KISS Guide to Wine

Author: Robert Joseph & Margaret Rand

KISS puts out many "Keep it Simple Series" books that cover topics in an easy to understand manner. In this guide, a big-nosed dog helps you through the tasks of understanding and learning about wines. It does its job well!

The book begins with the basics - the history of wine, what wine is, and a brief overview of wine and health. Then it moves into section 2 - learning how to taste wine. It talks about the basic moves involved, and then gets into the flavors you will find. It goes into acidity and sweetness, with simple explanations of both. It even goes into what you should NOT taste in a wine, and describes what a 'corked' wine is like. It points out that cork bits floating in your wine do NOT cork it, and that this is perfectly harmless :)

Another area tries to explain styles of wine by comparing them to celebrities - from Shirley Temple to Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's an interesting exercise, although not all readers will have seen movies with all of the people mentioned!

The book goes in to how to buy wine in stores, how to store it, and how to serve it. It then goes into the main grape varieties, and how each differs from its relatives. And then it gets into the meaty last portion - the region by region reviews. It goes through each - France, Spain, Italy, the US and others - with interesting facts and history, plus recommendations for what to buy and try. It discusses how Chablis should come from France and Port from Portugal, and what to beware.

The end area has a glossary of terms, vintage charts and other handy references.

While it doesn't give you much information about any one topic, this is a great way for a newcomer to wine to gain a solid grounding!

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