Wine Books that will Lighten You Up
The latter part of every year brings a plethora of wine books. These books make excellent gifts for
your pinotphile friends. Let’s face it, they already have too much Pinot. Everyone can learn something
from a book on wine, even the most basic beginner publications.
Secrets from The Wine Diva Paperback, 216 pp, Sterling (2006), $15. Author Christine
Ansbacher is a noted wine educator and entertainer whose corporate and social wine
events are known for their theatrics as well as educational value. Her clients include
American Express, Merrill Lynch and many prestigious private clubs on the East Coast.
She is a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) who goes by the non deplume “The Wine Diva.”
Her motto (credited to Benjamin Franklin) is “Wine should be a laugh, not a lecture.” This
book is an attempt to demystify wine by giving the reader practical information that can be
used in wine stores and restaurants. She devotes chapters to navigating restaurant wine
lists, matching wine and food, avoiding the purchase of wine by price rather than quality
and taste, and developing wine savvy for most any social occasion. The book is directed at
the inexperienced wine consumer and is a great stocking stuffer for wine newbies. The cover may turn
away many macho male wine drinkers, but they will find real humor and enjoyment here once they
open the pages. The book is currently being promoted with offers of many bonus gifts upon purchase
at www.bestsellerpromotions.com.
The Cork Jester;s Guide to Wine Paperback, 240 pp, Clarisy Press (2006), $15. Still another humorous
guide to tasting and enjoying wine. The author, Jennifer Rosen, says she, “can’t make wine simple,
but I can make it fun and beautiful, instead of esoteric and intimidating.” There are many wine anecdotes,
jokes and one-ups in this book which is directed at the intimidated wine drinker.
Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to
Glass Hardcover, 288 pp, Bloomsbury (2006), $18. Well-known Canadian
wine writer, Natalie MacLean, weaves interviews of wine personalities from
Burgundy grape growers to California’s Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon in a
humorous journey through the wine world. She has been referred to as the
“George Plimpton of wine writers.”
Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape Paperback, 256 pp, Quirk Books
(2006), $17. Author Peter F. May resides in England and in addition to writing
and lecturing on wine, he runs the website, www.winelabels.org. This
book has snippets of over 100 of the oddest wines ever produced. The
original labels are reproduced in full color and the pictures are accompanied by stories of the wines
and tasting notes. Included are wines like Cleavage Creek, The Dog’s Bollocks, Fat Bastard, and Love
My Goat.
A Hedonist in the Cellar Hardcover, 243 pp, Alfred A Knopf (2006), $24. Author Jan McInerney has
written seven novels including the recent The Good Life. He is the 2006 recipient of the James Beard
Foundation’s M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award. He has been praised by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
and The New York Times for his wine books. This book is a collection of five years’ worth of essays
about what’s new, what’s enduring, and what’s surprising in the world of wine. He covers the globe
from the Finger Lakes of New York to Chile. There is keen insight about wine personalities such as
Michael Broadbent and Randall Grahm and the so-called Ghetto Boys, Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton
of California. The book ends with an epilogue on “What I Drank on My Forty-eighth Birthday.”
