Wine for Normal People


Book Description

This is a fun but respectful (and very comprehensive) guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People, described by Imbibe magazine as "a wine podcast for the people." More than 60,000 listeners tune in every month to learn a not-snobby wine vocabulary, how and where to buy wine, how to read a wine label, how to smell, swirl, and taste wine, and so much more! Rich with charts, maps, and lists—and the author's deep knowledge and unpretentious delivery—this vividly illustrated, down-to-earth handbook is a must-have resource for millennials starting to buy, boomers who suddenly have the time and money to hone their appreciation, and anyone seeking a relatable introduction to the world of wine.




Ten Grapes to Know: The Ten and Done Wine Guide


Book Description

"With Catherine Fallis’s approach of ‘less is more,’ all you need to begin your wine journey are ten grapes." —Kevin Zraly It’s easy (or easier) to become a wine expert when you narrow the field down to ten grapes. For the wine drinker who loves Pinot Noir but doesn’t know what to try next, wants a French Chardonnay but isn’t sure what to look for on the bottle, or needs a little support before they open the wine menu at lunch with a client, Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis’s authoritative but inviting introduction to wine is an indispensable guide. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel make the cut. The book covers the basics of tasting (and why wines taste the way they do), buying, and pairing wine. Fallis gives readers tricks to remember the difference between the côtes of Burgundy, offers dozens of specific recommendations in every price range, provides tips for talking to sommeliers, and shares memorable tasting exercises. This book will help readers build their wine confidence whether they’re looking for an inexpensive bottle for dinner at home or trying to impress the in- laws.







Cork Dork


Book Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' PICK “Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo élan . . . When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she’s not wrong, though Bill Buford’s Heat is probably a shade closer.” —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine—until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a “cork dork.” With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine—and, perhaps, the way you live—forever. “Think: Eat, Pray, Love meets Somm.” —theSkimm “As informative as it is, well, intoxicating.” —Fortune




Bubbly


Book Description

Bubbly is a collection of more than 60 effortlessly stunning cocktail recipes in a beautiful gold book featuring the most festive bottle behind the bar—champagne! With bright, seasonal flavors, simple techniques, and no pretense, author and photographer Colleen Jeffers shares her most irresistible sparkling cocktails, alongside quick-trick tips on topics like buying the right bottle of bubbly, keeping carbonation crisp, scoring cheap vintage glassware, and making simple syrup without a stove. Inside this beautiful book, you will find recipes including: French 75—tart, light, crisp, refreshing, and arguably the best known of all vintage champagne cocktails Aperol Spritz—ideal for aperitivo hour Paloma Punch—perfect for serving a crowd Bubbly Mary—a modern brunch classic Margarita Fizz—a deceptively simple and refreshing Holiday Mail—a cheery seasonal favorite Bubbly will quickly become your go-to resource for recipes that rely on fresh, easy-to-find ingredients for head turning flavor without an expert’s collection of bottles and tools. With an entire chapter devoted to brunch cocktails and another to party-ready punches, it’s a weapon every home cook needs in their entertaining arsenal. Inventive enough to appease the experienced cocktail creator but approachable enough for complete beginners, this book proves that a splash of champagne can make any moment a cause for celebration.




The 24-Hour Wine Expert


Book Description

Wine is now one of the most popular drinks in the world. Many wine drinkers wish they knew more about it without having to understand every detail or go on a wine course. In The 24-Hour Wine Expert, Jancis Robinson shares her expertise with authority, wit and approachability. From the difference between red and white, to the shape of bottles and their labels, descriptions of taste, colour and smell, to pairing wine with food and the price-quality correlation, Robinson helps us make the most of this mysteriously delicious drink.




I Drink Therefore I Am


Book Description

Here Scruton explains the connection between good wine and serious thought with a heady mix of humour and philosophy. We are familiar with the medical opinion that a daily glass of wine is good for the health and also the rival opinion that any more than a glass or two will set us on the road to ruin. Whether or not good for the body, Scruton argues, wine, drunk in the right frame of mind, is definitely good for the soul. And there is no better accompaniment to wine than philosophy. By thinking with wine, you can learn not only to drink in thoughts but to think in draughts. This good-humoured book offers an antidote to the pretentious clap-trap that is written about wine today and a profound apology for the drink on which civilisation has been founded. In vino veritas.




