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Wine Simple: A Totally Approachable Guide from a World-Class Sommelier
From the world-renowned sommelier Aldo Sohm, a dynamic, essential wine guide for a new generation
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FOOD52
Aldo Sohm is one of the most respected and widely lauded sommeliers in the world. He's worked with celebrated chef Eric Ripert as wine director of three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin for over a decade, yet his philosophy and approach to wine is much more casual. Aldo's debut book, Wine Simple, is full of confidence-building infographics and illustrations, an unbeatable depth of knowledge, effusive encouragement, and, most important, strong opinions on wine so you can learn to form your own. Imbued with Aldo's insatiable passion and eagerness to teach others, Wine Simple is accessible, deeply educational, and lively and fun, both in voice and visuals.
This essential guide begins with the fundamentals of wine in easy-to-absorb hits of information and pragmatic, everyday tips—key varietals and winemaking regions, how to taste, when to save and when to splurge, and how to set up a wine tasting at home. Aldo then teaches you how to take your wine knowledge to the next level and evolve your palate, including techniques on building a “flavor library,” a cheat sheet to good (and great) vintages (and why you shouldn't put everything on the line for them), tips on troubleshooting tricky wines (corked? mousy?), and, for the daring, even how to saber a bottle of champagne. This visual, user-friendly approach will inspire readers to have the confidence, curiosity, and enthusiasm to taste smarter, drink boldly, and dive headfirst fearlessly into the exciting world of wine.
Praise for Wine Simple
“If you’ve ever felt like you ought to be smart about wine, this is the book. Aldo makes wine approachable and never dumbed down.”—Madeline Puckette, co-founder of Wine Folly
“A meal at Le Bernardin is always an incredible experience, especially with Aldo’s expert knowledge and effortless charm! It can be intimidating to choose wine, but with Wine Simple we can all feel like world-class sommeliers.”—Chrissy Teigen
“Whoever thinks wine is all about snobbery and intricate complexity should open this book! In less than 300 pages, Aldo Sohm manages to open the doors of this universe with wit, fun, and great pedagogy. A perfect, personal beginner’s guide by a legend in our industry, Wine Simple will surely be the bedside book for a new generation of wine lovers.”—Pascaline Lepeltier, Master Sommelier and managing partner, Racines NY
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FOOD52
Aldo Sohm is one of the most respected and widely lauded sommeliers in the world. He's worked with celebrated chef Eric Ripert as wine director of three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin for over a decade, yet his philosophy and approach to wine is much more casual. Aldo's debut book, Wine Simple, is full of confidence-building infographics and illustrations, an unbeatable depth of knowledge, effusive encouragement, and, most important, strong opinions on wine so you can learn to form your own. Imbued with Aldo's insatiable passion and eagerness to teach others, Wine Simple is accessible, deeply educational, and lively and fun, both in voice and visuals.
This essential guide begins with the fundamentals of wine in easy-to-absorb hits of information and pragmatic, everyday tips—key varietals and winemaking regions, how to taste, when to save and when to splurge, and how to set up a wine tasting at home. Aldo then teaches you how to take your wine knowledge to the next level and evolve your palate, including techniques on building a “flavor library,” a cheat sheet to good (and great) vintages (and why you shouldn't put everything on the line for them), tips on troubleshooting tricky wines (corked? mousy?), and, for the daring, even how to saber a bottle of champagne. This visual, user-friendly approach will inspire readers to have the confidence, curiosity, and enthusiasm to taste smarter, drink boldly, and dive headfirst fearlessly into the exciting world of wine.
