The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

This book is a filled with information and resources that will help you to listen to your palate as you choose a wine that suits both your personal taste and matches what you are planning to eat.

The authors of "The Food Lover's Guide to Wine", Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, are an impressive couple. Known for their collaboration on "Becoming a Chef" and "Culinary Artistry" they have, in recent years, authored books that teach us how to follow our tastes in choosing what we eat and drink. The first in this series, "What to Drink with What You Eat", a guide to food and beverage pairings, collected several awards including the 2006 Georges Duboeuf "Wine Book of the Year" and the 2007 IACP Cookbook Award, among others. That was followed by "The Flavor Bible", a guide to combining ingredients without a formal recipe, which won the 2009 James Beard Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. They've been recognized for their palates and ability to educate the public in how to choose and match ingredients, food and drink to please our own tastes. This newest book in that series is takes those lessons even further.

This book is like the experience of taking a wine appreciation course without the wine - that you'll have to supply on your own. It begins with a detailed history of wine growing and wine appreciation in the United States, dating back to 1607 with the arrival of settlers in Jamestown, VA. You'll learn about the commercial establishment of many U.S. wineries still in operation today; the devastation of the phylloxera attack during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the appearance of wine at dinners in the White House; the founding of respected wine publications; and the progression of food and wine pairings in magazines and restaurants.

After laying that background, the authors take us on a journey of wine exploration by taste. What tastes do you like? What food flavors do you enjoy? Teaching us to respect our own taste preferences is the ultimate goal of these lessons. And although Page and Dornenburg are respected for their palates, the advice they share comes from dozens of sommeliers around the country. These sommeliers proceed to share with us their advice for learning about wine in the following chapter.

Finally, we arrive at the lists, the heart of this reference book. Over 250 wines are profiled by grape, region, weight, intensity, flavors, food pairings, notable producers and other details. Not to be missed is the list of 150 wines Under $15. The lists are peppered with opinions and advice from the experts.

Although the lists included pairing advice, there's an entire chapter devoted to advice on food and wine pairing.

Once you've selected your wine, you'll want to check the book's advice on serving and enjoying the wine including advice on decanting and glassware. And in case you forget some of the terminology presented throughout the book, there's a glossary provided for easy reference.

If you're looking for producers of wines from particular regions, you'll need to keep in mind that the producers mentioned are representative but not complete. For example, I was surprised to find only one producer mentioned for the state of New Jersey, a state where the wine growing community has been growing in presence and stature in recent decades.

Just like Page and Dornenburg's earlier reference books, you'll want to keep this one handy in your kitchen, whether you're planning an intimate dinner for two or a large celebration for the entire extended family.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.