The Learning Annex Presents The Pleasure of Wine

Allison Levine, Ian Blackburn

Description

Learn what you need to know about wine-in a single evening!

Though more and more Americans enjoy wine each year, many still feel intimidated by the subject. The image of the wine snob - swirling glass in hand, taking luxurious sniffs, and spouting obscure factoids about the vintage - persists, making the rest of us feel lost in a seemingly elite world.

In fact, anyone and everyone can appreciate wine. The Learning Annex Presents the Pleasure of Wine is a straightforward guide that squeezes a seminar's worth of information into a book and answers questions such as:
* What are the different types of wine?
* What kinds of wine come from France, Italy, North America, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, and South America?
* How do I taste wine, and how do I pair wine with food?
* What are some fun ways to integrate wine into my life?


Full of sidebars and other special features, The Learning Annex Presents the Pleasure of Wine gives you the tools and knowledge you need to select, judge, and enj oy wine - and all in a single night's reading!
Lesson 1: What Is Wine?

Lesson 2: How to Appreciate Wine.

Lesson 3: White Wines.

Lesson 4: Red Wines.

Lesson 5: Special Wines.

Lesson 6: North America’s Wine Regions.

Lesson 7: France’s Wine Regions.

Lesson 8: Italy’s Wine Regions.

Lesson 9: Other European Wine Producers.

Lesson 10: Wine Regions of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Lesson 11: South America’s Wine Regions.

Lesson 12: Buying Wine.

Lesson 13: Getting Started with Wine.

Lesson 14: Pairing Wine with Foods.

Lesson 15: Fun Things to Do with Wine.

Appendix A: Wine Pronunciation Guide.

Appendix B: Resources and Recommended Reading.

Appendix C: Glossary of Wine Terms.

Index.

Sujets

• Alcoholic Beverages
• Beverages
• Cooking
• Wine

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470333242
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Pleasure of Wine
The Pleasure of Wine
The Learning Annex with Ian Blackburn and Allison Levine
Copyright 2004 by The Learning Annex
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, NY
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ISBN: 0-7645-4146-3
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ABOUT IAN BLACKBURN

Growing up in a kitchen, and working at fine restaurants around notable Los Angeles chefs (like Jerry Comfort, Joachim Splichal, Jean-Fran ois Meteigner, Thomas Keller, and Ian s Mom Lori) showed Ian Blackburn what real passion for food and wine was all about. A graduate of California Polytechnic University with a Bachelors degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Ian is a perpetual student of wine-as all wine lovers are.
Frustrated by the elitist image of wine, and the lack of knowledge available to consumers, Ian founded Los Angeles first wine education and event website, LearnAboutWine in 1995 ( www.LearnAboutWine.com ). Ian has conducted classes and seminars for over 10,000 students and maintains an active schedule of courses and events near his home in Southern California.
Ian holds local board positions with the American Institute of Food and Wine and Collins School of Hospitality Management Alumni of Cal Poly Pomona. He serves as Consulting Wine Educator for Cordon Bleu California School of Culinary Arts, the Learning Annex, and other major Southern California Institutions.
ABOUT ALLISON LEVINE

