I tching to expand your knowledge of wine but have no patience to trudgethrough a stuffy tome? Let Mark Oldman hclp you outsmart winc in this rclcntlcssly proconsunlcr and joyously cntcrtaining guide. A hmgtimc wine educator, Oldman distills over a decade of teaching into this groundbrcaking book with sound advice, vcrvc, and humor.
lntroduclion
Key
THE OPENER I 1
1. The Faithful Fifteen: Fifteen Top Producers for Value
APPRECIATING WINE I 5
2. Educate Your Nose
3. The Three Steps of Wine Appreciation, or Don't Give Short Shrift to the Sniff
4. Ignore a Wine's Legs
5. DryWine Is Technically Unsweet, but...
6. Acidity Is a Lemon Squeeze for Food
7. Oak Gives Wine Hints of Vanilla and/or Smoke
8. Tannin, the Pucker inYour Mouth, Is Red Wine's Natural Preservative
9. AWine's Alcohol Content Hints at Its Body
10. Assess Every Wine for Balance, Complexity, and Finish
11. Terroir: AWine's Sense of"Somewhereness"
BASIC GRAPES
WHITE
12. Chardonnay: The World's "it" Wine
13. Sauvignon Blanc: Grapefruity Tart and Freshly Mown
14. Riesling: Tragically Neglected Paragon of Feathery Finesse
RED
15. Cabernet Sauvignon: Scalingthe Heights with Blackeurrants and Tannin
16. Merlot: Cabernet's Softer Sister
17. Pinot Noir: A Juicy Berry Kiss
18. Zinfandeh The Great American Tooth Stainer
19. Syrah: The InkyAbyss
PINK
20. White Zinfandeh The Bee Oees of Wine
BASIC REGIONAL STYLES
WHITE
21. White Bordeaux:The Debonair White
22. White Burgundy: French Chardonnay, Lean and Elegant
23, Burgundy's "GoldenTrinity": Intensity and Restraint with Sex Appeal
24. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fum& Steely Sauvignon Blanc from France
25. Alsace: Whites of Purity andWeight
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