Andrea Immer's 2005 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone (Andrea Immer's Wine Buying Guide for Everyone (Paper))

Rating:
Summary: Really Useful
Review: I'm impressed that this tells how long different wines will last after opening either at room temperature or in a refrigerator. That is something I haven't seen before.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Grapes!
Review: This book cuts to the chase. You don't need to be a sommelier to appreciate fine wine as this handy book illustrates. It's a practical book, one which you will want to take along on your next wine buying expedition. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the wines listed were available at my local wine merchant. A book true to it's word! I'll drink to that!

Rating:
Summary: This book makes sense of it all
Review: This book succeeds in what it aspires to do: make wine-buying an unintimidating act. So many Americans think of wine as a special-occasion indulgence, and that it can't possibly be good if isn't expensive, as opposed to the more European attitude that a glass of wine (or two) is an everyday thing. Naturally, to have wine as a more everyday life- and food-enhancer, unless you're a multi-millionaire, you'll want to know about good wines in different price categories. Immer's non-snobbish approach led her to include an under-$12 category, for which I am grateful. (Who'd have thought a $7 Chardonnay from Vons Market, Lindeman's Bin 65 from Australia, could be this good?) In just a few skims, I already feel far more knowledgeable about wine than I did before. I've already tried some of her recommendations and have been very pleased. I've tended to stick to the same few wines due to disappointments when I've experimented (based more on label appeal than anything else!) but now I know of literally hundreds of wines that I'd like to try. The layout of this book is very user friendly and it's small and lightweight enough to bring on a shopping trip.

This is not a book for the connoisseur who loves hard-to-find wines but is geared toward the buyer of wines you'll find in many American restaurants and merchants such as grocery stores.