Uncorked: The Novice's Guide to Wine

by Paul Kreider

An easy, informative introduction to the world of wine
If you love wine and are interested to learn more about it,  Uncorked  is the perfect tool to gain a straightforward understanding of the essentials of wine, allowing you to enjoy wine and be at ease in any setting. This entertaining guide is presented in an easy-to-understand format, covering topics on everything from the winemaking process, wine vocabulary, and red wine versus white wine, to tasting and selecting wines for any occasion. With a helpful glossary and brief topic-by-topic chapters, this accessible, snobbery-free guide is the perfect companion for purchasing wines and navigating your way skillfully at parties, dinners, wine tastings, wine shops, and more.
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Genres: Wine, Nonfiction, Cooking, Reference, Alcohol

202 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2011

Reviews

[Alyssa Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a complete novice to the art and science of wine tasting, the first few chapters were decent for teaching me a few terms, but Paul Kreider's head is so far up his own ass that he cannot abandon his own personal vendettas or stories that underhandedly showcase his ENORMOUS wine-tasting and making talent and knowledge to actually define most of the terms he uses, or explain most of what his chapters are about. I get the feeling that as he wrote, he was getting drunker and drunker on his own precious wine, and as he did, he simply became more of an arrogant "wine snob"--those people that he loves to hate on the surface, but is above all else as the writer of this book. Don't bother reading this. There are better beginner guides out there.

[Marshy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really easy to read, unpretentious writing style. Simple chapters chunk out the information that will quickly make you feel like you know what you are talking about when you pick your next wine. I read this slowly over the course of 2 years and I re-read it just to make sure I don't forget the terminology and the 'why do we do that' type of tidbits. For example, tasting the wine at the restaurant table, is more about making sure the cork didn't go bad and corrupt the wine, than whether you approve to the taste of the wine your just ordered. Or the fact that the little clear crystals that can look like shards of glass at the bottom of your white wine glass are not actually glass but a harmless byproduct of the wine. I recommend this book to anyone who likes wine. It's just a no-brainer to educate yourself on what goes into making and the mass production of wine.

[Albert Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to wine making and tasting. It's very educational and the reader can learn wine specific vocabulary easily, without getting into too much detail. I'm now even more interested in learning about wine as well as drinking it more often.

[Sarah Cowles-Zambon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, no frills presentation of wine basics. I will be revisiting this book.

[Mimi D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic information. Good for if you know nothing about wine and want some background. Very quick read

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick little introduction to wine that's too basic for me, but I still learned a few things. Apparently those huge jugs of wine used to be straight up marketed as "burgundy" back in the day, which is kind of hilarious.

There's a super weird section in here where Paul Kreider recommends pretending like you don't know shit about wine in order to not sound like a douchebag. He says you should say something along the lines of "I've heard sometimes sugar doesn't ferment all the way and that makes wine sweeter, did that happen here?" If you know perfectly well what residual sugar is, it's fine to ask your sommelier or friendly wine shop owner about the residual sugar in a particular wine. The way to not sound douchey is to not act like a douchebag.

[SplkdancerReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a very accessible, helpful book about wine. I know very little about it, and found this book easy to read and thorough at explaining things. Unlike other books I've attempted about wine, there was no pretentious attitude about those who prefer one type of wine over another (ie. sweet vs. dry). He was clear about his preferences, but was careful to emphasize that preferring one type over another does not make you "lesser" just different. I appreciated the education and it made me interested to try new types of wine in the future.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short read, humorous in a cheeky sort of way and very interesting. I liked that the author pointed out ways for newbies like me to not embarrass ourselves at wine-tasting events. He also covers the basic terminology and in general, I feel as though I am going to sleep tonight knowing something more about wine than I did when I awoke this morning.

[Shei · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a beginners book I liked it. Definitely learned some stuff I didn't know before and brushed up on some that I already did. The book was written from the author's point of view, so there's some humor and witty remarks in it, which I appreciated. All in all a good read for people who want to learn more about wine.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to wine, but doesn't go as in depth as I would have liked. He speaks a great deal about American wines, but only brushes on foreign wines. The scientific information in the first half of the book was very informative, whereas the final chapters were about wine etiquette, a subject I found unnecessary.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was between 2 and 3 stars for me. I was looking to expand my wine knowledge but don't think this helped overly much. It was well written, though, and certainly worth a read if you don't know anything about wine or the proper etiquette for wine tastings.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

His comments on NC wine made me cringe. I did not learn anything about wine that I didn't already know. Read a different book.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very rudimentary material. None of my friends would learn much from reading it.

[Chrystal Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative. I would suggest it to anyone just staring out learning about wine and wine tasting. The author keep it entertaining and interesting for the beginner.

[Matthew Flannery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. After reading a beginner's book, this was a great intermediate book to get into. I read as preparation for a weekend in Napa, it prepped me well!

[Tom Aguero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and simple take on getting into wines. Provides quick easy to understand background knowledge for someone who knows absolutely nothing about wine.

[C. Scott Kippen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read for those of us who know little/nothing about wine. It was a great introduction.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for beginners, not too much detail to overwhelm you.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't learn much at all. Quite disappointed.