Praise for Wine Simple
“If you’ve ever felt like you ought to be smart about wine, this is the book. Aldo makes wine approachable and never dumbed down.”—Madeline Puckette, co-founder of Wine Folly
“A meal at Le Bernardin is always an incredible experience, especially with Aldo’s expert knowledge and effortless charm! It can be intimidating to choose wine, but with Wine Simple we can all feel like world-class sommeliers.”—Chrissy Teigen
“Whoever thinks wine is all about snobbery and intricate complexity should open this book! In less than 300 pages, Aldo Sohm manages to open the doors of this universe with wit, fun, and great pedagogy. A perfect, personal beginner’s guide by a legend in our industry, Wine Simple will surely be the bedside book for a new generation of wine lovers.”—Pascaline Lepeltier, Master Sommelier and managing partner, Racines NY
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 19, 2019
567 people are currently reading
2981 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
December 12, 2024
Good book for the beginner wine snob
March 28, 2021
One of the messages of this graphically beautiful book is that wine is too broad a subject to be considered simple, so the title is somehow misleading. That said, Sohm is a great companion to start learning about so many grapes, soils, and, of course, bottles. I'll probably keep coming back to it to more references and wisdom.
March 4, 2021
Lots of really easy-to-understand explanations/graphics about how wine is made, different varieties, regions, food pairings, etc. I really liked it and learned a lot but damn, this wine habit it gave me is expensive. 4 stars.
April 7, 2021
All the wine info you could possibly want as a beginner with easy to read charts and graphics.
Would love to frequently refer back when hosting guests or cooking in the kitchen. Hoping this book’s pages become crinkled and stained over the years of refreshing my memory with a glass in one hand and a spoon in the other.
Would love to frequently refer back when hosting guests or cooking in the kitchen. Hoping this book’s pages become crinkled and stained over the years of refreshing my memory with a glass in one hand and a spoon in the other.
January 11, 2021
Really enjoyed this book!! Will definitely refer to this book for years to come.
January 19, 2025
Great guide for beginners to tidy up your basic knowledge. Can't imagine anything better for the first step into theory of the winery
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December 19, 2024lol me reading embarrassing books... I will say there are good tips in here for finding underrated terroir and just better valued wines for lower prices more generally. I have turned to this book a few times after finishing, for both picking something out at the LCBO and even once at a restaurant. My best find, drawing from a suggestion in this book, was an $18 Chinon at LCBO that was one of my most enjoyable bottles. This book provides nice overview which helps clarify vocabulary and pretentious nomenclature, so you can charmingly chat up finance execs and get their guard down, before you... um... say goodbye to them?
p.s. I really am bad at making threatening jokes in poor taste, and honestly I just want to clarify that I am a good little Christian that believes in human redemption and the possibility of repentance and some type of earthly purgatory (like re-education camps, which I always feel like I should be sent to after reading books like this).
p.s. I really am bad at making threatening jokes in poor taste, and honestly I just want to clarify that I am a good little Christian that believes in human redemption and the possibility of repentance and some type of earthly purgatory (like re-education camps, which I always feel like I should be sent to after reading books like this).
February 17, 2025
Absolutely perfect and super approachable way of learning more about wine!!!
May 22, 2022
Phenomenally approachable book on notoriously standoffish subject matter. Full of colourful charts and pictures and lively descriptions that will inspire your passion for wine - whether you’re a lifelong wine drinker or a nascent hobbyist like me. The perfect coffee table book.
August 14, 2020
Good and approachable overview of understanding wine from one of NYC's most tenured and venerated sommeliers. What I liked about this book was it's straightforward and succinct format, with good tips scattered throughout. Sohm's tips for pairing are super-helpful for someone like me who really doesn't know where to start in pairing wine & food. Sohm introduced me to the phrase, "wine wardrobe" to describe the wine that you keep as party of your pantry for enjoyment - a lot more relatable of a phrase for me than what other books/personalities would call a "wine collection."
There were 2 things I didn't like about the book. One was that the book felt like a communication of lived experience without backup, so the book seemed more like an oral history/passing down of superstitions rather than grounded facts (the section on wine storage stood out). The other thing was the way that natural wine was addressed throughout the book. It's clear that Sohm is uncomfortable with the natural wine movement, and hasn't quite come to terms with it. Natural wine is always described in awkward terms, and the fact that his only real suggestion is to pair natural wine (such a broad spectrum) with "Nordic food" feels like a way of excusing his inability to come to terms with natural wine by making a subtle reference to famed Danish restaurant, Noma.
