historical aspects and food pairing. Great find if you're looking to learn more about Italy and it's wines.

I liked this book a lot. The format was perfect for my taste. Every region had its own chapter, written in a very addictive and enjoyable way. Authors did not try to talk about all the producers, giving readers the option to dig deeper into any particular region by themselves, which I find enjoyable. I liked a lot guided tastings. Now I know what to look for in similar books for different countries or continent (for example a book recently purchased on South America was a disappointment). I can now understand why other reviewers said even Italians from Italy would love this book. I think this is the 2005 edition (equal to the 2002 edition, just different cover) and some wines in the tasting areas changed names or stopped doing the particular bottle. I am in the middle of discovering the new ones for the regions I am starting with. In case anybody knows about a site where the tastings are updated or would like to exchange corrections please contact me.

Clear and concise, this guide clarifies a complex subject - the history and present state of Italian wines. While it is objective in its recommendations, anecdotes of regional Italian life add the human interest elements that make us care about Italy and its wines.

I had the hard-cover version of this book and insisted so many friends and colleagues read it I managed to lose it and had to buy another copy! Great descriptions, recipes and candid details about Italian wines-- especially wines that one can actually have a chance to purchase without a plane ticket to Italy.

The writers situate fascinating personal and societal anecdotes within the context of Italian history and culture, broadening the story of wine beyond the science of viticulture. The authors obviously have a deep grasp and appreciation of Italian wines, and convey their knowledge eloquently, yet without a hint of pretentiousness. A very enjoyable read.