Emile Peynaud's Le Gout du Vin has long been considered the definitive book on winetasting by professional tasters. Now, this new English language second edition makes his timeless classic truly accessible to a new generation of American readers. The Taste of Wine is Peynaud's complete examination of the science and practice of winetasting, with detailed treatment of the senses and how they function, tasting techniques and problems, wine balance and quality, winetasting vocabulary, training, and the art of drinking. A brilliant synthesis of the Bordeaux and Burgundy/Beaujolais schools of tasting, Peynaud's unique method combines the subjective description of wine with well-established scientific principles--forming an approach which is definitive, comprehensive, and free of esoteric jargon. With a foreword by Michael Broadbent, this edition features Michael Schuster's excellent translation, which retains all of the wit and sparkle of the original while remaining faithful to Peynaud's precise vocabulary. The text is beautifully complemented by a carefully selected range of illustrations and full-color photographs, which give full expression to the principles and spirit of the book. As vital to increasing our understanding of winetasting as it is to enhancing our appreciation of wine, The Taste of Wine will be savored by professionals and amateurs for generations to come. This English translation of Emile Peynaud's Le Gout du Vin brings a new edition of this classic French work to an American audience for the first time. Erudite yet accessible, as beautifully written as it is scientifically documented, The Taste of Wine is, quite simply, the complete guide to the science and practice of winetasting. Covering all of the essential elements of the subject, from the physiology and experience of the senses to tasting techniques, vocabulary, training, and quality assessment, Peynaud's singular approach is a masterful combination of the empirical and statistical styles of winetasting--a blend as distinctive and enduring as wine itself. Whether you are an oenologist, wine producer, wine merchant, restaurateur, or informed consumer, The Taste of Wine is now yours to enjoy . . .

Master of Wine Jancis Robinson has created this wine tasting course based around practical exercises that will guide you from your first sips to confident, well-informed gulps. Clearly divided into theory and practise, this workbook first provides all the information you need before you put it into practise. Learn the correct way to taste wine and enjoy the tasting exercises specially devised by Jancis based on readily available and inexpensive bottle. Learn how to recognise the most popular grape varieties from Chardonnay to Riesling, Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon, and why you should choose a good sparkling wine over cheap Champagne. There is advice on choosing from a wine list and how to match food with wine. How to Taste will awaken the wine connoisseur in us all.

In his new book, Gordon M. Shepherd expands on the startling discovery that the brain creates the taste of wine. This approach to understanding wine's sensory experience draws on findings in neuroscience, biomechanics, human physiology, and traditional enology. Shepherd shows, just as he did in Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters, that creating the taste of wine engages more of the brain than does any other human behavior. He clearly illustrates the scientific underpinnings of this process, along the way enhancing our enjoyment of wine. Neuroenology is the first book on wine tasting by a neuroscientist. It begins with the movements of wine through the mouth and then consults recent research to explain the function of retronasal smell and its extraordinary power in creating wine taste. Shepherd comprehensively explains how the specific sensory pathways in the cerebral cortex create the memory of wine and how language is used to identify and imprint wine characteristics. Intended for a broad audience of readers—from amateur wine drinkers to sommeliers, from casual foodies to seasoned chefs—Neuroenology shows how the emotion of pleasure is the final judge of the wine experience. It includes practical tips for a scientifically informed wine tasting and closes with a delightful account of Shepherd's experience tasting classic Bordeaux vintages with French winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet of the Chateau Petrus and Dominus Estate.

Offers a guide to vintages, grape varieties, and wine appreciation.

“It’s complicated!” That’s a simple way to describe the sort of relationship that seemingly defies simple explanations. Like a love triangle, money, taste, and wine are caught in a complicated relationship affecting every aspect of the wine industry and wine enthusiast experience. As wine economist and best-selling author Mike Veseth peels back the layers of the money-taste-wine story, he discovers the wine buyer’s biggest mistake (which is to confuse money and taste) and learns how to avoid it, sips and swirls dump bucket wines and Treasure Island wines, and toasts anything but Champagne. He bulks up with big-bag, big-box wines and realizes that sometimes the best wine is really a beer. Along the way he questions wine’s identity crisis, looks down his nose at wine snobs and cheese bores, follows the money, surveys the restaurant war battleground, and imagines wines that even money cannot buy before concluding that money, taste, and wine might have a complicated relationship but sometimes they have the power to change the world. His engaging and enlightening book will surprise, inform, inspire, and delight anyone with an interest in wine—or complicated relationships.

