Wine for Dummies,

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Wine
	Chapter 1 Wine 101
		How Wine Happens
		What Color Is Your Appetite?
			(Not exactly) white wine
			Red, red wine
			Rosé wines
			Choosing your color
		Other Ways of Categorizing Wine
			Table wine
			Dessert wine
			Sparkling wine (and a highly personal spelling lesson)
	Chapter 2 A Matter of Personal Taste (Buds)
		The Special Technique for Tasting Wine
			Savoring a wine’s appearance
			The nose knows
			The mouth action
		Parlez-Vous Winespeak?
			Deconstructing a wine’s taste
			The flavor dimension
		The Quality Issue
			What’s a good wine?
			What’s a bad wine?
	Chapter 3 Pinot Envy and Other Secrets about Grape Varieties
		The Importance of Grape Varieties
			Of genus and species
			A variety of varieties
			How grapes vary
			Grape royalty
		A Primer on White Grape Varieties
			Chardonnay
			Riesling
			Sauvignon Blanc
			Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio
			Other white grapes
		A Primer on Red Grape Varieties
			International superstars
			Local heroes
			Other red grapes
	Chapter 4 Wine Label Lingo
		The Wine Name Game
			Grape names and place-names
			Hello, my name is Chardonnay: Varietal wines
			Hello, my name is Bordeaux: Place-name wines
			Wines named in other ways
		Decoding the Language of the Label
			The mandatory sentence
			Indications of origin
			Some optional label lingo
	Chapter 5 Winemaking Matters
		Vineyard Jargon, Winemaking Talk
		The World of Viti-Vini
			Vine-growing variations
			Winemaking wonder words
		Even More Winemaking Terms
Part 2 Wine and You: Up Close and Personal
	Chapter 6 Buying Wine to Drink at Home
		Buying Wine Can Give Anyone the Jitters
		Wine Retailers, Large and Small
			Supermarkets, superstores, and so on
			Specialty wine shops
			Online merchants
		Criteria for Choosing Wine Merchants
			In the wine shop
			On the Internet
		Strategies for Wine Shopping
			Explain what you want
			Name your price
	Chapter 7 Buying Wine in Restaurants
		By the Glass or Buy the Bottle
			Just a glass, please
			Choosing from the bottle list
		Analyzing the Wine List
			What the wine list should tell you
			Tips for using the wine list
			The end result: Choosing your wine
		Managing the Wine Presentation Ritual
		Restaurant Wine Tips
		Long Live Wine Bars
	Chapter 8 Serving Wine
		Getting the Cork Out
			The corkscrew not to use
			Corkscrews to buy
			Dealing with cork particles in your wine
			A special case: Opening Champagne and sparkling wine
		Screw Caps Are “In”
		Does Wine Really Breathe?
			How to aerate your wine
			Which wines need aerating?
		Does the Glass Really Matter?
			Color, size, and shape
			Tulips, flutes, trumpets, and other picturesque wine-glass names
			Which glasses to buy?
			Washing your wine glasses
		Not Too Warm, Not Too Cold
		Entertaining with Wine
			First things first
			How much is enough?
