Rating: 
Summary: Best Wine Book
Review: I have been reading this regularly published book for over ten years. Zraly makes the fundamentals of wine easy to understand and fun to read. His writing is lively and entertaining and his worldwide knowledge of wine is astounding. As an aside, I was very happy to hear that Zraly was not at Windows on the World at the time of the terrorist attack, but the wonderful restaurant lost many great employees. Windows on the World incorporated wine into dining in ways no other restaurant could match, and Zraly's expertise was the reason.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to understand and read, loaded with useful information!
Review: I just finished reading the book last night and I was blown away by how much I learned from it. Zraly's style of writing is very easy to understand as well as fun to read. The book covers the main wine growing regions of the world, as well as the wines grown in each region, types of grapes, some interesting anecdotes and what wines to pair with what food. I truly think Zraly went the extra mile on this book to make sure that just about every question a beginner to wine might have is answered. After reading the book, every time you walk down the wine aisle of your local grocery shop, you will have a very good grasp of the endless brands, and types of wines that are available today. I was truly impressed by the information in this book and the way it was presented. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn about this wonderful subject. If the book worth 3 times as much, I would still say it's a bargain considering how much restaurant wine courses cost. Buy it and you wont be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: Very Educational, Somewhat Entertaining, a Tad Dry
Review: I purchased this book in a zealous effort to expand upon my somewhat above-average (e.g. "Most-Wines-Are-Meant-To-Be-Drunk-Young" and "Never-Buy-A-Bottle-With-A-Screw-Cap") knowledge of wine. After reading this massive tome, I realized how little I actually know. It's an understatement to say that Kevin Zraly covered a lot of ground when penning this compact wine primer. Zraly managed to address (at some level) almost all aspects of wine history, production, and tasting. Considering the depth and breath of material, this was an incredible accomplishment. Zraly did his best to keep the text lively. However, his enthusiasm for the subject is sometimes quashed by the sheer amount of information he had to cram in. Therefore, when reading this book, one should expect a very "textbook" feel. If you're interested in committing the information to memory, I would suggest reading chapters in short bursts and shooting back a healthy dose of Ginko Biloba. For anyone interested in wine (on any level), I think this is an excellent investment. In my experience, there is no better single-book resource on wine. (Also, it's a steal, as the restaurant-taught course regularly retails for $500.)
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written beginner's primer
Review: If you are just starting out in the wine world, let Kevin Zraly tag along via "The Windows on the World Wine Course" and you won't go wrong. His light approach and expert analysis of all aspects of the wine world are a reassuring voice amid the din of conflicting advice out there in the wine racks. Zraly, well-known for his superior knowledge in matching wine with food, keeps his book informative, but not overwhelming. The book is written in a breezy and easily read format, with plenty of white space on each page to keep the text, sidebars, margin info, and graphics from overwhelming the reader. And for those who like to know interesting facts about wine, each page has tidbits written in the margins that when dropped correctly during your next wine tasting will bring out the "Oohs" and "Aahs" in the guests. The only negative to the book is that it can't have it all ways. It is clearly a beginner to intermediate book, and while it is derived from the class in wine that Zraly actually teaches around the country, it lacks the ability to serve as a comprehensive reference. For this reason, I would team this book with Karen MacNeil's "The Wine Bible" - a very comprehensive, yet still easy to understand resource.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written beginner's primer
Review: If you are just starting out in the wine world, let Kevin Zraly tag along via "The Windows on the World Wine Course" and you won't go wrong. His light approach and expert analysis of all aspects of the wine world are a reassuring voice amid the din of conflicting advice out there in the wine racks. Zraly, well-known for his superior knowledge in matching wine with food, keeps his book informative, but not overwhelming. The book is written in a breezy and easily read format, with plenty of white space on each page to keep the text, sidebars, margin info, and graphics from overwhelming the reader. And for those who like to know interesting facts about wine, each page has tidbits written in the margins that when dropped correctly during your next wine tasting will bring out the "Oohs" and "Aahs" in the guests. The only negative to the book is that it can't have it all ways. It is clearly a beginner to intermediate book, and while it is derived from the class in wine that Zraly actually teaches around the country, it lacks the ability to serve as a comprehensive reference. For this reason, I would team this book with Karen MacNeil's "The Wine Bible" - a very comprehensive, yet still easy to understand resource.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Eerie
Review: It's strange to see this book title, especially with the 2002 date. The entire staff of the restaurant was wiped out on 9/11.
Rating:
Summary: The eternally forgotten Portuguese wines!
Review: Mr. Zraly's book has an excellent presentation of SOME of the world's great wine regions. Unfortunately, Mr. Zraly repeats the usual neglect found in other similar American books: besides Port wine, no other Portuguese wines are mentioned! We have been making wines for hundreds of years; we have the world's oldest demarcated wine region in the world; we have unique wines such as "vinho verde"; some of the recent Alentejo red wines are of a superb quality, easily competing with the best Chateu Lafitte's, e.g.; in a recent worldwide poll, one Portuguese wine (Quinta Noval, Douro) was rated as one of the century's 12 top wines. It is quite unfortunate that this neglect is being perpetuated! Manuel Mota
Rating:
Summary: A practical, unpretentious, guide
Review: Reading the jacket cover I noted that Frank Prial of the "NY Times" recommended this for those beginning to explore wine as well as those "better versed". Since I look forward to his columns every Wednesday, I figured this was a pretty credible endorsement. This was a case where the quote was a good lead. This is a whirlwind tour of the wine world. It provides brief, but significant nuggets of information about most of the major wine regions, varietals, and types. He offers a number of helpful suggestions for establishing greater familiarity with wine, particularly for those with a limited budget. The guide is designed for easy reference and offers some good suggestions concerning types, producers, and vintages. His suggestions on matching wine with food are particularly helpful. I was surprised by some of his recommendations which I might now regard as plonk but, admittedly, a few years ago they would have been in my shopping cart. Accordingly, I imagine that many connoisseurs would pick this apart. This is a good "nuts and bolts" guide, and refreshingly devoid of the "attitude" found in most books of this nature.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Wine Novice
Review: This book is essential for a budding wine connoisseur. It keeps things simple and introduces you to the wine regions of the world, grape varieties etc.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Wine Novice
Review: This is one of the best introductory wine books on the market. I give it to anyone that I know that is interested in learning more about wine. I hope that they can use the information that they find here to graduate to Parker, or Clarke.
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