Wine Made Simple

With so many different wines produced around the world it can be confusing for a consumer. How do you know which wine to pair with your upcoming dinner party or just an evening at home with a bowl of warm soup?

Well here is a book that can hopefully help with questions just like those and many others...'Drink This: Wine Made Simple', a new book by Minneapolis-based writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.

Dara shoves aside wine critics' point-based systems and my-cellar's-bigger-than-yours mentalities, encouraging novice drinkers to simply focus on developing their own taste preferences.

The book differentiates itself from other introductory wine texts by suggesting that systematic tastings are the best way to learn the range of a varietal's characteristics. You'll develop a better understanding of Zinfandel, for example, by tasting a single-vineyard Zin alongside both mass-produced and late-harvest bottlings.

Here's Dara's shopping list for an evening of Zin education:

1. Inexpensive American Zinfandel (Rosenblum, Rancho Zabaco, Ravenswood, Cline, Beaulieu Vineyards, Montevina, Seghesio, Gnarly Head or Renwood) $8 to $15

2. and 3. Two different single-vineyard bottles from different vineyards but made by the same producer. (Ridge's Lytton Springs and Geyserville; Edmeades' Piffero Vineyard and Perli Vineyard; Bella's Big River Ranch and Lilly Hill) $20-something each

4. A more expensive, polished Zinfandel, such as Turley Wine Cellars, Gallo-Sonoma or Dashe Cellars. Ask for the "roundest, ripest, richest, fullest, lushest Zinfandel available." $40 and up

5. A late-harvest, ice-wine, dessert-style or "Port" Zinfandel. $15 and up

Can find the book on Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/Drink-This-Wine-Made-Simple/dp/0345511654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262897681&sr=8-1