The Bluffer's Guide® to Wine, Revised; The Bluffer's Guide Series

by Harry Eyres

• ISBN13: 9781903096796
• ISBN10: 1903096790
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Oval Books

Summary

All readers need to know on the subject of wine to quaff and bluff their way through any tasting or soiree.

Author Biography

Harry Eyres went on his first tasting trip at age 13, and has never looked back since. With wine running in his blood in both senses (his father is a wine merchant), he twice carried off the coveted individual prize in the Oxford v. Cambridge Tasting Match (the bibbers' Boat race). He went on to Christie's Wine Department, before becoming a full-time writer for the Spectator, the Times, and various publishers. Between books, he returns to Spain to anaesthetize his palate with Fundador brandy in the bars of old Barcelona.

Table of Contents

Introduction	5	(1)
The Basics	6	(7)
Colour	6	(1)
Sweet and Dry	6	(1)
Fortification	7	(1)
Still and Sparkling	7	(1)
Essential Equipment	8	(3)
A Nose	8	(1)
A Corkscrew	8	(1)
A Glass	9	(1)
A Decanter	9	(2)
Cellar and Storage	11	(1)
Serving Temperature	12	(1)
History	12	(1)
Tasting and Drinking	13	(11)
Talking about Wine	15	(3)
Appearance	17	(1)
Smell	17	(1)
Describing Wine	18	(5)
Sweetness and Dryness	19	(1)
Acidity	19	(1)
Balance	20	(1)
Tannin	20	(1)
Fruit	21	(1)
Body	21	(2)
Great Vintages of the Past	23	(1)
Buying Wine	24	(11)
Understanding the Label	25	(2)
Grape Varieties	27	(8)
Wine Around the World	35	(17)
France	35	(6)
Bordeaux	35	(1)
Burgundy	36	(1)
The Loire	37	(1)
The Rhone	38	(2)
Beaujolais & Maconnais	40	(1)
Alsace	41	(1)
Germany	41	(1)
Italy	42	(2)
Spain	44	(1)
Portugal	45	(1)
Austria	45	(1)
Eastern Europe	46	(1)
The New World	47	(5)
California	47	(1)
Australia	48	(1)
New Zealand	49	(1)
South Africa	50	(1)
South America	50	(2)
Wining and Dining	52	(9)
Waiter, This Wine is Corked	53	(3)
Additives and Adulterations	54	(1)
Health and Hangovers	55	(1)
Wine and Food	56	(2)
Sherry	58	(1)
Port	58	(1)
Madeira	59	(1)
Brandy	60	(1)
Glossary	61

Excerpts

There are more than 4,000 named varieties of the domesticated vine. Don't panic. It would be a bold person who claimed to be able to distinguish more than 30 by taste, and for practical purposes you will be able to get by with less than a dozen.... When talking about smell, do not use the word 'smell'. Choose instead from 'nose' (which with wine does not have unpleasant associations), 'aroma', or 'bouquet', if you're feeling flowery. If the wine doesn't smell of anything, try 'Rather dumb on the nose, don't you find? or 'Still very closed-up.'

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Excerpted from The Bluffer's Guide to Wine by Harry Eyres
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