Hailed by Paul Levy in The Wall Street Journal as "our cleverest, most thoughtful wine writer," Jancis Robinson makes learning about wine almost as enjoyable as drinking it. With How to Taste, she's put together a unique wine-tasting course based on practical exercises that appeal to wine connoisseurs of all levels.

Robinson explains first how we taste wine and food, and then about the grapes and wines themselves. In separate sections on theory and practice, she offers basic technical information about wine appreciation, then shows us how to apply it in sipping exercises -- all of which are based on readily available and, in most cases, inexpensive bottles. And how better to learn about wine than by actually drinking it? By the time you finish this book, you'll know how to recognize the most popular grape varieties from Chardonnay to Riesling, to Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, and why you should choose a good sparkling wine over a cheap champagne. You will know how to judge sweetness, acidity, and fruitiness as well as the difference between the length and weight of a wine, and you will be able to distinguish wines from around the world. Robinson also arms you with practical advice about dealing with wine in the real world: choosing from a wine list; setting up and recording your own wine tastings; spitting out your sample mouthful correctly; and complementing food flavors with wine. Innovative, informative, and above all fun, How to Taste is designed to be taken with you everywhere, from the armchair to the vineyard to the wine shop and back to the table. Hailed by Paul Levy in The Wall Street Journal as "our cleverest, most thoughtful wine writer," Jancis Robinson makes learning about wine almost as enjoyable as drinking it. With How to Taste, she's put together a unique wine-tasting course based on practical exercises that appeal to wine connoisseurs of all levels. Robinson explains first how we taste wine and food, and then about the grapes and wines themselves. In separate sections on theory and practice, she offers basic technical information about wine appreciation, then shows us how to apply it in sipping exercises -- all of which are based on readily available and, in most cases, inexpensive bottles. And how better to learn about wine than by actually drinking it? By the time you finish this book, you'll know how to recognize the most popular grape varieties from Chardonnay to Riesling, to Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, and why you should choose a good sparkling wine over a cheap champagne. You will know how to judge sweetness, acidity, and fruitiness as well as the difference between the length and weight of a wine, and you will be able to distinguish wines from around the world. Robinson also arms you with practical advice about dealing with wine in the real world: choosing from a wine list; setting up and recording your own wine tastings; spitting out your sample mouthful correctly; and complementing food flavors with wine. Innovative, informative, and above all fun, How to Taste is designed to be taken with you everywhere, from the armchair to the vineyard to the wine shop and back to the table. This book may have a small remainder make on the edge of the pages, but is brand new and in unread, unused condition.

From the publisher's website, "Everybody loves to drink wine, but when it comes to buying it, so many of us are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices, and intimidated because we don't think we "know" enough about wine to take a chance. Too often we end up buying the same Merlot, Cabernet, or Chardonnay because we don't have the confidence to try something different. Enter Andy Besch -- the Wine Guy.

Andy, owner of Manhattan's popular West Side Wine, wants you to take control of the wine-buying process and start looking at each experience as an opportunity to find something new, whether it's an unfamiliar label, grape, or region. The Wine Guy encourages wine drinkers to break free of old habits and start enjoying the thousands of affordable treasures available in today's wine world.

The Wine Guy offers simple advice on how to get in touch with your own tastes by identifying the flavors and styles that appeal to you.
You'll taste your way through the eight "everyday" grapes and will learn how to match their qualities to sixteen "breakaways" that will open the door to countless new options. Andy will show you how to find a good wine guy of your own, and how to effectively communicate to get the most out of your shopping experience. With your new knowledge and skill, you will be able to base your wine-buying decisions on your own preferences instead of being sucked in by brand names, arty labels, someone else's opinions, or the common practice of equating price with quality.

In The Wine Guy, Andy shares his personal experiences from behind the counter to help you become a savvy wine shopper. You'll find answers to the questions he is most commonly asked, along with tips on making the most of the wine experience in restaurants, wineries, wine bars, and while entertaining in your own home.
Take advantage of the methods that have turned so many of Andy's customers at West Side Wine into self-assured and adventuresome wine enthusiasts. Get ready to uncork a truly special experience, and let The Wine Guy show you how."

There are additional reviews on this book at www.winebat.com/forums.
This book may have a remainder mark on the edge of the pages, but is brand new and in unread, unused condition.