It's a decent book for people interested in exploring wine, but I can't see myself actually recommending it to others.
There were 2 things I didn't like about the book. One was that the book felt like a communication of lived experience without backup, so the book seemed more like an oral history/passing down of superstitions rather than grounded facts (the section on wine storage stood out). The other thing was the way that natural wine was addressed throughout the book. It's clear that Sohm is uncomfortable with the natural wine movement, and hasn't quite come to terms with it. Natural wine is always described in awkward terms, and the fact that his only real suggestion is to pair natural wine (such a broad spectrum) with "Nordic food" feels like a way of excusing his inability to come to terms with natural wine by making a subtle reference to famed Danish restaurant, Noma.
It's a decent book for people interested in exploring wine, but I can't see myself actually recommending it to others.
October 16, 2021
This guide is "totally approachable" although if you're reading it cover to cover as I did, it gets a little dry going through all the regions. Sohm gives a lot of advice about what wines to buy, though I wonder how many of his "steals" will still remain relatively unknown in a decade. A truly excellent book if you're looking for an introduction to wine that will get you excited, but I don't think it has enough info to work as a reference, and I wonder how it will age--though perhaps Sohm will release newer editions.
December 24, 2019
Nicely organized, easy to understand, and full of great charts and illustrations that provide additional information. Font size seemed too big at first, but got used to it quickly. Really nice book to read if you have an interest in wine.
September 11, 2020
This is one of my favorite wine books I’ve read. Similar to wine folly but a different format. Equally fun, a bit more focused towards hospitality and home enjoyment of wine than really building up knowledge base of regions etc. I may buy a copy!
December 9, 2019
I mean...I don't know anything about wine and borrowed this book because it was colorful, but I learned that I probably killed my fancy German wine by leaving it in the fridge since August.
April 1, 2024
A super accessible introduction to the world of wine. Loved the infographics!
March 7, 2025
i know you're not supposed to read a coffee table book cover to cover, but i did anyway. such a pleasure to read! loved it!
i had one major qualm, though, which was not so much about the book itself but rather about the choices made by the editor/publisher. it was so clearly written for a u.s. american audience. i understand why--the author is an immigrant to the u.s., and the book is sold there--but a european or international edition would have been nice so i could get a better sense of the price ranges he talks about, wine-related resources available internationally, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the things he talks about don't apply to someone like me living in spain/europe at all.
i had one major qualm, though, which was not so much about the book itself but rather about the choices made by the editor/publisher. it was so clearly written for a u.s. american audience. i understand why--the author is an immigrant to the u.s., and the book is sold there--but a european or international edition would have been nice so i could get a better sense of the price ranges he talks about, wine-related resources available internationally, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the things he talks about don't apply to someone like me living in spain/europe at all.
January 8, 2024
This is the perfect introductory book for those seeking a basic and foundational knowledge of wine. From regions of where wine is made to how to taste it properly, this book covers it all. Any question you could think of is probably covered here. I felt this was a very approachable and easy to read book by a cheeky and friendly sommelier. There are a ton of beautiful graphics and visuals making it easy to really retain the information presented to you. You’ll leave this book with a bit more confidence than you started with, guaranteed.
June 1, 2022
Great book on the basics of wine. I listened to it on Audible, but I would recommend reading the physical copy because it came with a 40 page PDF, and it would work better as a reference to keep going back to. I may buy the physical copy for this reason. Great for anyone interested in learning more about wine.
April 2, 2025
4.5! This book is artistic, creative, and informative. I feel that I can finally grasp concepts of wine while knowing there is still so much to explore and Sohm’s writing balances that explanation and room for exploration well.
May 11, 2025
a book full of knowledge! I enjoy it a lot!
if you want to learn about wine, this is definitely a go-to! I love how Aldo explained in a simple way so it's easy to understand. He also covers all the details about wine in this book!
if you want to learn about wine, this is definitely a go-to! I love how Aldo explained in a simple way so it's easy to understand. He also covers all the details about wine in this book!
