Educating Peter: How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert

by Lettie Teague

Lettie Teague knows wine. She has been the wine editor at Food & Wine magazine for almost a decade. The only question she is asked more than "Can you recommend a great wine for under $10?" -- great cheap Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino from Sardinia; great cheap Alamos Malbec from Argentina -- is "What is the best way to learn about wine?" After many years of fielding these questions, Lettie was determined to debunk the myth that learning about wine is hard. She decided to find just one wine idiot and teach him a few fundamentals -- how to order off a restaurant wine list without fear, approach a wine merchant with confidence, and perhaps even score a few points off a wine snob. Enter her neighbor, good friend and complete wine neophyte Peter Travers, Rolling Stone magazine's longtime film critic. Peter Travers proved the perfect Eliza Doolittle to Lettie's Professor Higgins. As a film critic he made bold pronouncements ("This movie stinks," which could be readily translated to "This Cabernet tastes like Merlot") and exhibited a finely tuned visual sense ("The cinematography could be improved" could easily become "This wine is too white"). But, most important, Peter knew almost nothing about wine. As Lettie begins their lessons, Peter puts down his ever-present glass of "fatty" Chardonnay and learns that there is a huge world out there full of all kinds of wine. He is taught to swirl his glass to release the wine's aromatic compounds -- or esters -- above the rim and vows, "I'm going to do that for Martin Scorsese next time I see him. I'll volatize my esters for him." Thus Lettie enlightens her wine-challenged but film-savvy friend about the Facts of how to hold a glass; the vocabulary of wine; how wine is made; how to read labels; how to tell the difference between grape varieties; how to make sense of vintages; how to glean information about a wine simply by looking at the shape and color of the bottle; and an overview of the great wine regions of the Old World and the New. Finally, after many fact-filled, hilarious lessons, Lettie takes Peter to the most famous American wine region of all, Napa Valley, where he hobnobs with wine and Hollywood royalty and finally puts his new skills to the test in the real world. Part buddy movie, part serious wine tutorial, Educating Peter is as much a treat for oenophiles in on the joke as it is for beginners who think Chablis is a brand name of wine.

Genres: Wine, Nonfiction, Food

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2007

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, learned so much from this book! I wasn't expecting so much detail on the wines of the world (chapters on not just France and Italy, etc but also Hungary, South Africa, Australia...). At times, all the information was a little overwhelming, but the author kept it engaging and unexpectedly funny with her descriptions of conversations with Peter (who ends up being quite a character).

My only regret is that while there are tons of facts in this book, there aren't a lot of practical tips on how to taste wine or choose a wine at a restaurant. It provides great context for the wine world at large but I would have appreciated more targeted advice. All in all, I'd definitely recommend it to oenophiles interested in learning more.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realized i'd never get to this book so took it off the shelf to donate to thrift shop, decided to see if there were any notes on local wineries, an hour later i'd read the book. Great fun. If you've ever been in a bookstore where somebody knows all the authors and name drops them so you'll be impressed (i'm usually that guy), this book is like that, Peter knows everybody and casually mentions them constantly. The winery owner are almost as bad.

[Laura]

Couldn't finish. Lettie Teague is one of my FAVORITE wine writers...but I found Peter (or the way he was portrayed, anyway) to be a very unlikable character. Turned me off of the book.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will help lay the foundation to a solid understanding of wine but it’s no way expecting you to be an expert by the end of it

[Sara Salfrank · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was, in fact, part of my "Resolution: finish what you've got," but I finally put it down and walked away. I suppose I am going to have to do a little of that if I am going to get through the unread books on my shelves. I do not think this book is an entire waste, and perhaps others might really enjoy it. I left it in the hands of my aunt and/or my dad, who may be able to find some interest in it, but I was very off put by the tone of the author, who speaks down to her friend, Peter. And as I am reading this from the perspective of Peter, I just really don't feel like being talked down to by the author, no matter how much I want to sound sophisticated about wine. For now, I will consult my brilliant friend Steph and be content classifying my wines as "cheap (< $10) vs. expensive (> $10), "red vs. white," and "sweet vs. dry." That's just where I'm at.

[David Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings on this one. I enjoyed the banter and many of the facts about wine, particularly about the types I most enjoy. The style often left me feeling that I wanted more, as the author would bring up questions that I think were meant to be humorous, but ended up coming off as just unanswered questions.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is really between a 3 and 4.

I learned a lot and wasn't crazy about the format. At first it seemed interesting, the idea of writing a book based on introducing/educating someone on wine. As the book progressed it felt false and pushed.

[K.A. Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very close to a textbook in format, but enjoyable for a big fan of wine!

[Jason Pettus · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

So unlike a lot of the books I do only micro-reviews of here, Lettie Teague's Educating Peter is not necessarily that bad from a pure writing standpoint, and in fact comes with an instantly compelling hook, which is why I picked it up in the first place: an executive editor and monthly columnist at Food & Wine magazine, Teague recently became obsessed with whether or not she had it in her to write an entire book-length guide to wine geared specifically towards people who know nothing about wines, so ended up getting her next-door neighbor to agree to be a long-term guinea pig, that neighbor by coincidence happening to be Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers. (See, I knew there was some neighborhood somewhere where all the rich magazine editors live!) The only problem with this premise, though, is that the answer to the above question is unfortunately "no;" although technically proficient when checked against an AP stylebook, exactly what you'd expect from a veteran magazine writer, Educating Peter just does not hold together very well as a full-length manuscript, and especially one that is specifically trying to teach a certain amount of erudite details about wine to someone who knows nothing about the subject.

