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Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2005 Edition: A Lively Guide (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course)
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Average customer review:
Product Description
“A visually exciting, intelligently structured reference.”—Bon Appétit
“The top introductory book available.”—Booklist
“Are you intimidated by wine stewards? Read Kevin Zraly’s new edition of
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course and order with aplomb”—Playboy
“The liveliest short course on wine ever wrapped between two covers”—Boston Globe
“Brims with enthusiasm...breezy, down-to-earth....Reads like an interesting conversation.”—Chicago Tribune
“As entertaining as it is informative. A masterful job of simplifying a complex subject and making it fun in
the process.”—New York Daily News
Kevin Zraly’s incomparable course (“One of the best start-from-scratch wine books ever written.”—Frank Prial, The New York Times) is still America’s top-selling guide to wine. In this year’s revised edition, Zraly takes a close look at America’s wines and their history, discussing varieties from all 50 states; his tips and guidelines for purchasing them will prove wonderfully invaluable. One thing hasn’t changed: Zraly’s inimitable, irreverent style. He answers every question about wine, offers the most up-to-date recommendations, provides advice on buying wine in stores and on the Internet, takes you on a country-by-country, region-by-region ratings tour of the latest vintages, and starts you on your way to becoming a wine connoisseur. Abundant full-color labels and maps complete the enticing picture. More current, more informative, more concise and precise than ever, this remains the wine guide against which all others are judged.
Kevin Zraly is the founder and teacher of the Windows on the World Wine School that has graduated more than 14,000 students. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Wine Council and the James Beard Award, among others. Kevin Zraly has been featured in The New York Times, People magazine, The Wall Street Journal, GQ magazine, Newsweek, and USA Today.
• Major National Publicity
• Yearlong Advertising in The New Yorker
• Features in Food and Wine Publications
• Book Reviews in Newspapers Nationwide
• Tie-in with Author’s Wine Course and Lectures
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #698559 in Books
- Published on: 2004-08-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Picking out a wine book, either for yourself or as a gift, can be almost as daunting as the wine list itself. Kevin Zraly, founder of the Windows on the World Wine School, knows this, and his newly-updated twentieth anniversary edition is as indispensable as the corkscrew. Zraly starts small, with an overview of developments in the wine industry since the book's last publication, and then covers the basics of fermentation, important wine regions and how to taste wine. What really sets the book apart from its peers is Zraly's patience with the reader. The book is peppered with questions ranging from "How long should I keep a Beaujolais?" to strategies on creating and stocking a wine cellar. Quirky quotes, anecdotes and cocktail party trivia are scattered throughout the book's margins. The result is an eminently readable book that manages to teach while it entertains. Through it all, Zraly remains down-to-earth and free of the snootiness many newcomers associate with the daunting world of wine. Wine experts may find this book lacking, though, and might be better served by a more exhaustive, encyclopedic book, as Zraly focuses on French and domestic wine at the expense of Italian, Spanish and Australian brands. (Including Yellow Tail, an Australian wine that, according to Zraly, is the top-selling imported wine.) Still, this is an excellent introduction to the world of wine and should be warmly received by those looking for a well-structured and informative book on the subject.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
This latest edition of Zraly's wine primer takes into account the most recent vintages and the newest wines to appear in the American marketplace. Zraly continues to be one of the country's leading wine advocates and one of its most gifted teachers, his enthusiasm for his subject shining on every page. Steering clear of wine snobbery, Zraly leads the neophyte gracefully through convoluted territory. In addition to wines from Europe and California, Zraly talks about Australia's contribution, which now supplies the U.S. with its best-selling imported wine. He also rates Argentine and Chilean wines, whose quality has come to rival California's finest products. The bulk of Zraly's text dwells on the classic French wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, and Alsace, whose historical complexities and specialized terminologies generate the mystique that endows these wines with perennial allure. The book's layout and its use of multiple sidebars on every page help pack an amazing amount of both practical information and entertaining details between the covers. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Customer Reviews
Excellent!
I have been trying to find a book that would break down European wine regions into understandable language and I have found it! I took this book out of my local library and after reading numerous books on wine I now have a better understanding of German, French and Italian wines. Kevin makes labels easier to understand and after studying his guide I found I could read labels with more ease. French appellations are especially confusing, and while I would not want to memorize them in depth I did take basic knowledge from his easy to read and understand style. Being that I have to return the book (sigh...) I have made my own chart using the book as a guideline as I am sure I will forget half of it if I don't. Next time I go to the local wine merchant I won't feel like a total idiot. Thank you, Kevin Zraly! I hope one day to be able to take one of his wine courses. I would really like to meet him in person and thank him.
so nice!
I purchased this book as a gift and my husband loves it so much! This book is just perfect, full of pictures, you know, so you can locate Borbeaux or Champagne! It gives a really good general idea on the wine world and is full of informations. After our last trip to Lyon, France my husband decided to learn more about wines and this book is the perfect first step for someone who is wanting to learn.
Great buy.
Very worthwhile.
We saw this book on someone else's table, and picked it up. Couldn't stop reading it and now we have our own copy. Lots of wonderful information. Well worth having.
