The Persistent Observer's Guide to Wine

While most introductory wine books treat the subject of wine as a curriculum to be presented in more or less detail (from the mind numbing “complete” guides to misleadingly “simple” ones), this book keeps the focus on the reader and the challenges faced by ordinary consumers when they try to understand wine. Through a series of ten engaging conversations, the author coaches the reader through the steps needed to become a consummate wine consumer, concentrating on common stumbling blocks, pitfalls and sources of confusion. Instead of presenting a curriculum in a categorical fashion, this witty, fast-paced book shows you why learning to trust your own instincts is more important than studying diagrams of the tongue or pouring over aroma wheels when you’re learning how to taste wine. It explains how and why labels, ratings and marketing ploys can mislead you and what the most persistent misconceptions are about serving and storing wine. You’ll learn how to make excellent pairings with little fuss (it’s not really about food), how to read between reviewers lines, and how to converse with sommeliers and retailers and discover whether they are trying to help you or giving you the run around. Without giving you any tables, charts or listings of regions and producers, or requiring you to memorize a glossary of definitions before you can understand what the author is saying, this book communicates all the essential skills you need to fall in love with wine and become a very savvy consumer. Filled with unique insights and down-to-earth, practical wine advice, you need to read this book so you can understand what the others are really trying to say.

An engaging tour through the most common pitfalls, stumbling blocks and sources of confusion that consumers face as they seek to understand the complicated and endlessly fascinating subject of wine. Though a series of humorous and easy to read conversations the author coaches the readers step-by–step through the essential skills everyone needs to have in order to select, store and serve wine properly. Throughout the book, the primary emphasis is on the taste of wine and how that should influence the way wines are chosen and used. Wine tasting is demystified by concentrating on the basic tastes that are common to wines and explaining why the terms used by wine writers and wine professionals can be so confusing. Next the author shows the reader how to understand the differences between the wines made from different grape varieties and explains how they are affected by climate and winemaking style. This allows the reader to be able to anticipate the basic characteristics of wines even if they’ve never tasted them before. The relationships between wine and time are explored in fascinating depth, showing how they influence the way wine is made, sold stored and served. Practical guidelines are given for getting the most out of wine in various situations, showing how the most successful pairings include the situation and the people involved, as well as the food. The book includes a balanced discussion of the health issues related to alcohol consumption to guide the reader on the both the risks and rewards of wine consumption. Appendices describe the major flaws in wine and how to detect them, the characteristics of twenty-one major grape varieties and various food and wine pairings. Throughout the book an effort is made to entertain and inform the reader in equal measure. Charts, tables and lists are avoided, as are defined terms and recitations of mind-numbing details, in order to ensure that the reader’s attention is always concentrated on the most helpful material necessary to gain a working knowledge of wine. After finishing the book, readers are expected to be able to choose wines without having to rely on ratings and recommendations from others, to have learned how to carry on a conversation with a sommelier, retailer or other wine professional and tap their knowledge without fear of being taken advantage of and to be able to enjoy every glass of wine much more than they ever expected.

J.P. Bary comes from a family that has been involved in making, distributing and marketing wine for generations. He has travelled widely in the world’s wine regions and counts many growers, winemakers, importers, distributors and retailers among his friends. For The Persistent Observer’s Guide to Wine, he conducted extensive interviews with wine consumers at all levels.