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Rating: 
Summary: If in the Wine Industry - Read this book
Review: As the title indicates, if you are in the wine industry (at any point along the supply chain) or if you are considering entering the industry, read this book. If you are interested in learning how to taste wine, that is not the intent of this book. Lewis writes this book as an insider on the industry and from a consultant's perspective. This book is a must read for anyone considering entering the wine business! Much of what Lewis writes could help fill out the majority of your business plan - from determining cash flows to gaining insight into the wine industry in general. Or at the least, you could use the book as a check on some of your assumptions. If however, you simply want to learn how to taste & enjoy wine, you would do well to look for another book. His focus is purely from a business perspective.
Rating:
Summary: clever and very entertaining
Review: I found this book to be very engrossing from the very first page! The author pulls no punches in stating his opinion and exposing the 'dirty little secrets' of some of the largest wime producers in California...a must read for anyone who enjoys wine or is interested in the wine business!
Rating: 
Summary: More about wine politics than anything
Review: I gave this to my boyfriend for Christmas since he and I are involved in the industry. Unless you are planning to really get involved in the industry, we wouldn't recommend this book. It is primarily about politics with the BATF and how the big guys (Gallo) shut the little guys out of the market.
Rating:
Summary: informative & quick read
Review: I picked this book up by chance in a Calistoga bookstore. After reading the book "napa" I've become very interested in the behind the scenes goings on in the wine industry. I found Purdue's book informative and enlightening. OK maybe I'd rather not know some of the stuff but I had already had my "shock" by reading Napa. I still love a weekend in wine country and the beauty and sereness of the place. Visiting the wineries and talking with the people will always be a fun thing to do. My enthusiasm for it has not dwindled, I am simply a more informed "wine enthusiast" and will never be a "wine snob". Reading this book has made me so much more comfortable with choosing the wines I like for according to what tastes good to me and not because of price or reviews.
Rating:
Summary: informative & quick read
Review: I picked this book up by chance in a Calistoga bookstore. After reading the book "napa" I've become very interested in the behind the scenes goings on in the wine industry. I found Purdue's book informative and enlightening. OK maybe I'd rather not know some of the stuff but I had already had my "shock" by reading Napa. I still love a weekend in wine country and the beauty and sereness of the place. Visiting the wineries and talking with the people will always be a fun thing to do. My enthusiasm for it has not dwindled, I am simply a more informed "wine enthusiast" and will never be a "wine snob". Reading this book has made me so much more comfortable with choosing the wines I like for according to what tastes good to me and not because of price or reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, An Informative, CONCISE Book on Wine!
Review: Lewis Perdue publishes the Wine Investment News and is the founder of Wine Business Monthly and the Insider, the dominant wine trade publications in North America, and he appreciates wine. He KNOWS what he is writing about. Pay attention. This is, perhaps, the best book available for gaining an inside look at the wine industry, learning about wine, and how to start a wine cellar that you find in one concise volume. (There is much more, too; these are just a few of the topics he covers.) There seems to be a mystique surrounding wine in this country. Perdue says, "the greatest barrier to increased wine consumption is wine's snobby image." And the wine industry seems to want to bolster this image. No wonder we Americans have developed a deep-seated prejudice about wine. You're supposed to have red wine with meat and white wine for fish and then there are dessert wines and apéritifs, etc., etc. He tells us to forget the rules; find the kinds of wine you like and enjoy them with what you like. It makes sense. Want to know a secret? Read the chapter on counterfeit wines. Find out how genuine Champagne is made, the similarity of sparkling wines, and the great switheroo that fooled most of the world (except the French) . And if you want to find something "they" don't want you to know, read about to store and serve wine because the plastic membrane inside the box collapses as wine is dispensed, thus preventing the introduction of air which can oxidize and spoil the wine. "While the wine box seems like the perfect container . . . in reality most of the boxes you see are adulterated with substantial quantities of added alcohol, water, citric acid, fruit juices, and other flavors and chemicals. . . [U]nder a strict interpretation of [Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms] rules, a box of the sort could contain as little as 38 percent wine." And you (and I) thought we were getting the real stuff! The most useful information, for me, was finding out about the glut of wine on the market that resulted from the unusually productive grape harvest in 1997. This over supply has led to some fantastic bargains in wine that should last through the next two to three years! There are many remarkable wines available now for under $10 a bottle. The fun part of the book tells how to go about deciding upon which wines you want to stock; have some friends over, each bringing a bottle to try, and make notes on which ones you like or dislike. Then go out and stock up on the ones you like. To gain a good understanding of the wine industry and to learn about wine, this is the one book you should read today. REVIEW: Lewis Perdue publishes the Wine Investment News and is the founder of Wine Business Monthly and the Insider, the dominant wine trade publications in North America, and he appreciates wine. He KNOWS what he is writing about. Pay attention. This is, perhaps, the best book available for gaining an inside look at the wine industry, learning about wine, and how to start a wine cellar that you find in one concise volume. (There is much more, too; these are just a few of the topics he covers.) There seems to be a mystique surrounding wine in this country. Perdue says, "the greatest barrier to increased wine consumption is wine's snobby image." And the wine industry seems to want to bolster this image. No wonder we Americans have developed a deep-seated prejudice about wine. You're supposed to have red wine with meat and white wine for fish and then there are dessert wines and apéritifs, etc., etc. He tells us to forget the rules; find the kinds of wine you like and enjoy them with what you like. It makes sense. Want to know a secret? Read the chapter on counterfeit wines. Find out how genuine Champagne is made, the similarity of sparkling wines, and the great switcheroo that fooled most of the world (except the French) . And if you want to find something "they" don't want you to know, read about to store and serve wine because the plastic membrane inside the box collapses as wine is dispensed, thus preventing the introduction of air which can oxidize and spoil the wine. "While the wine box seems like the perfect container . . . in reality most of the boxes you see are adulterated with substantial quantities of added alcohol, water, citric acid, fruit juices, and other flavors and chemicals. . . [U]nder a strict interpretation of [Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms] rules, a box of the sort could contain as little as 38 percent wine." And you (and I) thought we were getting the real stuff! The most useful information, for me, was finding out about the glut of wine on the market that resulted from the unusually productive grape harvest in 1997. This over supply has led to some fantastic bargains in wine that should last through the next two to three years! There are many remarkable wines available now for under $10 a bottle. The fun part of the book tells how to go about deciding upon which wines you want to stock; have some friends over, each bringing a bottle to try, and make notes on which ones you like or dislike. Then go out and stock up on the ones you like. To gain a good understanding of the wine industry and to learn about wine, this is the one book you should read today. END
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