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Wine for Normal People: A Guide for Real People Who Like Wine, but Not the Snobbery That Goes with It

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This is a fun but respectful (and very comprehensive) guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People, described by Imbibe magazine as "a wine podcast for the people." More than 60,000 listeners tune in every month to learn a not-snobby wine vocabulary, how and where to buy wine, how to read a wine label, how to smell, swirl, and taste wine, and so much more! Rich with charts, maps, and lists—and the author's deep knowledge and unpretentious delivery—this vividly illustrated, down-to-earth handbook is a must-have resource for millennials starting to buy, boomers who suddenly have the time and money to hone their appreciation, and anyone seeking a relatable introduction to the world of wine.

348 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2019

301 people are currently reading
2112 people want to read

About the author

Elizabeth Schneider

1 book13 followers
After graduating from Wesleyan University (CT) and starting my career in Boston, I quickly realized that my heart was more in my hobby than in my high-tech job. Trips to the wine shop often yielded awesomely poor (but hilarious) results, so my sister and I finally took a course at the Boston Center for Adult Education to learn how to taste and appreciate wine. And that kicked it all off.

A stint in St. John in the Caribbean to wait tables and just unwind for 8 months (yes, I quit my high-tech corporate job, packed two bags, and hopped on a plane) was followed by a great two years completing my MBA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I met M.C. Ice, my podcast partner and husband) and since then my career has been solely about wine.

I am a Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine, MBA, blogger, wine educator, and normal wine person. My goal is to bring the love of wine to people who don’t take themselves too seriously but who want great info about wine. I do this through the podcast, blog, book, video, speaking events, social media, and anything else that makes wine fun, easy, and normal.

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57 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
Profile Image for Julie.
2,559 reviews34 followers
June 23, 2021
This is the kind of book I would keep on my shelf to refer to at intervals, dipping in and out of it at leisure or when sparked by interest in looking up a particular wine. I have had a particular interest in wine since traveling first to France and then, Sicily. It was interesting to read that Sicily produces more white wines than red ones, especially as I fell in love with their red wine! The writing is very accessible for all wine lovers. I may put it on my wishlist.
Profile Image for Christine (Queen of Books).
1,410 reviews156 followers
November 6, 2019
Oh, I really liked the voice of the author in Wine for Normal People - she neither talks down to you, nor expects you to know everything off-the-bat. Sometimes guides can come off as a bit patronizing, but I felt she did a great job avoiding that. Rather than, "You didn't already know this!?" or, "You may not know, wine is made from grapes...," it felt like a friend trying to meet you where you are, and teach you what they know in a kind and fun way. (Fun, as in, the occasional subtle sexual innuendo and jokes are mixed in!)

I read Cork Dork last year, and I've got to say, I kind of wish I had read this book first (you know, had it been published...). It's a great primer on all things wine - just jam-packed full of information. It's like an accessible textbook in a lot of ways. This is one to keep on your coffee table, and flip through every now and then, learning different things in short little spurts (but maybe not one to try to read every word of in one sitting).

Would recommend! And I haven't listened to the Wine for Normal People podcast, but now I want to start!
Profile Image for Craig LeVasseur.
126 reviews2 followers
February 5, 2022
Giving this 4 stars for now, but I expect this may evolve to 5 stars as I continue to come back to it. The beginning of the book establishes vocabulary and tasting notes, which was pretty intimidating and overwhelming. I felt like I wasn't retaining anything. As I dug into each wine region, though, I found that the book was repetitive, in a good way, and things slowly started to make sense. While shopping for wine and looking for other wine info online, again, common themes began revealing themselves. I can't lie, it feels good to have a foot in the door, even though I have a long ways to go.

I read fairly quickly through just the regions that interested me - mainly Italy, France, Spain, United States, Australia, and Argentina - but I imagine I will revisit each of them again as I check out wines from each place. I'm still at a loss for picking out tasting notes, but the book at least gave me a strategy to follow for starting to get more comfortable with identifying things like acid, tannins, fruit, and earthy tones.
14 reviews2 followers
January 9, 2021
I finished three similar books this week, and this is the one I am going to buy. Very informative and fun to read.
Profile Image for Miquel.
Author 6 books18 followers
January 23, 2021
She’s managed to keep a conversational tone throughout the text, embodying her podcasts remarkably well. For example in a brief mention about biodynamic farming she says, “I know biodynamic farming sounds kind of out there.” to show she knows what people are thinking when they hear about burying cow horns packed with manure in the field.

