There’s a new “beginner” wine book out, and I think it’s the perfect gift for a couple of friends who are new to wine and want to learn more about it. Wine can be intimidating, and easygoing books like these make learning about wine fun and approachable.
I plan to be very careful just who I gift this book to, and how, though, so it doesn’t come across as patronizing or condescending. There’s a careful balance between a casual “Hey, I know you are just getting into wine, this book made me think of you and I thought you’d enjoy it” and “You are dumb and classless and don’t know anything about wine. I, the wine expert, am commanding you to read this book!”
Probably I will include a nice bottle of local Woodinville white wine – something approachable, like a Riesling or a festive sparkling wine, including a note about how I enjoyed this particular bottle and hope you will too!
(Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you)
The book is Welcome to Wine: An Illustrated Guide, by Madelyne Meyer, a Swiss wine educator and a marketing manager for her family’s fifth-generation wine cellar business.
You might enjoy watching Madelyne Meyer’s Ted Talk about simplifying wine language:
Her wine book’s illustrations are darling. They present wine concepts in an easy to remember manner. I’m sure I would refer back to the Food Pairing pages quite often!
Chapters include:
The Basics (wine glasses, serving temperature, which wines to cellar, etc)
Tasting (the eye, the nose, the palate, wine styles, etc)
Wine Growing (terroir, grape varieties)
Winemaking (wine production, effects on the palate, philosophies of wine growing)
If this seems like a nice gift for the wine newbie in your life, shop for Welcome to Wine: An Illustrated Guide, on Amazon this holiday season!
-Carrie
