Wine Genius

Ten years ago, I was transferred to Napa Valley by my employer and plunked down in the heart of wine country without knowing the first thing about wine. At the hardware store in quaint St. Helena, I would overhear the salesmen wax on about the merits and potential of a recent vintage Meritage that they tasted the previous evening with winemaker. I was intimidated and mortified by my lack of knowledge and terrified that my opinion would be solicited. Worse yet: what if I were to meet one of these winemakers, which seemed inevitable given the locale? I searched for a book on wine, but even the volumes that promised they were "for the beginner" were encyclopedic in length and just as intimidating as the subject itself. I didn't need a discussion on the differences between a 1994 and a 1995 Gewürztraminer - what the heck IS a Gewürztraminer? Had Janice Fuhrman's Wine Genius been published then, my anxiety would have been greatly relieved. This is the book that is going to tell you the basics. What is red wine; how it differs from white wine. What are the typical flavors and qualities to be found in bottles of Grenache, Pinot Grigio and Viognier. How do you pronounce them? How to read European wine labels (which, when explained, is actually quite simple). The glossary explains what is meant by "flabby," "chewy," and the mystical "malolactic fermentation." Which wines might pair best with certain foods? Ms. Fuhrman never preaches - she simply educates in an extremely easy-to-read format: the book is not a narrative; rather a series of short topics that could easily appear on a page-a-day calendar. I promise you: if you read this book, you will never again cringe and feel a pinch in your stomach when presented with a wine list.

I've learned a lot about wine in the course of drinking a great deal of it over the years. So I was a bit surprised by how much I learned while sipping my way though Janice Fuhrman's book. She's collected a lot of interesting wine lore (like the French tradition of sabering Champagne bottles) and sprinkled it through a book which is cleverly organized to provide you with everything you need to know about wine but were afraid to ask your know-it-all uncle. I can't recommend this book too highly. It's a perfect gift for the beginner (like that niece who's just turned 21) or for people, like myself, who want to confirm some of those factoids stored away in a wine-soaked brain. In this world of endless complication and confusion, it's nice to have a book which is clear and precise. Now if someone could do for economics what Fuhrman has done for wine, he or she would surely find a Nobel prize waiting.

I live in the Sonoma wine country in Northern California but I do not work in the wine industry. I have often searched for a good reference book for wines but without luck. Now I have a book that is easy to understand and that explains so much. I haven't read all of it yet, because it is the type of book you pick up as a reference over time when you have questions. Other chapters, like the one on how to entertain with wine, you might read all at once, as I did when I was about to throw a party. The author makes it fun and doesn't have a wine snob attitude at all-something that has kept me from buying other wine books in the past.