She also has great little pullout quotes and sidebars to keep people interested. For example she says that in general, the lighter the color of wines in both red and white, the lighter in alcohol they’ll be. To be honest, I’d never really thought about this, but she’s very much right and it’s one of these great nuggets that gives people something to grab on to whilst traversing the vast chasm of wine knowledge intake.

But I think more than anything else, it’s the fact that the book looks sharp. It’s well designed to be clean without being cutesy. It rivals another text that intends to simplify wine learning and which people always applaud for the design. In the case of Wine for Normal People, it not only looks good but actually has accurate information which is something that the other text is vastly deficient in.

Is it a quick read? No, because it can’t be. But it does overall excel in brevity as much as possible and I like the fact that in the Germany section Elizabeth flat-out says that German wines are difficult. She tries to cover it in as much detail as makes sense just so that people are aware of them and have some text as reference, but by acknowledging they’re not easy has probably helped many a reader to breathe easier.

Read the full review on Hudin.com
Profile Image for Sleepless Dreamer.
897 reviews400 followers
September 6, 2019
DNF

I'm sorry and this is entirely a "me" problem. I love wine but as it turns out, I really don't care much about how wine works. And I thought a book like this would be perfect but something about the author's writings style rubs me wrong.

And again, I'm certain other readers are going to love this. Especially older audiences, I can see a book club skimming through this and loving it.

So yes, I wish I could have finished this and I'll never be a proper food snob but I'm sure that others are going to enjoy this more!
Profile Image for Daniel Hernández.
30 reviews5 followers
January 3, 2024
Elizabeth Schneider's “Wine for Normal People” demystifies the often-intimidating world of oenology, turning what could be a complex subject into a friendly and accessible conversation. Schneider serves as the reader’s personal sommelier, guiding through varietals and vineyards with a down-to-earth approach that is as refreshing as a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. With her expertise, she empowers the wine-curious to explore labels and terroirs with confidence, providing the tools needed to navigate the nuances of wine without the pretense often associated with it.

This guide is a celebration of wine for the masses, stripping away the elitism and focusing on the joy of discovery and appreciation. From the basics of tasting to pairing suggestions, Schneider’s book is a toast to the pleasures of wine, presented in a way that is both informative and engaging. It's an invitation to learn, laugh, and most importantly, to enjoy wine in a way that is uniquely your own, making "Wine for Normal People" a must-have on the bookshelf of anyone who loves wine, whether they are a novice or a seasoned enthusiast.
Profile Image for McKenzie.
781 reviews8 followers
December 21, 2021
I've read a few other wine guides, and Wine for Normal People is far and away the best one. Elizabeth Schneider approaches wine education from a slightly different perspective, as she understands both the industry and the pieces of it that the average consumer might struggle to understand. While she touches on the basics, she isn't afraid to dive into deep dorkery about particular topics that others might consider too advanced for the average consumer, and she does so in a refreshingly non-judgmental way, such that I never felt stupid for not knowing something. For anyone looking to learn more about wine, I highly recommend both this book and Elizabeth's podcast!
Profile Image for Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore.
Author 1 book54 followers
March 31, 2021
I received Wine for Normal People as a gift. The quality of the book is exquisite and I really enjoyed the Q&A text blocks interspersed throughout. Schneider used colloquial language, tables and simplified explanations to make the complex and exclusive world of wine more accessible to lay folk. I do, however, think that there was a missed opportunity to incorporate more photographs and other imagery to support the text.
650 reviews10 followers
December 12, 2019
An exceptional “all things wine” education. Comfortable presentation without the “wine snob” pretense. If you’re remotely interested in expanding your wine knowledge and becoming more confident in the wine aisle, this is a must read. Happy tasting!
Profile Image for Yazir Paredes.
242 reviews19 followers
April 26, 2022
Fun and informative

Great and fin way to learn about wine without the snobbery that goes with it
Companion to the podcast of the dame name
Profile Image for Stephanie.
108 reviews6 followers
December 31, 2023
This book is very readable and clear, and wrote down some regions and vineyards to keep an eye out for. A good compliment (and much better organised) to WSET L2.
Profile Image for Savana Dennis.
47 reviews
February 25, 2025
LOTS of information in this book. I’ll definitely be going back through and rereading as I try wines from different places.
Profile Image for Michelle.
630 reviews43 followers
August 15, 2019
This is a really neat little book, perfect for people who like wine, but know very little specifically about it.

Make no mistake: wine is complicated, from the color, to the region in which it's grown, to the correct pairing with food, and the temperature at which it's served. How do you know what's right? The simplest answer is to just go with what you like. But if you'd like a quick and dirty education--this book will give it to you.

