Italian Wine For Dummies

[Innkeeper]

I bought this book recently ($14.99 Borders). Why? Because the only other source I had on Italian Wine was a 32 page piece put out by Italian Wine Center in New York, called The New Italian Wine Guide. It was published in 1984, the same year something else was supposed to happen.

It was written by the same folks who wrote Wine For Dummies, Ewing-Mulligan and McCarthy. I checked it out for rarities before buying. They were, to the limit of my knowledge, all there. I'm sure Roberto, Fabio, and Foodie could find a few missing. One very useful feature is that they tell you have to pronounce every wine, wine term, and producer phonetically.

They did not blow our cover on some favorites. On Collio reds they say, "Cabernet Franc and Merlot are the leading red varitities; Collio Rosso, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and/or Cabernet Sauvignon, is a popular red wine." Heh! Heh! They make a bigger fuss over Trebbiano d'Abruzzo than Cerasuolo or Rosso. They state that, "Cataldi Madonna's Cerasuolo is the best dry rose' in the region." They do list Illuminati as a recommended producer.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the book covers the waterfront on Italian Wine, and is recommeded to geek and novice alike. In some narrow areas, such a mentioned above, they cover it lightly enough so as not to cause a rush on some of our favorite wines.

[stevebody]

Must also HIGHLY reccommend Nicholas Belfrage's "From Barolo to Valpolicella" and its companion volume, "From ______(something) to Zibbiano" (cheesy memory. sorry) Great breakdowns of DOCGs, vineyards, styles, varietals, and a solid vein of Belfrage's trenchant comments.

The "_____ for Dummies" series is solid gold, IMO. Great info and fun, creative writing.