Wine: A Tasting Course

by Marnie Old, Michael Mondavi (Foreword)

Giving readers the confidence to discover, buy, and drink wines that they'll enjoy, "Wine: A Tasting Course" helps you explore and develop your palate in your own time and at your own pace.

Offering a visual tour of wine styles, explaining the big-picture concepts, and encouraging readers to recognize the connections between wines, author Marnie Old, a renowned American sommelier, challenges all the stuffy orthodoxies about wine, and teaches that best way to learn is through tasting.

Providing a fresh take on the world of wine, showing you what you need to know, and debunking wine-snob myths, "Wine: A Tasting Course" is the ultimate visual wine course for wine lovers seeking no-nonsense, practical information.

Genres: Wine, Nonfiction, Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Food and Wine

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 23, 2013

About the author

Marnie Old is one of the countrys leading wine personalities, known for her common-sense approach, energetic performance style and incisive insights into a complex field. An articulate and passionate speaker, she is Director of Wine Studies at Manhattans renowned French Culinary Institute and an expert on drinks of all kinds. Formerly sommelier of Philadelphias high-profile Striped Bass and education chair of the American Sommelier Association, Marnie also writes a drinks column for Philadelphia magazine. Further information is available at www.marnieold.com. "

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wine. A Tasting Course: From Grape to Glass - Marnie Old

A great book and worth to read from cover to cover!

Every chapter teaches you about a specific topic, from grape variants to wine pairing, how to find new wines you like, how to read labels, how to describe wines and much much more. Each chapter then suggests wines to taste, for example how the same grape variant tastes different from different regions.

I have learned so much and it was a super enjoyable read too. I will definitely go back and re-read certain chapters or the very useful summaries at the end of each chapter.

I would 100% recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about wine. No worries about snobbish wine attitudes in here. It is very approachable but still covers a lot and does not stop at the basics.

Cheers!

[Ren Luebbering · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide to wines that's informative and actually engaging, not snobby or super intellectual. I enjoyed more the way this book was designed than the information, but both were helpful.

[Shanee Newing]

Very informative and I'm soaking up all the wine knowledge as a proud employee of a Tattinger-backed English winery

[William Nist · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a wine lover and former Italian wine tasting champ, I am very glad to see a book that strips away the accumulated marketing centered BS around wine purchasing, classification, tasting, and appreciation.

If you read this volume, you will have a working knowledge of the grapes and regions that are associated with wines; the way to taste and describe the differing wines of the world; and a survey of all the names you need to know in order to have an intelligent conversation about wine with your friends and colleagues.

This is not a book about how to pull out corks or swirl you wine in the proper wine glass, but a no nonsense introduction to what is a very very pleasant and satisfying refreshment and certainly one of the triumphs of our western cultural tradition. Don't expect a catalogue of all the wines of the world with extensive tasting commentary, but a way (with exercises) to compare wines with each other and discern their general characteristics.

Wine is not treated as a mystery religion, accessible to only a few Illuminati, but as an inviting beverage that can be enjoyed by all.

Cheers.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you ever needed to know about wine (buying, drinking, making) in one easily digestible package. I expected to peruse parts at random, but unexpectedly found myself completely absorbed, reading it cover to cover in one sitting. Fascinating and memorable - I spent the next weekend recounting wine facts to my less-than-thrilled friends.

[Josh Mirabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book timed excellently with the start of my NPR wine subscription and my wine advent calendar lol - plenty of practice for my new knowledge. Very fun and informative book, and makes me want to drink a whole lot more wine that I haven't tried yet - especially from regions or grapes I've never tried (I'm looking at you, greece)!

[Sjors · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty but rather useless book -but then I may not be the intended audience. Written to "demystify wine" it presents the reader with an alternative tasting framework that classifies wines by style along two axes: flavour intensity and weight. Bold and Heavy would be Port, Milder and Lighter would be Sparkling wines. An interesting approach perhaps but it leads to little gains for the reader: the style bubbels are huge and overlap "bigly". For example, the difference between White and Red wine is that the center of the style blob of the former is Med- for flavour intensity and Med for Weight, while for the latter is is Med+ and Med+ respectively. Wow how useful. It's not all this anodyne though and there are some interesting sections (on flavour spectra per grape variety for example, although I cannot always agree with the characterisations).. just not for me.

For all its colourful pictures and "infographics" (that contain very little information) I do not recommend this book.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wine: A Tasting Course: Every Class in a Glass is a straightforward book that simplifies learning about wines. Each chapter closes with a tasting lesson with four different types of wines in order to see, swirl, sniff, sip, swish, and savor the differences.

