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Drink This: Wine Made Simple (2009)

by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0345511654 (ISBN13: 9780345511652)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Ballantine Books

review 1: This was a great book to learn "Wine 101". Over the past year, my fondness for wine has really increased (though I still like many, many varieties of beer :) In addition to a chapter devoted to each major kind of grape and its history, this book also covers all the basics: correct temperature for storing/serving wines, food pairings, sub-varieties, characteristics of the grape and where its grown, suggested selections, and much, much more. I have tried to keep up and try each several of each kind every couple of weeks, but I decided I had wanted to read ahead and have yet to finish sampling all the selections (and some will always be out of our budget!). So, thus far, here are my takeaways:1. As a general rule, white should be 45 degrees, red 55 degrees. 2. The onl... morey white wine I really like is Sauvingnon Blanc. Riesling (with a few exceptions) is too sweet and Chardonnay too dry for me.3. With Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvingnon its easy for winemakers to cut corners when making it, so its hard to find consistently good "bottom-shelf" bottles in these varieties.4. My favorites thus far are Merlot and Syrah (less pretentious members of the Cabernet Sauvingnon family)--next on my list are "GSM" blends which sound amazing. Zinfandel is the all-American wine and is also good, but a bit bold and better when paired with bold foods, not just to...you know...drink.5. Sangiovenese is Italian, the major style is Chianti and this is the ultimate wine with Italian food that has red sauce in it. I have yet to actually try this one, but next time we make something that pairs with it, I will definitely pick some up.6. I also yet to get to the Tempranillo/Spanish wine and Pinot Noir, but with Pinot Noir, is high risk, high reward because its the most difficult grape to grow of them all. 7. Sometimes the major difference between a $10 bottle and a $80+ bottle is ego. There are so many other things I learned, but these were the first that came to mind. I really enjoyed reading about the histories of the wine in the regions that they originated in. Good stuff! Good book!
review 2: What an excellent and refreshing book! The whole philosophy is to find what you like while learning about wine by concentrating on one varietal at a time. She includes readable, interesting, and humorous backgrounds on the grape, terroir, and winemaking for each varietal, a shopping list cheat sheet, and tasting party suggestions for several key varietals. I highly recommend the book - now it's time to have some tasting parties! less

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