Both a photographic tour through the burgeoning Oregon wine country and an in-depth discussion of winemaking in the region. Elegant in design and featuring beautiful photography, highlighting many of the most well known wineries as well as the smaller lesser well known gems. It is a tribute to both the pioneers and newcomers of the Oregon wine industry who have made a mark in the international world of wine. Includes a Foreword by Jim Bernau, Founder of Willamette Valley Vineyards. Includes a historical time line of people and events that made Oregon a respected and maturing wine region. Map of the Viticultural areas of Oregon.

Discover new favorites by tracing wine back to its roots Still drinking Cabernet after that one bottle you liked five years ago? It can be overwhelming if not intimidating to branch out from your go-to grape, but everyone wants their next wine to be new and exciting. How to choose the right one? Award-winning wine critic Alice Feiring presents an all-new way to look at the world of wine. While grape variety is important, a lot can be learned about wine by looking at the source: the ground in which it grows. A surprising amount of information about a wine’s flavor and composition can be gleaned from a region’s soil, and this guide makes it simple to find the wines you’ll love. Featuring a foreword by Master Sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier, who contributed her vast knowledge throughout the book, The Dirty Guide to Wine organizes wines not by grape, not by region, not by New or Old World, but by soil. If you enjoy a Chardonnay from Burgundy, you might find the same winning qualities in a deep, red Rioja. Feiring also provides a clarifying account of the traditions and techniques of wine-tasting, demystifying the practice and introducing a whole new way to enjoy wine to sommeliers and novice drinkers alike.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' PICK “Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo élan . . . When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she’s not wrong, though Bill Buford’s Heat is probably a shade closer.” —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine—until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a “cork dork.” With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine—and, perhaps, the way you live—forever. “Think: Eat, Pray, Love meets Somm.” —theSkimm “As informative as it is, well, intoxicating.” —Fortune

What's the secret relationship between the strawberry and the pineapple? Between mint and Sauvignon Blanc? Thyme and lamb? Rosemary and Riesling? In Taste Buds and Molecules, sommelier François Chartier, who has dedicated over twenty years of passionate research to the molecular relationships between wines and foods, reveals the fascinating answers to these questions and more. With an infectious enthusiasm, Chartier presents a revolutionary way of looking at food and wine, showing how to create perfect harmony between the two by pairing complementary (and often surprising) ingredients. The pages of this richly illustrated practical guide are brimming with photos, sketches, recipes from great chefs, and tips for creating everything from simple daily meals to tantalizing holiday feasts. Wine amateurs and connoisseurs, budding cooks and professional chefs, and anyone who simply loves the pleasures of eating and drinking will be captivated and charmed by this journey into the hidden world of flavours.

Interest in and consumption of wine have grown exponentially in recent years and there has been a corresponding increase in consumers' knowledge of wine, which in turn has generated discussions about the meaning and value of wine in our lives and how renowned wine critics influence our subjective assessment of quality and shape public tastes. Wine first played a part in Western philosophy at the symposium of the early Greek philosophers where it enlivened and encouraged discussion. During the Enlightenment David Hume recommended drinking wine with friends as a cure for philosophical melancholy, while Immanuel Kant thought wine softened the harsher sides of men's characters and made their company more convivial. In Questions of Taste, the first book in any language on the subject, philosophers such as Roger Scruton and wine professionals like Andrew Jefford, author of the award-winning book The New France, turn their attention to wine as an object of perception, assessment and appreciation. They and their fellow contributors examine the relationship between a wine's qualities and our knowledge of them; the links between the scientifically describable properties of wine and the conscious experience of the wine taster; what we base our judgements of quality on and whether they are subjective or objective; the distinction between the cognitive and sensory aspects of taste; whether wine appreciation is an aesthetic experience; the role language plays in describing and evaluating wines; the significance of their intoxicating effect on us; the meaning and value of drinking wine with others; whether disagreement leads to relativism about judgements of taste; and whether we can really share the pleasures of drinking. Questions of Taste will be of interest to all those fascinated by the production and consumption of wine and how it affects our minds in ways we might not hitherto have suspected.