Dewey Markham has been able to bring the so-called "complicated" wine to the most basic level. The book covers topics from Why to drink wine to what is a vintage.
My favorite section was the taste areas of the tongue: sugar, tannin, acid and sweetness. This was very informative on how to taste the wine and what to look for when tasting.
The wine label section was very well presented with the various labels I always get confused but this section in the book goes over the various forms of the labels.
Overall this book was an easy and informative read. If you want to start understanding wine I recommend this book as your first step.
Have fun reading and drinking.

This book is a fine introduction to wine for anyone interested in obtaining a good foundation for the understanding and ultimate enjoyment of wine. It's a simple and fast read, yet is very informative. It takes you through how to taste wine, how to buy it, how to order it in restaurants, how it is made, and what to look for in wines. The author finds a way to deliver this information without being too serious or stuffy; the presentation is quite down to earth and very approachable, nonintimidating. A fun book

This book kept surprising me, ultimately being very satisfying. When I ordered it, it was a bit intimidating. I feared a mass of impenetrable details. Most of the book in fact is appendices.The 200 or so pages of narrative contains nice insights into 19th c French life, but also shows wine lovers a very different era, when, for instance, the shippers were more important than the wineries.The book has one interesting fact after another. Did you know that the 1855 was NOT official? That there were a zillion similar ones? That the whole purpose was to set a price structure in the 18th century?A great read for the wine lover who is into every last detail.