How to Drink


Book Description

In the past few decades, many of us have become sophisticated about food, but we have not given the same attention to what we drink. In How to Drink, Victoria Moore aims to redress the balance, by showing how to drink well throughout the seasons and at all times of day. She explains how to make the most delicious coffee and juices; how to choose wine that complements your food; and how to make cocktails for every occasion--whether to serve a garden barbecue, as a cold weather aperitif, or just to unwind with at the end of the day. Here are recipes for mint juleps in the spring, sloe gin in the autumn, hot buttered rum in the winter, and year-round showstoppers including the world's best gin and tonic. Moore is also an impassioned advocate of unfairly maligned drinks such as sherry, Campari and saki, and gives fascinating historical background on different spirits as well as invaluable advice on creating your home bar. How to Drink is a hugely readable, browseable and authoritative handbook, whose aim is to inform, entertain and crucially, make sure you can find the right drink at the right time. "It doesn't need to be either difficult or expensive to drink as well as you eat, it just requires a little care..." "A splendid book. Victoria Moore is quite right--it's not how much you drink but how you drink." --Fergus Henderson, chef and co-owner, St. Johns Restaurant "I loved How to Drink. For the first time in years I have broken open a bottle of vodka for a Bloody Mary, remembered how much better mulled cider is than mulled wine, drawn a fresh kettle for tea..." --Joanna Weinberg, author of How to Feed Your Friends with Relish "Anyone who loves their food should heed this unmatchable tutorial in the art of enjoying drink; Victoria Moore succinctly puts every sip in lively context, banishing the guilt from the pleasure of it all." --Rose Prince, author of The New English Kitchen




Big Macs & Burgundy


Book Description

The national bestseller that turns you into “an expert at pairing wine with just about anything, from pizza and Lucky Charms to pad thai and Popeye’s” (Maxim). Featured on Today and CBS This Morning Named one of the best books of the year by Food & Wine, Saveur, and Town & Country Sancerre and Cheetos go together like milk and cookies. The science behind this unholy alliance is as elemental as acid, fat, salt, and minerals. Wine pro Vanessa Price explains how to create your own pairings while proving you don’t necessarily need fancy foods to unlock the joys of wine. Building upon the outsize success of her weekly column in Grub Street, Price offers delightfully bold wine and food pairings alongside hilarious tales from her own unlikely journey as a Kentucky girl making it in the Big Apple and in the wine business. Using language everyone can understand, she reveals why each dynamic duo is a match made in heaven, serving up memorable takeaways that will help you navigate any wine list or local bottle shop. Charmingly illustrated and bubbling with personality, Big Macs & Burgundy will open your mind to the entirely fun and entirely accessible wine pairings out there waiting to be discovered—and make you do a few spit-takes along the way. “The book explores all different kinds of combinations, including breakfast pairings like avocado toast and Rueda Verdejo, pairings for entertaining like shrimp cocktail & Valdeorras Godello, and even some pairings with popular Trader Joe’s items.” —Food & Wine “A smart, useful guide to drinking the world’s great wine, whether you’re pairing it with foie gras or Fritos.” —Town & Country




Drink This


Book Description

Ever been baffled by a wine list, stood perplexed before endless racks of bottles at the liquor store, or ordered an overpriced bottle out of fear of the scathing judgment of a restaurant sommelier? Before she became a James Beard Award—winning food and wine writer, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl experienced all these things. Now she presents a handy guide that will show you how to stop being overwhelmed and intimidated, how to discover, respect, and enjoy your own personal taste, and how to be whatever kind of wine person you want to be, from budding connoisseur to someone who simply gets wine you like every time you buy a bottle. Refreshingly simple, irreverent, and witty, Drink This explains all the insider stuff that wine critics assume you know. It will teach you how to taste and savor wine, alone, with a friend, or with a group. And perhaps most important, this book gives you the tools to learn the only thing that really matters about wine: namely, figuring out what you like. Grumdahl draws on her own experience and savvy and interviews some of the world’s most renowned critics, winemakers, and chefs, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., Paul Draper, and Thomas Keller, who share their wisdom about everything from pairing food and wine to the inside scoop on what wine scores and reviews really mean. Readers will learn how to master tasting techniques and understand the winemaking process from soil to cellar. Drink This also reveals how to get your money’s worth out of wine without spending all you’ve got. At last there’s a reason for wary wine lovers to raise a glass in celebration. Savor the insider’s viewpoint and straight talk of Drink This, and watch your intimidation of wine transform into well-grounded, unshakeable confidence.