Elizabeth Schneider provides a wonderful look at everything you need to know about the beverage made from the humble grape in eight sections:

1. Tasting and Talking wine--learn the basics of wine vocabulary.
2. How wine gets made--discusses everything from the importance of the location of the vineyard to the journey to the winery.
3. How wine gets its flavor (hint: there's more to it than just the grapes on a vine).
4. Geography--Old vs. New World.
5. Old World--in depth look at the major European and Middle Eastern wine making countries.
6. New World--in depth look at wine making in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Americas.
7. Food and Wine Pairings.
8. Picking wines at the store or restaurant.

There was so much in this book that was helpful. I loved the vocabulary and history/geography and found the charts (there are a lot of great photos and illustrations in this book!), especially those that broke down each wine and its characteristics, very useful. I'd recommend this one to any wine fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing this ARC to review.
Profile Image for Michael.
547 reviews58 followers
March 8, 2025
3.5 stars.
I was probably expecting more about the wine and not so much about the wine regions. This was very chatty, which I usually didn't mind, but it also felt like it was her journal of wine regions experiences, and that meant almost exhaustive minutiae of tiny European regions and wherever she had gone on her youthful adventures, and then barely a Wikipedia entry for other significant wine regions. And yes, I'm a hugely biased fan of South Australian wine, living 35 minutes from the Barossa, and she didn't do it justice. Her description of the troubles of Australian wine was interesting. But it dominated her overview of Australian wines, and really just isn't all that relevant. Perhaps she had some bad experiences with Australian export wine. But Yellow Tail doesn't represent Australia, and I doubt I've even seen a bottle in the last 10+ years. I strongly suspect, from the way she detachedly described Australian wineries, that she's never been to Australia.

So that's my gripe. A lot of love for her personal wine journeys, and a pretty boring overview of places she had to include.

And a nitpick - in describing the Yarra Valley she says that "Victoria is a 30-minute drive east of Melbourne."

I definitely enjoyed the first and last parts of the book, which started as a description of wine vocabulary and wine making, and ended with wine shopping, wine pairing, and cellar door advice, all really practical and written quite well. I'll probably review that.
572 reviews5 followers
October 21, 2019
Elizabeth Schneider opens the door to normal people and reveals the secrets the snobby wine critics don't want you to know.
She explains all the technical terms wonderfully and explains concepts with great examples. One of my favourites was on page 32 with her explanation on tannins - the rabbit and the dentist!
The Q&A sections are a brilliant way to learn more about wine with questions that "normal' people will ask.
The "How to make your own wine" was an interesting read, quite a bit of work and knowledge goes into a bottle! I think I'll leave THAT job to the experts though.
The charts describing each grape with its smell/taste descriptors is also very useful.
Great chapters on the old and new world wine producing countries detailing the wine growing regions (along with maps) and wines found there.
A great book to have on hand for wine tasting events or even just to learn more about your favourite wine and perhaps discover a new favourite too.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.
Profile Image for Christie.
140 reviews2 followers
July 24, 2020
I won a copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway under the premise that I would read it and provide my honest feedback.

The author is a certified Sommelier and certified Specialist of Wine, per the book cover. Apparently, she also has a podcast, which I hadn’t heard of before called, you guessed it, Wine for Normal People.

What is cool about the book is it manages to mix history and geography with wine. And who doesn’t like that? The sections are separated into regions with maps and discusses Old World wine vs New World wine. Before going into all this though, the author first describes vineyards, farming, and from vineyard to winery.

Overall, an excellent reference book that is especially great for breaking out during wine parties or laid out as a coffee table book for guest to glance through. A worthy book on the subject of wine.
29 reviews
September 21, 2024
There are lots of moving parts and pieces that go into understanding wine on a global basis. This book does a pretty good job of establishing some rules, facts and realities that will get one started and at least feeling comfortable amidst all the chaos. One thing missing from this book (and many others) is a better understanding of the "business" influence and bias involved -- the current trend of consolidation and the dominance of mega companies and partnerships, the attempt to use science and sometimes "slight of hand" to eliminate or at least minimize natural variability (added chemicals, oak chips, mega purple, etc.) and the various marketing ploys involved. I'd also like to see more side by side comparisons and some sort of logical explanation as to why a DRC is worth $6000 more than another Burgandy grown just down path from it, but having a lesser label?
796 reviews4 followers
December 29, 2019
The title of this book says it all! I really enjoyed the tone of the author's writing, and really starting with wine basics.

I learned a lot about wine that I didn't know, and possibly more than I'll ever need. I almost wish there was a Cliffsnotes version that I could take with me to the store! (The book is a hefty hardcover).

