Product Description

The author of this title helps readers to understand what wines we like, whether it be using the label we see on the supermarket shelf, the food in the fridge, or the bottle left over from the last party. Cross-referenced so as to help the reader from every angle, this book is both a straightforward guide for the beginner, an useful companion for the amateur wine expert and, above all, a celebration of the diversity of choice in wine which breaks down any mystery and snobbery surrounding it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #541427 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
There was a time when winemanship was considered the preserve of a privileged few, thankfully not any more. Hamish Anderson's Vino: Great Wine for Everyday Life is further proof of the way that a taste for good wine has become an important part of many people's lives; Anderson (the award-winning wine buyer for Tate Britain and Tate Modern) has provided a handsome and accessible guide to finding the perfect wine.

Anderson performs an interesting balancing act here, managing to address both the wine novice and the cognoscenti--never seeming too forbidding for the former and always challenging the preconceptions of the latter. Vino has several components: if you're uncertain as to what wine to use for different social occasions, the amiable Anderson is at hand with the perfect suggestion. And if you find yourself with wine left over from a party, he can come up with the most appropriate food. The sections here on identifying the best wines (and the wine lovers' individual responses to them) are among the most useful, taking in all current aspects of wine scholarship, from global wine styles to regions and recipes to complement the best vintages. The prose is always direct and unfussy, but Anderson vividly conjures up the experience the different wines offer.

Of course, books such as this offer an opportunity for pleasurable mental travel and the various regions discussed in the book are evoked with particular skill. So whether you turn first to the extensive glossary or the rather tempting sections on food, this is a book that many a wine lover will be adding to their shelves. --Barry Forshaw

Jamie Oliver
'At last, a simple and accessible guide which makes the massive world of wine seem smaller and more approachable.'

Rose Gray, The River Cafe
'An intelligent, well designed book for those who want to increase their knowledge of the complex subject of modern wine'.

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT!
This is the most practical and informative book on wine I've seen in ages. The first reviewer doesn't seem to understand that this is a reference book, not a wine course, and its strength is that you can dip in and out of it without having to read the whole book for it to make sense. It's easy to understand, unpretentiously written and the wine with food section is a revelation!

At Last
Fantastic, refreshing, untechnical and unpatronising approach to the normally scary world of wine. Great for all levels, even those who just know they like the stuff and not more. Liked the link with food - really practical and relevant and the recipies actually work - not just there for show.

Well presented, broad but lacks specifics
I am far from a wine aficionado, so this well designed book served as a good introduction. I don't think I will ever be a wine buff, what I wanted was to be able to find wines that I would like.

The book assumes no real knowledge of wine and gives plenty of explanation of the various sometimes cryptic information contained on (especially old-world) labels.

One thing I particularly like about the book is how it stresses how the way to think about different wines from the same region will vary depending on the nature of the producers of that area.

Another great wine book is Sothebys Wine Encyclopedia and the detail on individual wines is the only area where Vino is lacking. But this is reasonable given the nature of the book.