Fear of Wine : An Introductory Guide to the Grape

Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Review: Food and drink are Leslie Brenner's beat, and she also happens to be a talented writer (her fiction is well worth reading), so it is quite a treat to read her non-fiction material. (I've written 2 non-fiction books, so I know how difficult it can be to convey information effectively, let alone in an entertaining way.) She has quite a sense of style, and humor to boot. What a package.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful introduciton to wine for anyone
Review: I received this book while shopping for suits at one of my favorite stores when I lived in Washington, DC. I had, by coincidence, become very interested in wines and had been hanging out at Clevland Partk Wine & Liquor (the BEST wine shop in DC if you are ever there). I began flipping through the book and before long was having intelligent conversations with anyone who would listen about wine. Even now as a (some what) more experienced wine lover, I constantly go back to this book over others that I have acquired since. Fear of Wine is fantastic for anyone, whether they actually do still have a fear of the wine list or are just looking for more information about why the French have such a screwy rating sytem. Interested in wine? GET THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) this book. I am very new to wine and this book did an excellent job of destroying the fear everyone has regarding the subject. There are cartoons throughout the book that help to illustrate how silly it really is to be intimidated by the subject. This is not an in-depth or comprehensive guide to wine, and I certainly don't think the authors intended it to be one. What is has done for me is it taught me a little bit about the making of wine, the various grapes and regions, the labeling, matching with food and then basically told me that if I wanted to learn more, I should continue exploring other books and magazines. And that is what I'm beginning to do now. So this book will not teach you all you want or need to know, but it does a great job as an introductory course and continues to be a resource that I will refer back to again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Good Overview
Review: This book has a good overview of many subjects, but tends to try to answer so many questions too quickly. The early section on making wine is good, but I felt like I was taking a 3-hour tour of San Francisco. Granted that the subtitle is "an introductory guide to the grape", it could have been less rushed and used the same amount of space. The sections on the different AVAs are excellent -- some of the best informative condensed coverage that I have read. The list of preferred producers of each type is very good, without tying down to specific prices or vintages. The brief list of 10-bottle and 20-bottle starter collections at the back is very helpful (and very similar to what I started with!). Good book. The informative casual cartoons convinced me to change it from four stars to five stars.

Rating:
Summary: We Need an Update!
Review: This book is very informative and entertaining -- so much so that an update would be much appreciated! Much has happened in California wine country and other U.S. wine-producing areas since the book was originally published in 1995. I ask the author to consider updating the book.