Learning about wines

[int001]

Hi everyone. i'm a very basic wine drinker. i avoid white wines, but enjoy the occasional red wine with my meat [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img] my girlfriend and i would really love to learn more about wines and learn to have a greater appreciation for them and i think it'll be a great thing for us to do together. we both live in nyc. i was wondering if anyone knows any reputable wine tasting classes or events in the area. or any advise on how to go about learning would be greatly appreciated.

[Innkeeper]

Hi Int and welcome to the Wine Board. The book "Great Wines Made Simple" by Andrea Immer is available hard back, paperback, and used in any large free standing or on-line book store. You can pick the type of wine you are interested in, in your case red wines, and she will walk you through have to test and find the wines you like. She also puts out a Buyer's Guide that gives you wines by name to check out.

You are certainly also encouraged to explore this board. This novice thread has answers to many basic questions. The threads on specific wines, grapes, and regions will be of great help too.

[andypandy]

I have just been wondering as I have been combing through these boards...is anyone here being paid to promote Immer's book? Her book gets pushed a lot on this site. I know Immer's a very respected Sommelier (I believe it was her videos on wine service that we watched as a mandatory part of my training when I started serving at the Olive Garden), and her book is good and does cater to the beginning wine drinker, so it's not that I'm knocking her book. I was just wondering.

[Zinner]

I don't believe anyone gets a penny for recommending Immer's book. It's just the current favorite of a lot of folks.

If someone else wrote a better book tomorrow, then that would start turning up a lot.

If you want a handy little book for looking stuff up, I like Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide. He's witty and unpretentious.

And Kevin Zraly's books are also good about providing info understandable for beginners.

[This message has been edited by Zinner (edited 04-13-2005).]

[Georgie]

Nobody's getting anything for recommending Immer's book. Almost as often "Wine for Dummies" is suggested as well as other references. Foodie has done seminars and classes in the city. Perhaps he'll check in and let you know if he has anything coming up.

[This message has been edited by Georgie (edited 04-14-2005).]

[Botafogo]

You won't see me pimping Andrea here. She almost made me break a brand new TV once when she made a drink on the Food Channel that our grandmothers would recognize as a Grasshopper (green creme de menth, heavy cream, ect), poured it into a triangular glass and pronounced it to be a "Mint-Tini". I threw a beer bottle at the TV! Definitions of words are important: Budweiser is NOT beer (the first ingredient is RICE), many famous "barolos" aren't Barolo by any stretch of the imagination and a martini is made with GIN, vermouth and an olive.

[winoweenie]

Can't wait to cash my first royalty check.WW
[img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[Innkeeper]

Andy, I have never met her, nor heard in any way from her flunkys. If you can find a better book to recommend, I'd love to hear about it. I have personally recommened about twenty or more books on this forum.

[wondersofwine]

If Foodie isn't planning to offer wine classes in the city, here's a site to check out: http://nycwineclass.com/ I know nothing about the instructor so cannot vouch for how worthwhile the classes are but you could always try one and make up your own mind if it's worth pursuing. The wine educator is Andrew Harwood. The prices seem high. You might check with local wine shops for free or reasonably priced tastings and classes first.

[HoustonUncorked]

I work for a company called The Traveling Vineyard. We do complimentary in-home wine tastings. Hosting an event at your home or office is a great way to learn more about wine, hands on. We bring five different wines to each event for you to taste. After the tasting, you can order any of the wines and accessories that you like.

I'm not in NY, but we have consultants in your state. Email me if you would like more information and I can get you in contact with someone in your area.

I have learned so much by becoming a consultant. The best way to learn about wine is hands on!!! We are looking for consultants all over the US, so let me know if you would like info on that opportunity as well.


Cheers!

[graywolfe]

Going against the grain, I'll suggest reading Mark Oldman's book of shortcuts for making wine buying and drinking easier. It's an amazing book, and while I haven't read Immer's, it also looks like a more user friendly bookd for novices. It details essentially every major and most of the minor wine's a novice will come across, and is clear and succinct, with a light, and simple expository writing style. He doesn't write like an elitist trying to "learn ya" something, he writes like a guy with experiences that's attempting to show you what wines are like, and what might work or not for you. An amazing book, and if i were to shill for anyone, it would be him. Apparently it won a "wine book of the year" award for when it was published by a rather prestigious group as well. That's the book for novices, and even lightly experienced drinkers to use, at least from my p.o.v.

[WileECoyote]

I have been reading "The Wine Bible" and it has been very useful thus far. It is made in a way where you can start anywhere you want and jump around as you please. I don't have the author's name right now but will post later.

[This message has been edited by WileECoyote (edited 01-04-2006).]

[Kcwhippet]

The Wine Bible was written by Karen McNeil, who's also the chairman of the Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. She's the wife of Dennis Fife and co-owner of Fife Vineyards, as well. Busy lady.

[WileECoyote]

Wow,

Hope I didn't sound like I disrespected her. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/redface.gif[/img] Great book! Made sure I had the perfect bubbly for New Years Eve.

[robr]

MacNeil's book is great, so is Oz Clarke's new one. I posted on it under "rants and raves" about a week ago. Go look there if you are interested.