The Cork Jester's Guide to Wine: An Entertaining Companion for Tasting It, Ordering It & Enjoying It

This is the easiest and funniest writer about wine west of the Hudson! She has been hanging around grapes and writing for the Rocky Mountain News longer than most wine writers and has stomped on grapes and a few inflated heads of others who talk and write about wine. This is a 200 page booklet that will satisfy those just beginning and even those who think they are aficionados! An example of her wit and not taking any of the business of wine too seriously is her chapter (I think all are articles which have appeared in the News) on dessert wines: "Just Desserts, Cressing The Bellybutton." You may think this review sounds like I know Jennifer Rosen, but I have never met her. But, I have been in the high-end restaurant business in Chicago and Florida for 25 years, and know a good thing when I read it!

Award-winning wine writer Jennifer Rosen presents The Cork Jester's Guide To Wine: An Entertaining Companion For Tasting It, Ordering It, and Enjoying It, a thoroughly accessible guide to the joy of savoring fine wine for readers of all culinary backgrounds. From how to recognize and distinguish the basic characteristics of wine, to important considerations when storing wine, to how to read and recognize what the nuances of the label say about a potential wine choice and much more, The Cork Jester's Guide To Wine offers savvy advice with wry insights topped off with chuckle-inducing tidbits. An excellent and enthusiastically recommended giftbook for wine lovers of all seasons.

I am very flattered to be the Neanderthal she cites in her introduction so I have my bias. I have been reading her columns since they began. She taught me not be afraid to try new wines and to find wines that I like, which is the point of drinking wine. But she keeps my interest - week after week and through two books - with her incredibly witty, funny and instructive style. She's that teacher you had whose class you looked forward to because she made it fun and interesting. Her irreverence for wine snobbery equals her reverence for the wine. Her latest book has all the wit and wisdom in a very organized flow from front to back. You'll learn, but most importantly, you'll leave her pages unafraid of wine. I highly recommend the book and the column.

Either if you are a Novice or a Seasoned wine enthusiast you will find this book to be most delightful. A truly excellent reference covering everything there is to know about wines and how to best enjoy then. You will find useful information on how to choose a wine for your own or to bring to a friend house according to the occasion, how to order a bottle from a restaurant menu, how to store wine in your house, which glassware to use with an specific wine, and even how to cook with wine. Additionally you will learn the correct vocabulary in order to impress your friends and understand the terms used by the "experts". In all this book will give you the confidence and the knowledge that will allow you to enjoy the wine experience even more. Absolutely a must have, you won't be disappointed.

Superbly entertaining; you didn't know more ink could be spilled on wine, but I guess there is always a new insight to add to the cellar. Rosen has really uncorked on this one. It's actually a shame she has to confine her brilliance to a book instead of the encyclopedia she truly needs. Perhaps one day. I am translating choice morsels of this into actual purchases (now that I finally have space for a cellar). Thanks for the confidence.