Ask the Wine Doctor

Book excerpt: In an accessible question-and-answer format, Edward Finstein (a.k.a. Dr. WineKnow) takes the reader through the various areas of wine knowledge, working with questions he has been asked by clients and students during his quarter-century as a wine consultant, writer, and teacher. He addresses questions about the growing of wine, making it, finding and buying it (including a demystification of the puzzling information on wine labels), storing and aging it, and serving it (where should you store your glasses to assure good tasting?). Most attention, however, is paid to enjoying it, including how to handle restaurant wine lists and rituals, how your health can affect your tasting, and how to get the most from the matching of food and wine. Each chapter is peppered with “Grape Flashes,” containing interesting bits of information, and the book also includes a glossary of wine terms, a simple guide to food and wine matching, and a selected bibliography for further reading. Edward Finstein believes that the most important thing about wine is enjoyment – and understanding aids that enjoyment. From the Trade Paperback edition.