		Keeping Leftover Wine
	Chapter 9 Marrying Wine with Food
		With Wine and Food, Rules Do Not Apply
		The Dynamics of Food and Wine
			Tannic wines
			Sweet wines
			Acidic wines
			High-alcohol wines
		Other Ways of Pairing Food and Wine
		Classic Pairings of Wine and Food
Part 3 Wine’s Classic Face: The “Old World” of Wine
	Chapter 10 Knowing the Wines of France
		The French Model
			Understanding French wine law
			Fine distinctions in the ranks
		France’s Wine Regions
			Bordeaux: The Legend
			The subregions of red Bordeaux
			Classified information: Left Bank
			Classified information: Right Bank
			Bordeaux to try when you’re feeling flush
			The value end of the Bordeaux spectrum
			Practical advice on drinking red Bordeaux
			Bordeaux also comes in white
		Burgundy: The Incomparable French Wine
			The grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay
			Districts, districts everywhere
			From the regional to the sublime
			The Côte d’Or: The heart of Burgundy
			Côte Chalonnaise: Bargain Burgundies
			Chablis: Exceptional white wines
			Mâcon: Affordable whites
			Beaujolais: As delightful as it is affordable
		The Rhône Valley’s Hearty Wines
			Generous wines of the South
			Noble wines of the north
		The Loire Valley: White Wine Heaven
			The Upper Loire
			The central Loire Valley
			Pays Nantais
		Alsace: Unique Region, Unique Wines
		The South and Southwest
			France’s bargain wines: Languedoc-Roussillon
			Timeless Provence
			Southwest France
		Other French Wine Regions
	Chapter 11 Italy, the Land of Great Vino
		The Vineyard of Europe
			The ordinary and the elite
			Categories of Italian wine, legally speaking
			Italy’s wine regions
		Reds Reign in Piedmont
			Barolo and Barbaresco
			Weekday reds
			Piedmont’s white wine
		Tuscany the Beautiful
			Chianti Classico and Chianti: Italy’s iconic red wines
			Monumental Brunello di Montalcino
			The noble wine of Montepulciano
			Three more wines of note from Central Tuscany
			The Tuscan coast
		The Tre Venezie
			Three gentle wines from Verona, plus two blockbusters
			Alpine Italy: Trentino-Alto-Adige
			The far side: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
		The Sunny South of Italy
		Snapshots from the Rest of Italy
	Chapter 12 Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Greece, and Other European Hot Spots
		Intriguing Wines from Spain
			Spain’s classic wines start with Rioja
			Ribera del Duero’s serious red wines
			Priorato: Emerging from the past
			Other Spanish regions to know
		Portugal: More than Just Port
			Portugal’s “green” white
			Noteworthy Portuguese red wines
		Germany: Europe’s Individualist
			Riesling and company
			Germany’s wine law
			German wine styles
			Germany’s wine regions
		Austria’s Exciting Whites (and Reds)
			Grüner Veltliner and company
			Austrian wine names and label terms
		The Glory That Is Greece
			Greek grapes
			Wine regions, producers, and label lingo in Greece
		Three Other European Wine Hot Spots
			Hungary: Unique Old World wines
			Croatia: A wine renaissance in Eastern Europe
			Slovenia: A surprisingly large wine country
Part 4 Wine’s Modern Face: The “New World” of Wine
	Chapter 13 America, America
		The New World of American Wine
			The grape variety as star
			American Viticultural Areas
		California, U.S.A.
		Napa Valley: As Tiny as It Is Famous
			The grapes of Napa
			Who’s who in Napa (and for what)
		Down-to-Earth in Sonoma
			Sonoma’s AVAs
			Sonoma producers and wines
		Mendocino and Lake Counties
		The San Francisco Bay Area
		The Santa Cruz Mountains
		What’s New in Old Monterey
		Gold Country: The Sierra Foothills
		San Luis Obispo: Paso Robles to Edna Valley
		Santa Barbara, Californian Paradise
		Oregon: A Tale of Two Pinots
			Oregon’s other Pinot
			Who’s who in Willamette Valley
			Two other Oregon wine regions
		Washington State Reaches New Heights
			Washington’s wine regions
			Who’s who in Washington
		The Empire State
			The Finger Lakes region
			Long Island and the Hudson Valley
			Who’s who in New York
	Chapter 14 The Southern Hemisphere Explodes with Wine