Marnie Old does a fabulous job helping readers learn how to read wine labels, shop for wines, understand grape varietals, and pair wines with foods.

The colorful graphics make the book very enjoyable to read.

[Federica Barufaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non avrei mai pensato di leggere un libro del genere, eppure eccoci qui!
Libro interessante per una persona alle prime armi ma, secondo me, anche per chi ne sa qualcosina di più.
Interessante sia la parte sui vini che quella delle regioni di provenienza.
Unico appunto, da italiana: troppi vini francesi! 🤣
Si scherza!

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't drink alcohol at all, but wine is the only thing I find tasty.
I just feel that wine tastes good, but I don't have any wine tasting skills, so I was interested in this book and decided to read it.

This book will give you a wealth of knowledge about various wines, including the types of wine, their regions of origin, how to read bottle labels, and how to pair them with food.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for reference when learning about wine. Probably not best read from start to finish but rather while trying to learn different aspects of wine. Personally I will probably return to it more than once in the future.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good resource.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for someone who enjoys wine and wants to learn more. The explanations are simple and clear. Wine: A Tasting Course is a book that I will return to again and again.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

648 - 2019

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, entry-level summary on wine. Also good as a refresher of wine knowledge.

[Mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great resource for exploring the world of wine.

[anh thi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tuyệt

[Carol Farnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent information that i will refer to again and again.

[Herman De Wulf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gewoon interessant.

[Nina Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and easy guide.

Diagrams always appreciated. Good for beginners like me. I enjoyed it

[Ellery Hamann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic in every way imaginable! I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is engaging, clear, and masterful in breaking down complex ideas. It exactly matches how I learn best. Remarkable.

[Shilpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it better to be loved or understood?

For wine, the reality is clearly the former as its popularity increases in a world where more quality wine is arguably more available and affordable than at any other time in history.

But is wine understood? Clearly not, given the legion wanting to show they are in the know but exhibiting less knowledge than they think.
Philadelphia based sommelier Marnie Old has written Wine: A Tasting Course published by DK that we at SukasaStyle would argue is the best book available for the avid beginner wanting to learn about the world of wine at their own pace.

Wine gets complicated quickly. The cornucopia of terms and references makes understanding it as opaque as a Barossa Valley Shiraz but it doesn’t need to be that way.

Any newcomer has options available: a plethora of books, winery tastings, institute courses, ‘knowledgeable’ friends and acquaintances, publications and the internet. Marnie Old’s Wine: A Tasting Course cleverly combines a number of these features.

Available as a hardcover or in e-book format, it has the content to be taken seriously – even by oenophiles needing a quick brush up — and it is designed with tasting in mind with a foundation that starts with “Building Wine Skills” leading to “Navigating Wine By Style” then “Mastering Wine Variables” and ending with “Discovering Wine Grapes and Regions” at the apex.
The friendly and accessible style means that the reader need not be overwhelmed with obfuscating prose and terminology; after all, only professional sommeliers need to bother themselves with a 500 page tome like Ronald Jackson’s Wine Tasting handbook.

For those genuinely interested in knowing more then Old’s book is the perfect imbibe: replete with tidbits delivered in an info-graphic format that is visually appealing yet content rich.

Full Review:
http://www.sukasastyle.com/2014/03/wi...

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just the wine 101 book that I needed. It's simple and accessible, but still contains enough detail to get you on your way to understanding what wine really is, how to taste it, and how to approach buying it (the most intimidating factor for me). There is no substitute to just trying different wines and building your own experience, but I feel better equipped on how to get started. I know a lot more about this subject now than before I read this book, and don't find standing in the wine aisle at a store as bewildering.

[Simon Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best entry level Wine book on the market. In my quest the become a more informed and appreciative wine consumer, I ordered several intro to wine books as recommended by many top wine websites and can say that Marnie Old is able to provide the most comprehensive, yet understandable introduction to the world of wine. While other subsequent books have succeeded in filling in minute gaps not touched on here, Marnie Old provides wide knowledge and suitable depth to get you up and running quickly.

[Tiago Soares · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are like me - someone who doesn't know that much about wine, let me tell you that this book can teach you a great deal.

The book is full of graphics, images and some "experiences/exercises" you can do at home to learn to taste wine. That makes the book easier and more enjoyable to read compared to some books that are plain text and full of detail.

To start off I would definitely recommend this one to a friend.

[Stanislaus]

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[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great beginner book for people who want to learn about wine. Introductory in nature but still lots of good infomration and explanations. The book is well done with a colorful and interesting layout. Recommended for wine novices.

[Mike Sinicropi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Wine 101 book I've seen. Easy read, visual, practical, accessible. If you love wine, read this one and keep it close by for reference.