Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine: A Complete Guide for the Modern Wine Drinker

This book was a gift to me from my wife. We drink a lot of wine, and neither of us know much at all about the stuff. Even so, at first glance I didn't think I was going to like the book. It seemed too simple, too basic, too cutesy. Clarke is fond of sweeping generalizations, and his writing style is like an enthusiastic public school boy describing his favorite pudding ("loads of flavor!"). But I must say, I think it's a great book. I use it all the time as a reference. He covers all the basic questions I've had about the production of wines, the different varieties, etc. Sometimes, I'm amazed by what I find in here. After visiting France, we decided we like the dry roses they drink there in the south (great in summer), and started buying them here. We found pretty much everything we tried to be good, until we had a bottle of Rose D'Anjou, which we hated. Looked it up in Clarke and he had singled it out as "one to avoid." Anyway, I'm sure there are other excellent books out there on wine, but I felt moved to write this review for the simple reason that Oz Clarke has been a reliable source of information for me for over four years now. Plus, the style is unintimidating. The guy just likes drinking wine, and he wants you to feel that way too.

This book is especially useful for those who are first getting interested in the subject, and want to learn some very fundamental, but important facts to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of wine, and of wine with food. It's a good book from which to build your knowledge if you simply want to make better wine choices, or if you want to start a collection. It's easy to read with plenty of visuals that are well laid out. Wines are segmented by grape varietal, taste comparisons, and by country to enhance your learning. As a collector of wine, I also have many books on the subject,which range from basic to complex. I often find myself still referring to Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine, when I need a quick and solid reminder.

My wife and I enjoy a bottle of wine every month or so, but had no system in selecting our wine beyond the categories of price, red/white, and appearance of label. Nothing wrong with blind chance, but we wanted to know more about what we were drinking and how to select it. Enter Oz Clarke's "Introducing Wine". This is a perfect introductory book for us. He breaks wine into comprehensive but accessible categories - from "flavors" to regions to food matches to bargains. Also teaches you the basics of storing, serving, tasting and selecting. We are ecstatic to have this book. We also purchased "The Wine Bible" and "Oxford's Wine Companion" but have no plans to crack those open until we get the basics down from this one.

This is a brief, breezy three-part primer for the aspiring wine aficionado; liberally splashed with color photos of wine, wine country, food to eat with wine and Clarke with a glass in his hand. First he discusses wine flavors, what to buy and from where, according to pocketbook. Then he gives tips on enjoying wine: pairing with food, storing, buying, and deciphering the label. The last and longest section discusses wine by country: regions, characteristics and ten to try. An entertaining, non-threatening, useful guide for the beginner.

I sat down at the local Barnes & Noble with this book and four others: "The K.I.S.S. Guide to Wine", "Wine for Dummies", "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine", and "The Complete Guide to Wine". Of the five books, "Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine" was (if I remember correctly) the most expensive of the five and, at 144 pages, the shortest--which made me question whether it was the best value. However, after comparing the five books, it's the only one I took home with me. Here's why: All five books covered my four major areas of interest (food & wine pairing, the characteristics of the different grape varieties and regions, how to serve wine and how to decipher wine labels), but the Clarke book, in my mind, had the clearest, most interesting and best written material. Also, the "Wine Wheel" graphics (pp. 13 & 18) and the Food & Wine Matching Charts (pp. 61 & 62) were, for me, worth the purhcase price alone. By the way, "The K.I.S.S. Guide to Wine" is a great choice for those wanting more in-depth coverage.