		Australian Wine Power
			Winemaking, grapes, and terroir
			Australia’s wine regions
		The Rise of New Zealand
			Kiwi geography
			Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir lead the way
		Chile’s Rapid Rise to Wine Fame
			Chile’s wine regions
			The face and taste of Chilean wines
		Argentina, a Major League Player
			Regions and grapes
			Names to know
		The South African Wine Safari
			South Africa’s principal wine regions
			Steen, Pinotage, and company
Part 5 Wine’s Exotic Face
	Chapter 15 Champagne and Other Sparklers
		All That Sparkles Is Not Champagne
		Sparkling Wine Styles
			The sweetness factor
			The quality factor
		How Sparkling Wine Happens
			Tank fermentation: Economy of scale
			Bottle fermentation: Small is beautiful
			Tasting the difference
		Champagne and Its Magic Wines
			What makes Champagne special
			Non-vintage Champagne
			Vintage Champagne
			Blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs
			Rosé Champagne
			Sweetness categories
			Recommended Champagne producers
			Grower Champagnes
		Other Sparkling Wines
			Italian spumante: Dry and Sweet
			Spanish sparkling wines (Cava)
			French sparkling wine
			American sparkling wine
			English sparkling wines
		Buying and Serving Bubbly
	Chapter 16 Wine Roads Less Traveled: Fortified and Dessert Wines
		Timing Is Everything
		The Growing Popularity of Sherry
			The Jerez triangle
			The phenomenon of flor
			Communal aging
			Two makes 12+
			Serving and storing Sherry
			Recommended Sherries
			Montilla: A Sherry look-alike
		Italy: Marsala, Vin Santo, and the Gang
		Port: The Glory of Portugal
			Home, home on the Douro
			Many Ports in a storm
			Storing and serving Port
			Recommended Port producers
		Long Live Madeira
			Timeless, indestructible, tasty, and baked
			Endless finish
			Madeira styles and grape varieties
		Sauternes and the Nobly-Rotted Wines
			Sauternes: Liquid gold
			Mining the gold
			Recommended Sauternes
			Letting baby grow
			Sauternes look-alikes
		Hungary’s Tokaji Aszú and Tokaji Eszencia
Part 6 When You’ve Caught the Bug
	Chapter 17 Buying and Collecting Wine
		Finding the Rare and Collectible Wines
			Buying fine and collectible wines on the Internet
			Some U.S. wine stores worth knowing
			Buying wines at auctions
		The Urge to Own: Wine Collecting
			Balancing your inventory
			Organization is peace of mind
		A Healthy Environment for Your Wines
			The passive wine cellar
			If you can’t be passive, be bullish
			Wine caves for apartment dwellers
	Chapter 18 Continuing Education for Wine Lovers
		Back to the Classroom
			One wine school in action
			Wine tastings of all shapes and sizes
			Dinner with the winemaker
			Winery visits
			When in Rome
		Armchair Travel
			Recommended books
			Wine magazines and newsletters
			The blogosphere of wine
	Chapter 19 Describing and Rating Wine
		The Challenge of Putting Taste to Words
		When It’s Your Turn to Speak
			Organizing your thoughts
			Describing a wine
		Rating Wine Quality
Part 7 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 20 Answers to Ten Common Questions about Wine
		What’s the Best Wine?
		Which Vintage Should I Buy?
		What Grape Variety Made This Wine?
		How Do I Know if a Wine Is Flawed?
		Are There Any Wines without Sulfites?
		What Are Organic Wines?
		Should I Join a Wine Club?
		How Should I Store My Wine?
		Are Wine Experts Sommeliers?
		How Do I Know When to Drink the Special Older Wines I’ve Been Keeping?
	Chapter 21 Ten Wine Myths Demystified
		The Best Wines Are Varietal Wines
		A More Expensive Wine Is a Wiser Choice
		The Palest Rosé Wines Are the Best
		A Screw-Cap Closure Indicates a Lower-Quality Wine
		Red Wines Are More Sophisticated than White Wines
		White Wine with Fish, Red with Meat
		Number Ratings Don’t Lie
		The Quality of a Wine Is Objectively Measurable
		Very Old Wines Are Good Wines
		Champagnes Don’t Age
Part 8 Appendixes
	Appendix A Pronunciation Guide to Wine Terms
	Appendix B Glossary of Wine Terms
	Appendix C Vintage Wine Chart: 1996–2015
Index
EULA