There are great sections about how wine gets made, where wine gets it's flavor, and ewine and food pairings. I think this books is a great option for wine novices and wine lovers alike. I would reccomend this book to anyone looking to be more confident in their wine selections or someone looking for something new.

My thanks to Goodreads and Chronicle Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Profile Image for Paula Rueger.
11 reviews
January 8, 2023
This book has a lot of detail. At the start, all of the information felt a bit overwhelming to me, a relative newcomer to the wine world. So much information to take in!

The further I got into it, the more I appreciated how Schneider repeats key phrases and definitions, which helped me get a handle on things such as terroir and appellations. Her writing is easy, conversational - she explains things well and her enthusiasm for the history and talent that is behind the glass shines through.

I believe I’ll return to it as I continue my journey. Even though it’s not written as such, it feels like an ideal reference guide - especially the last portion, where she goes in-depth on countries and regions.

There’s a lot to learn about wine, this book is a great starting point.
Profile Image for Julia.
37 reviews15 followers
September 26, 2019
I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Chronicle Books.

Wine for normal people seems like the perfect book for people just getting into wine.

The language is easy, straight forward, peppered with jokes. The design is incredibly easy to follow and provides a nice overview. Vocabulary and all kinds of terms are being explained and it even contains practical step-by-step instructions (e.g. how to taste wine properly).

I don’t find this the type of book to read from cover to cover but more like a fun reference book to look up one thing at a time. Nonetheless, this seems like a great gift for new wine lovers.
Profile Image for Abby.
214 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2020
I’m a big fan of Elizabeth’s podcast and web classes and this book did not disappoint!

In her typical friendly, knowledgable and slightly corny humored fashion, Elizabeth walks you through all you need to know about wine.

I would not necessarily recommend reading it cover to cover as I did, but instead reading the first few chapters, the last few chapters and using the middle as a guide as you try new wines. The middle goes through all the major wine regions in a fair amount of detail. I enjoyed making a list of wines/regions I’d like to try as I read through it.
Profile Image for Jennifer Gray.
38 reviews3 followers
March 21, 2021
I’ve been listening to the Wine for Normal People podcast for quite a while now so it’s no surprise that I love this book. Unpretentious, easy to read and understand. A great resource if you’re just getting into wine or want to have a better understanding of wine. The charts and maps are well done. Note that it’s not a completely exhaustive reference book but that’s not it purpose. Great jumping off point for expanding your knowledge of the wine world. Highly recommend!
675 reviews4 followers
October 31, 2019
This book is a fantastic resource if you want to be able to go into your first official wine tasting without looking like a rookie. She has compiled the terminology that you encounter at wineries and put it into easy to understand terms so that you can go into any tasting fully prepared so that you get the most out of your experience.
Profile Image for Hannah.
112 reviews5 followers
March 24, 2020
4.5 stars. A fun wine encyclopedia/guide written in plain English. At times I got frustrated by the author’s need to preface information with how it really wasn’t that hard/nerdy/scary... I picked up a 300-something page wine encyclopedia. I promise I’m here for the (legitimately good and useful!) information. Now on to trying wine from a bunch of new regions...
16 reviews
February 26, 2023
LOVED this book! I learned so much and became even more fascinated about wine. It gives the basics of how to taste wine, how wine is made, how it gets its flavor, wine regions and more. All for the purpose of knowing how to find more wines you like. Seriously fascinating. I’m keeping it around as a reference book.
Profile Image for Cristie Underwood.
2,270 reviews63 followers
November 11, 2019
This book is perfect for anyone that wants to know the basics of selecting wine. I have to admit that I didn't know much about it before reading this, except that it is enjoyable to drink. However, I now feel comfortable going to a store and selecting the perfect bottle.
Profile Image for Kate Fredborg.
21 reviews
December 5, 2019
Elizabeth’s voice for her podcast transitions beautifully into a narrative for her book! A valuable source for wine information, written for the wine-curious and wine enthusiast but not the wine snob. A great resource for (I dare say) “normal people”.
Profile Image for Emma Criswell.
34 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2020
Easily digestible, well written book. The real meat of the book is found in the regional breakdowns, but information on everything from winemaking to food pairing is broken down in a way that anyone can pick up. Some truly helpful tidbits for my wine classes are found here.
Profile Image for Carla.
21 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2020
Like the podcast of the same name this book is informative, unpretentious and well-organized. Schneider is good at describing characteristics of wine in ways that are easy to understand and recognize. (I finally understand how to recognize tannins, for example.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews

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