Allison Levine, a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP), is the Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Events for LearnAboutWine ( www.LearnAboutWine.com ). Allison developed her passion for food and wine while traveling, living and working abroad in Italy, France, Spain, and Australia. With a Master s Degree in Internatinal Communications and a career in Marketing Communications, Allison brought her vast experience to LearnAboutWine where she is responsible for building the brand and marketing strategy, as well as all public relations and event planning. Allison also holds a position on the local board of the American Institute of Wine and Food.
welcome to the learning annex
The Learning Annex is North America s largest provider of adult education, dedicated to enhancing the quality of people s lives through informative and inspirational seminars. We offer short, inexpensive courses that provide nuts-and-bolts information on a variety of topics, taught by respected leaders and luminaries in each field. The Learning Annex operates schools in numerous major cities across the United States and Canada, and through its monthly publication, it has emerged as a cultural barometer of what is of interest to the American people.
To learn more about the Learning Annex, visit us at www.learningannex.com
acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank The Writers Lifeline, Inc.: Ken Atchity for his classic and mythic wine lore, Andr a McKeown, and especially Julie Mooney; also researchers John Robert Marlow, Jaqueline Radley, and Rosemary Serlucca. Also thanks to Roxanne Cerda, Cindy Kitchel, and Suzanne Snyder of John Wiley Sons, and special thanks to Rigley Goldsborough; Jim White of www.ilovenapa.com ; Brian Thomas, Secretary of the American Wine Society, Rochester NY Chapter; Gladys Horiuchi, Communication Manager for the Wine Institute; David Kegaries, Certified Wine Educator, Society of Wine Educators; and Margot and Rich Cirino, owners of NewYorkWineCork.com , for their time and expertise beyond the call of duty.
table of contents
Lesson 1: What Is Wine?
Lesson 2: How to Appreciate Wine
Lesson 3: White Wines
Lesson 4: Red Wines
Lesson 5: Special Wines
Lesson 6: North America s Wine Regions
Lesson 7: France s Wine Regions
Lesson 8: Italy s Wine Regions
Lesson 9: Other European Wine Producers
Lesson 10: Wine Regions of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
Lesson 11: South America s Wine Regions
Lesson 12: Buying Wine
Lesson 13: Getting Started with Wine
Lesson 14: Pairing Wine with Foods
Lesson 15: Fun Things to Do with Wine
Appendix A: Wine Pronunciation Guide
Appendix B: Resources and Recommended Reading
Appendix C: Glossary of Wine Terms
Index
introduction
Welcome to The Pleasure of Wine. The purpose of this seminar is to help you maximize your enjoyment of wine, whether you re a first-time taster or a longtime wine lover. If you re new to wine, we welcome you to begin with Lesson 1, our introduction to wine, and work your way through the lessons sequentially. If you ve had some experience with wine already, feel free to skip from lesson to lesson.
When you ve completed this seminar, you ll be equipped with a basic understanding of wine: its production, its varieties and places of origin, proper storage and serving, and, most important, a working knowledge of the qualities and characteristics of a good wine. Wine is complicated; unfortunately, so are most wine books. Many wine books tell you everything you need to know except what you really need to know to appreciate wine: how wines smell and taste, what makes a good wine, how to find a good wine, and what to do with it once you ve found it. We provide the information that s really useful in appreciating wine.
By increasing your knowledge of wine, you ll add new layers and greater sophistication to your experience: you ll not only get more pleasure out of drinking it, but you ll also be in a terrific position to enhance your guests and companions wine-drinking experiences. You ll enjoy a comfort level in choosing wines (whether in restaurants, for your home wine cellar, or as gifts), and you ll be armed with the necessary knowledge, skills, and equipment to make the most of the wines you serve to your guests.
Wine novices often sense a certain level of sophistication in wine. They fear that if they enter the world of serious wine, their ignorance will show. Many wines sold today are bland and noncommittal, because a substantial number of wine drinkers want inexpensive wines that go with everything. While there s nothing wrong with bland wines, you re missing a whole realm of exquisite pleasure if they are the only wines you ever try. Wines that are not made for mass appeal are a challenge, an acquired taste. You have to put some effort into appreciating them, and, like anything you invest yourself in, the experience is far more rewarding. If you re reading this book, you are probably attracted to this idea already and are seeking a more stimulating experience.
Be prepared for your taste in wine to evolve. The wine characteristics you like as a novice wine taster will almost certainly differ from the ones you ll prefer with a decade of wine experience under your belt.
No matter what level of experience you bring to this seminar, bear in mind that nobody knows all there is to know about wine. One of the things we learned in writing this book is just how much about wine even the experts don t agree on! Not one of us has tasted every existing wine, let alone the thousands of yet-untasted wines destined to come along each new year. The world of wine is vast, rich, and ever-changing. To be a wine lover is to be an adventurer: what exquisite pleasure it is to anticipate the experience that awaits in the next glass!
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This book is designed to be a seminar in print, to allow readers to feel as much as possible as though they re attending one of our evening courses. We ve divided the book into topics, titled Lessons, each of which can be read within 5 to 10 minutes. We have designed this book to be completed in a single sit-down reading. Two sidebars will help give you additional, fun, and useful information: A Note from the Instructor: Insider tips from your instructors, Ian Blackburn and Allison Levine. Student Experiences: Words from seminar students-just like you-who are