The Rise and Fall of Robert M. Parker and the Reign of the American Taste, hardcover by Elin McCoy

From the publisher, "The first book to chronicle the rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr., the world's most influential and controversial wine critic, who, over the last twenty–five years, has dominated the international wine world and embodied the triumph of American taste.

This is the story of how an American lawyer raised on Coca–Cola caused a revolution in the way wines around the globe are made, sold, and talked about.
To his legions of fans, Parker is a cross between Julia Child and Ralph Nader –– part enthusiastic sensualist and part consumer crusader. To his many enemies, he is a self–appointed wine judge bent on reducing the meaning of wine to a two–digit number. The man who now rules the world of wine has been the focus of both adulation and death threats. He rose to his pinnacle of power by means of the traditional American virtues of hard work, determination, and integrity –– coupled with an unshakeable ego and a maniacal obsession with a beverage that aspires to a seductive art form: fine wine.

Parker's influential bimonthly newsletter, The Wine Advocate, with more than 45,000 subscribers across the United States and in more than thirty–seven countries, exerts the single most significant influence on consumers' wine–buying habits and trends in America, Europe, and the Far East, and impacts the way wine is being made in every wine–producing country in the world, from France to Australia. Parker has been profiled in countless magazines and newspapers around the world and most of his dozen books have been best sellers in the United States and abroad. Yet, despite the world's attention and unending acclaim, Robert Parker stands at the center of a heated controversy.
Is he a passionate lover of wine who, more than anyone else, is responsible for its vastly improved quality, or is he, as others claim, waging a war against centuries of tradition and in the process killing the soul of wine?

The Emperor of Wine tackles the myriad questions that swirl about Parker and reveals how he became both worshipped and despised, revered as an infallible palate by some and blamed by others for remaking the world's wine industry into a single global market, causing prices to skyrocket, and single–handedly reshaping the taste of wine to his own preference.
Elin McCoy met Robert Parker in 1981 when she was his first magazine editor, and she has followed his extraordinary rise ever since. In telling Parker's story, McCoy gives readers an unmatched, authoritative insider's view of the eccentric personalities, bitter feuds, controversies, passions, payoffs, and secrets of the wine world, explaining how wine reputations are made, how and why wine critics agree and disagree, and tracking the startling ways wines are judged, promoted, made, and sold today. This fascinating portrait of a modern–day cultural colossus shows how a world that once was the province of gentlemen's clubs and the pastime of stuffed shirts turned into a sensual hobby for the middle class, creating a luxury industry bent on making money on a worldwide scale –– and how one man has revolutionized the way the world thinks about wine." This book may have a publisher's remainder mark on the edge, but the book is brand new, unread and un-used.

From the Publisher: ""Wine is not to fear or revere, but to enjoy," says Leslie Sbrocco, wine expert. And that's exactly what she shows you how to do in Wine for Women, the first wine book written exclusively for women -- the majority of wine consumers.

In Wine for Women, Leslie Sbrocco scraps the stuffy wine-speak and deals with what women really want to know about wine. The book includes shopping guides with hundreds of recommended wines, quick ideas for wine-friendly meals, and creative tips for sharing wine with family and friends.

Organized into easy-to-manage sections, Wine for Women appeals to all levels of wine lovers. From Sauvignon Blanc to Chenin Blanc, Merlot to Malbec, and pink wines to dessert wines, Leslie Sbrocco makes her enormous knowledge of wine entertaining enough for the serious wine lover and accessible enough so any novice can feel like an expert.
Each chapter focuses on a different variety of wine, and covers what Leslie calls the big three -- how to buy, pair, and share wine. You'll learn how to make smart buying decisions in stores and restaurants.

Leslie also gives you practical advice for pairing wine and food and offers insights on entertaining with wine, whether you're having an informal picnic or planning the most formal of weddings.

Confused between Chardonnay and Champagne? Think little black dress versus sequins. And Pinot Gris? Think your wine wardrobe's basic jeans. With her relaxed, friendly approach, Leslie makes it easy to understand the differences between wines and encourages women to explore and enjoy wine in their everyday lives.
Keep Wine for Women in your kitchen. Bring it into your living room.

Refer to it before you hit the wine shop, or when you just want an excuse to read, relax, and have a sip of something that's really you."
This book may have a publisher's remainder mark on the edge, but the book is brand new, unread and un-used.