[.ca] How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine (ISBN 0743216776)

From Amazon.com:
Whether Montessori or Merlot, kindergarten or Cabernet, the importance of a good instructor during the formative years is crucial. That's why newcomers to the world of wine could do a lot worse than having a corkscrew in one hand and a copy of Jancis Robinson's How to Taste in the other. A revision of 1983's Masterglass and published in the U.K. under the superior title Jancis Robinson's Wine-Tasting Workbook, How to Taste is a primer by a certified Master of Wine and star of the PBS series Jancis Robinson's Wine Course. From acidity to Australian Shiraz, oak to Oregon Pinot, Robinson delivers chapters of information and theory, intermingled with shaded "Practice" exercises, presented in a style as off-dry as one of the author's beloved Rieslings (the tannin in a lesser vintage Barolo is "like sucking on a matchstick"). Sometimes tuition at Jancis U. runs high: the lesson on sugar/acid balance culminates with expensive Sauterne "Practice." And even if Robinson risks, by dropping words like "charred" and "umami" early in the book, sending novices back to tear open a fresh box of Franzia, vinous virgins are encouraged to stick with it. By the time they get to the glossary at book's end, they'll be identifying wines at blind tastings with professional accuracy--which, Robinson encouragingly reveals, and she ought to know, is about 50 percent. --Tony Mason

Taster's Choice:
See the Amazon review dated September 29, 2001 for an excellent treatment of this book. Since I first became interested in blind wine tasting almost 25 years ago, I have searched for a book that provided a complete and authoritative guide to describing the taste of different wines and grapes-a reference point or sounding board, if you will, against which to calibrate my own impressions. Never mind that the essence of blind tasting and the apprehension of quality depend on forming your own innate vocabulary of scents and flavors. There have been many times when I have struggled, and have just wanted an expert to tell me what the heck a textbook Crozes-Hermitage, for example, is supposed to taste like. Jancis Robinson's Guide To Wine Tasting is an excellent contribution to this subject for beginners. I didn't realize until around page 150 that the book had originally been published in 1983 under the somewhat unfortunate title, Masterglass, but I think we can forgive her this youthful indulgence. Because over time, she has truly become the heir apparent to mantle of most prolific British wine commentator, eclipsing my other English heroes Michael Broadbent, Hugh Johnson, and Clive Coates. With multiple books, a TV show, videos, a weekly column, a new DVD and a website ... she is, to paraphrase wine newcomer Howard Stern, the Queen of All Wine Media. This book systematically lays out the factors that contribute to the taste of a wine, and how to appreciate them. It follows the model of a "wine course," in that each chapter combines theory and practice, the practice consisting of specific instructions of what wines to try that best illustrate the principles being taught. Like all good teachers about wine, she staunchly advocates blind tasting as the key to developing your own wine appreciation faculties. Just keep in mind that to pursue the practice, you'll need a willing accomplice to pour the disguised wines for you so you can really benefit. Two things make this slender volume particularly noteworthy and a valuable contribution for amateurs of all stripes. First, Jancis is one of the most democratic and unintimidating wine writers on the planet. She goes out of her way to make beginners feel at ease, correctly observing that in many cases the less you know, the more accurate your initial impressions can be. She also makes it clear that even experts routinely embarrass themselves at this game, which is half the fun and often offers a better learning experience than actually guessing correctly. No one interested in learning more about wine appreciation will feel condescended to within the pages of this book. Second, I give Jancis a lot of credit for being willing to describe specific flavors that derive from major grapes, variations in winemaking practice, and geographical differences, since that is after all why I most wanted to read the book. It is not as detailed or quite as specific as I would like, but it does an admirable job nonetheless and can refresh the core knowledge of a more experienced taster just as well as empower a newcomer. I don't have much to criticize about the book. There's a very bad typo on page 47 where Brunello di Montalcino is described as coming from the nebbiolo grape (instead of the sangiovese clone, brunello), but this is correctly stated later on. I also think the selection of some of the second-tier grapes she characterizes is a little odd (why even bother with trebbiano if she says it's undistinguished, when she ignores other Italian white grapes that make wonderful wines). Finally, there are a few pages whose layout contains very little information (I counted one with fewer than 50 words) and since this isn't an art book, it gives the appearance of padding. Nevertheless, this book provides all the basics of what you need to know to not just enjoy tasting wine, but to actually appreciate it.

Fun and interesting, but sometimes lacking:
The topic of wine can intimidate many people and Jancis goes out of her way to diminish the fear factor. Many of her explanations are excellent, her exercises are fun and she is always encouraging and positive. The best part is that she really does help the reader identify and isolate the different building blocks of taste: for example, what does acidity feel like on your tongue, and what does it taste like in a yoghurt versus lemon, and finally in a young pinot noir versus and aged cabernet? However, at times I found that Jancis did not give enough information and left me confused. For instance, she says that Riesling wines fall into the semi-sweet category, but neglects to mention that this is only for German Rieslings; Rieslings from Alsace are very dry. Buy this book if you are willing to spend homework time in the wine store and reading other books, supplementing what Jancis tells you herself. Also, since most of these exercises are based on blind tastings, buy the book only if you have someone with whom to do them.

Great overall intro to a fine art:
This book get 5-starts from me, as it relates to being an introductory "course" on the fine art of tasting wine. All the major grape varietals are described in easy to digest language for the novice, and Jancis' writing style is witty and fun. Like all artistic endeavors -- in order to refine one's art, more information is required. While this is an excellent foothold for learning the art of tasting wine, the true beauty of this book is that it subtly entices one to move forward in a search for more information and guidance. I also recommend "Windows of the World - Complete Wine Course" for a more intermediate step toward gaining more knowledge, and then the ultimates - "The Oxford Companion to Wine" and "The World Atlas of Wine".

veni, vidi, vino!!!:
Excellent book for the novice winetaster. It is as interactive as a book can be, setting exercises to supplement the theory involved. It doesn't allow the reader to become bored with the language of wine, rather it explains it in a non-patronising manner. Will be a constant reference book for me.

Wine Taste--Simple, Fun, No Pretense, Comprehensive:
Best book on 'using' wine I have ever read. A must read for novice and all us 'intermediates.