Description:
Joseph DeLissio, wine director of the venerable River Cafe in Brooklyn, New York, throws his Haut-Brion into the crowded field of wine books for people who know nothing about wine. This self-styled primer opens with a mission statement about being "straightforward, honest, unintimidating, informative, liberating, and--above all--enjoyable," but after a few pages it becomes clear that, for the author at least, wine knowledge is wieldable weaponry. When opening pages suggest rituals such as sniffing your empty restaurant glassware for chlorine/dishwasher odors to "send a strong signal that you are... serious," most novices may well start backing off. That is, if they haven't already been spooked by the discussions on wine terminology, investing, cellaring, restaurant lists, and wine auctions that occur in the first 60-some pages. It's a shame, because DeLissio is obviously informed, opinionated, and passionate about the grape. Fortunately, he more often delights with insider advice: a winemaker's signature on a bottle may actually decrease its value; beware 11 bottles in an auction lot (frequently indicating that the 12th was drunk and deemed unsuitable). The Burgundy chapter alone is worth the purchase price; it could serve as a Cliffs Notes summary for the Master of Wine exam. --Tony Mason
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