Simon & Schuster's Beginner's Guide to Understanding Wine

by Michael Schuster

An introductory course in wine covering wine tasting techniques, wine making, the major grapes and wines made from them, and methods of storing and serving

Genres: Nonfiction, Food

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1991

About the author

Michael Schuster is acknowledged internationally as an expert wine taster, wine writer and wine teacher with over 25 years experience. He studied tasting in Bordeaux, where he gained the University Tasting Diploma, and in the early eighties he was instrumental in creating an award-winning wine retail business. Since 1986 he has worked independently as a writer and lecturer, and has run his own wine school in north London.

He is a regular contributor to The World of Fine Wine, writing their annual Bordeaux en primeur report, an occasional contributor to Decanter Magazine, and his highly praised book, Essential Winetasting (Mitchell Beazley), won all three major wine book prizes in the UK in 2001. It was described by Bill Nesto MW (Beverage Business USA) as “The most effective winetasting manual ever written.”, and as “explaining the mechanics of taste and tasting better than any book I’ve seen.” (Richard Ehrlich, The Independent on Sunday).

As well as sitting on the board of The Wine Society, Michael is a member of the regular panel of speakers on Sotheby's wine courses, he judges at international wine competitions, chairs the Burgundy panel at Decanter’s World Wine Awards, and lectures to amateurs and professionals in the UK and abroad. His own wine courses range from a widely acclaimed “Beginners Course”, via “The Fine Wines of France”, to a much sought after three day “Blind Tasting” event for trainee Masters of Wine, which takes place each May.

For several years now Michael has been working as a consultant for Bordeaux Index, one of the UK’s leading wine merchants.