January 9, 2023
This book was so enjoyable to read! It makes learning about wine feel much less overwhelming. I know I will use it as a guide for years to come.
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September 19, 2023Sooooooo helpful
September 19, 2025
*only one bottle of wine was consumed while reading this*
November 6, 2025
A great intro to the world of wine- definitely more of a refreshing book I’ll have to come back to.
The author inspires curiosity in an unpretentious way which I really appreciated
The author inspires curiosity in an unpretentious way which I really appreciated
December 8, 2022
Loved this. Thank you, Monica!
July 22, 2024
Very approachable book, great for a wine newbie like me!
October 19, 2024
4,5 stars; excellent overview in an easy to digest format, many helpful infographics, learned a lot; from the production of wine, to the tasting to etiquette to even organizing your own wine tasting; this was informative and helpful.
June 17, 2023
Such a fun read! Looking forward to having this around as a reference book for pairing wines with food cooked at home and for assistance with buying/trying new wines.
January 30, 2022
Love, love, love. So informative and easy to read. I highlighted and made marks in the book and I will absolutely be using this as a reference book as I delve further into wine!
January 25, 2021
I feel like this book was written just for me, just for this time in my life. I have enough wine knowledge that this book isn’t totally overwhelming, and enough of a base line to make sense of what this book talks about. But it is soooo full of information, I could taste wine religiously for a decade and still get something out of this book.
I have a lot of curiosity about wine but I always have struggled what to do next to learn more, so as a result, I end up in little wine ruts, where I stick to what I know, varying only slightly. This book gives me the courage to try new things. In fact, it URGES me to try new things. Every 2nd or 3rd page, I found myself googling something, hopping on a wine app, or adding something new to my wine shopping list. I’m hooked.
The book itself is also absolutely stunning! It is so visually appealing. (No joke, I thought about whether I could tear out a page and frame it, because I liked it so much). It has charts and maps and pictures to help you remember stuff. It’s beautifully made. Even the edges of the pages are dyed, so it looks gorgeous when closed.
The best part about this book is I know I will pull it out to reference it all the time. There is so much useful info in here, I’ll be tempted to tote it with me to restaurants.
Finally, the thing I like most about this book is Aldo’s attitude toward wine. This guy is a wine genius (he talks about wine characteristics he can identify just by tasting, and it’s mind boggling to even think someone could do such a thing), but he makes wine so approachable. Not snobby. And he reminds us to just continue to taste, take notes (mental or otherwise), and find what we like. There is no shame in knowing whatever level you know. It’s just an opportunity to learn that much more! I’m so excited to continue my wine journey with what he’s taught me in this book.
I have a lot of curiosity about wine but I always have struggled what to do next to learn more, so as a result, I end up in little wine ruts, where I stick to what I know, varying only slightly. This book gives me the courage to try new things. In fact, it URGES me to try new things. Every 2nd or 3rd page, I found myself googling something, hopping on a wine app, or adding something new to my wine shopping list. I’m hooked.
The book itself is also absolutely stunning! It is so visually appealing. (No joke, I thought about whether I could tear out a page and frame it, because I liked it so much). It has charts and maps and pictures to help you remember stuff. It’s beautifully made. Even the edges of the pages are dyed, so it looks gorgeous when closed.
The best part about this book is I know I will pull it out to reference it all the time. There is so much useful info in here, I’ll be tempted to tote it with me to restaurants.
Finally, the thing I like most about this book is Aldo’s attitude toward wine. This guy is a wine genius (he talks about wine characteristics he can identify just by tasting, and it’s mind boggling to even think someone could do such a thing), but he makes wine so approachable. Not snobby. And he reminds us to just continue to taste, take notes (mental or otherwise), and find what we like. There is no shame in knowing whatever level you know. It’s just an opportunity to learn that much more! I’m so excited to continue my wine journey with what he’s taught me in this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews