The Most Beautiful Wine Villages of France

As a novice to the nuances of wine, I found this book to be a great introduction to the wide world of wine. It profiles grape types and tasting elements, and also gives great information and insight into the production of wine from harvesting to producing. It has become a part of my go-to library for wine terms and especially for grape profiles. Skinner has that part of the book set up really easily with headers of style, taste, and f.y.i. about each. Matt Skinner has a knack for communicating information simply but sensibly, and also has a knack for using exclamation points for practically every other sentence. This is why I give the book four stars! Skinner's jolly, excited tones had me scattered at times! As I would read this book before bedtime! Perhaps it is a generation gap thing and blog style writing is something that the younger set find agreeable, but for me the excessive exclamation points and chilled out verbiage of Matt's writing were grating at times. Overall though, really, this book is a great choice, and would be an excellent gift for a young person getting into wine (18 to 25-ish). It has a nice large size and great photographs (if not, at times a little cheesy, but that is forgivable).

Very interesting for novice people. If you know already about wine you wont learn anything with this book since it is very basic information. But if you dont know that much or a little, this is a good book to start with. I like the way things are very well explained in a funny and pleasant style. Another good point of the book that should be more mentioned are the great pictures! Although I would have liked less of the author and more of wine, lanscapes, cellars etc etc. I would definitely recommend it to anybody who wants to learn about wine but wants to start very smoothly.

I picked up this book at my local library looking for a new take on a very old and sometimes over scrutinized subject. Matt's style of writing is approachable without being condescending. I have some knowledge of wine and would like to learn more. This book does a nice job of covering basics while giving ideas of new varietals that I might never have known about otherwise. It also breaks down the different tastes and bouquets of basic wines and is a nice refresher course. Also, his tasting steps reminded me that wine is more than a drink and it should be explored with all of the senses, not just guzzled. I like Matt's nonchalant approach as he tells us not to be intimidated by wine scores. After all, those scores are just one person's opinion. As he says,just because a wine is liked by a "so-called" expert, doesn't mean you won't think it's dreck. Drink what you like, keep an open mind and explore new avenues. If you are a novice, this is a great book. Even if you consider yourself an expert(and there is always more to learn) it will get you back to basics. This book is not for wine snobs. Go read Wine Spectator.

I've just recently become interested in wine and I'm trying to learn enough to keep up with my girlfriend. I spotted this book when I was with her at the Seoul Wine Expo and picked it up. Aside from being happy to find a decent introductory book about wine in English, I thought the book was a very accessible read that didn't overwhelm too much. I'm sure I'll re-read parts of it in the near future as I try more wines. I have just two criticisms. 1: it could use a little more substantive information, but overall I thought it struck a nice balance. The design of the book and the pictures helped to create an enticing feeling towards wine in general that helped me to want to go out and experience more. 2) I found the writing style of the book artificial in some places. I appreciate that the author wants the book to be accessible and not snobby at all, but the jokes seemed forced except in a couple places, where I did laugh at them. It could also be a cultural difference though. If you're looking for a comprehensive guide that's going to teach you everything, this probably isn't the right book for you. But if you're brand new to wine, like me, and want to learn what you can without getting overwhelmed, then this is a good start I think. I'm happy with the purchase even though I paid a significant mark up on the other side of the planet from where it was published.