Much too vague at points (I still don't understand what a Chateau is, and why the designation is so important to the French wine industry), much too specific at others (yes, I get it, drink white wine with fish, I freakin' get it), with a glossary that for some inexplicable reason is buried 23 pages in, the book has a bad habit of meandering lazily from one random subject to the next, not a tight collection of related essays like I was expecting but rather like sitting around a dinner party listening to Teague say, "Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention this one thing; and oh yeah, I forgot to mention this other thing too." Plus, the pained and forced film metaphors Teague tries to insert throughout the manuscript mostly fall on their face, and heavily distract the reader from the book's main point; plus, I have to admit, just the very notion of a fluffy nonfiction book with a 25-word title was enough to badly ruffle the feathers of this particular critic. (Here's a little tip, Scribner and all you other presses; if it takes a 25-word title just to explain a book's premise, maybe you need to rethink the very premise itself.) All in all, a pretty bad disappointment even though technically well-written, a book that didn't even meet the lowered expectations I had going into it. Buyer beware.

Out of 10: 6.2

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educating Peter is broken out into country-chapters, although I am doubting that is the way the author introduced wine to the "flabby chard drinker". The book itself is witty and entertaining -- I would love to have either Lettie or Peter to dinner. I picked up the book in hopes of becoming "an (almost) instant wine expert", which did not quite happen although I was able to recognize a wine merchant's mistake in calling sancerre a chenin blanc wine (it's made with Savingnon Blanc) and seeing an error in Wine Spectator -- quoting a wine director referring to "Screaming Eagle 1991" (the first vintage was 1992). Many of the wines referred to as tastings for Peter are not available in my area and/or some are priced out of a novice's range -- although I have been known to spend $50+ on a bottle "to try", over $100 is not generally in the general tasting budget and as one who drinks wine every day not a "daily drinker".

[Jennifer Tran · Rating 1 out of 5]

i have never read lettie teague's articles before on wine, but perhaps those are better. i am still reading this book. it does not flow very well. i agree with the observation that the way peter's character was portrayed made him very unlikeable. something that i also noticed while reading this book is that teague name-drops a lot, about this famous wine maker she knows, or this famous restaurant owner who is her friend, i did not like that at all. it made the book seem somewhat pretentious.

i had a different idea of how the book would be structured, what it would cover, and how it would flow. i thought the flow would be more like reading a storybook, but it's nothing like that. there is an attempt to structure the book that doesn't quite work in my opinion. i plan to finish reading this book, but i'm not sure if i'd pick it up again afterward.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe if I read enough memoirs about choosing and drinking wines, I will be able to remember the differences among the names of regions, grapes, and producers. Usually these books discuss wines way beyond my pocketbook, but occasionally there are a few I can add to my list. Then, when I can remember to carry my list with me, the wine list in a restaurant or the selection in a wine store doesn't look quite so daunting.

This book separated the wine regions of the world which also gave me some ideas for future travel. It was a fun read with lots of personal insights into the world of wine and the players who run it.

[Terrence Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book in my queue... As I research wine importing and distribution in to Asia I've recognized that eduction of the public will be a necessary component to my success.

This book tells the story of the author's efforts and success in sharing her passion of wine to film critic Peter Travers.

I hope to gain insight into how to bring the joy of wine to those for whom wine is seen as a haut-beverage of the wealthy.

Specifically, I would like to find a way to convince the Korean market that wine is much more than a status symbol. I wish to teach them to drink wine for the love of the drink rather than the prestige brought by gulping down a too young 2007 Chateau SoAndSo Bordeaux.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. Wine is a new hobby of mine, and am trying to learn all I can about it. This book is a very easy read, while at the same time not dumbed down - and it is utterly charming. Peter Travers seems like someone I would want to know in real life. If you are in any way interested in learning about wine and where and how it's made - you should get this book. I definitely plan to get her other book, Fear of the Grape, or something like that.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I liked drinking wine before, but after reading this, I actually understood what I was drinking. I now have a better appreciation for it. I now have a bit of a passion for wine.

Including Peter in the book made what would otherwise be a pretty dry informative book into a much easier read. Including him seemed forced at times, but at least he was amusing.

I keep it as a quick reference to many of the world's wine regions.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended by one of my guests at the restaurant. It's not bad for what it is. It's certainly more readable than a lot of wine books. The second part of the subtitle seems overly ambitious.

[Sung Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book. It is detailed without being a drag and choked with information. It is an interesting without being too flippant. It is a good read for anyone wanting to have a good introduction to the world of wine.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of wine with clear explanations of geographical regions and plenty of affordable recommendations. The "Peter" of the title is a tad annoying, but Ms Teague's clear prose makes up for that.

[Carla Bailey]

Half way in and it is an enlightening read to the world of wine. A little dull, but educational. It is better than studying a text book to try to impress your wine snob friends!

[Carl]

This was a very fun book.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to learn a bit more about wine, but I'm not sure this is quite the best book on the subject. I find "Peter" to be a semi-annoying character...

[Barb Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wine just isn't something you can learn off a piece of paper. You need to see, smell, taste. I'm still lost.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this prior to and during a visit to the Marlborough wine region. It was the perfect compliment to our wine tasting, and it is a book I can refer to for years to come.

[Arelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to learn and understand the world of wine

[Da277 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I read the first chapter, grabbed a highlighter and started over from beginning. This was an engaging book that I truly enjoyed reading and will refer back to for years to come!!

[Rebecca Tolley · Rating 2 out of 5]

read my review at my food blog: http://www.potlikkery.com/2007/04/win...

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great and entertaining book about wine. Easy to read and humorously written.