I tching to expand your knowledge of wine but have no patience to trudgethrough a stuffy tome? Let Mark Oldman hclp you outsmart winc in this rclcntlcssly proconsunlcr and joyously cntcrtaining guide. A hmgtimc wine educator, Oldman distills over a decade of teaching into this groundbrcaking book with sound advice, vcrvc, and humor.

lntroduclion

Key

THE OPENER I 1

1. The Faithful Fifteen: Fifteen Top Producers for Value

APPRECIATING WINE I 5

2. Educate Your Nose

3. The Three Steps of Wine Appreciation, or Don't Give Short Shrift to the Sniff

4. Ignore a Wine's Legs

5. DryWine Is Technically Unsweet, but...

6. Acidity Is a Lemon Squeeze for Food

7. Oak Gives Wine Hints of Vanilla and/or Smoke

8. Tannin, the Pucker inYour Mouth, Is Red Wine's Natural Preservative

9. AWine's Alcohol Content Hints at Its Body

10. Assess Every Wine for Balance, Complexity, and Finish

11. Terroir: AWine's Sense of"Somewhereness"

BASIC GRAPES

 WHITE

12. Chardonnay: The World's "it" Wine

13. Sauvignon Blanc: Grapefruity Tart and Freshly Mown

14. Riesling: Tragically Neglected Paragon of Feathery Finesse

 RED

15. Cabernet Sauvignon: Scalingthe Heights with Blackeurrants and Tannin

16. Merlot: Cabernet's Softer Sister

17. Pinot Noir: A Juicy Berry Kiss

18. Zinfandeh The Great American Tooth Stainer

19. Syrah: The InkyAbyss

 PINK

20. White Zinfandeh The Bee Oees of Wine

BASIC REGIONAL STYLES

 WHITE

21. White Bordeaux:The Debonair White

22. White Burgundy: French Chardonnay, Lean and Elegant

23, Burgundy's "GoldenTrinity": Intensity and Restraint with Sex Appeal

24. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fum& Steely Sauvignon Blanc from France

25. Alsace: Whites of Purity andWeight

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