Windows On the World Complete Wine Course: 2001 Edition: A Lively Guide

Whatever your score on the above, you're bound to enjoy the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. Subtitled Millennium Edition, this 14th annual update is again authored by Kevin Zraly, founder and teacher of the Wine School, begun in 1976 as an offshoot of New York's Windows on the World restaurant. On 200 colorful and clutter-free pages full of maps, wine labels, and sidebars full of facts and anecdotes, Zraly acts as your Sherpa through eight classes. Chapters 1 through 3 circumnavigate the white wines of France, the New World, and Germany; 4 through 8 explore the reds of France, California, Iberia, Australia, and South America, concluding with a section on champagne, port, and sherry.

As wine guru, Kevin Zraly is opinionated, knowledgeable, and patient. His skill at talking novice wine devotees off the ledge is especially evident in the chapters on Burgundy and Germany, with their notoriously confusing wine labels. Study Zraly's careful parsing and annotation of a German label and you'll be able to tell the region from the town from the vineyard the next time someone hands you a Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese.

But any book that calls itself a "Complete Wine Course" sets the Barbera pretty high--sometimes too high. Oregon and Washington States share one page while New York State rates two and a half. Certainly a millennium edition could scare up another paragraph for the red-hot Pacific Northwest. And two chapters following the classes--"Creating an Exemplary Restaurant Wine List" and "Award-Winning Wine Lists"--seem little more than padding.

But these are small quibbles about a handsome and approachable volume that will take you from Amarone to Zind-Humbrecht with confidence. Whether you're a true cork dork or someone who doesn't know their Alsace from their elbow, you could certainly do worse than pressing your nose up against these windows on the world. --Tony Mason

Product Description

Zraly, well-known for his superior knowledge in matching wine with food, keeps his book informative, but not overwhelming. The book is written in a breezy and easily read format, with plenty of white space on each page to keep the text, sidebars, margin info, and graphics from overwhelming the reader. And for those who like to know interesting facts about wine, each page has tidbits written in the margins that when dropped correctly during your next wine tasting will bring out the "Oohs" and "Aahs" in the guests.

The only negative to the book is that it can't have it all ways. It is clearly a beginner to intermediate book, and while it is derived from the class in wine that Zraly actually teaches around the country, it lacks the ability to serve as a comprehensive reference. For this reason, I would team this book with Karen MacNeil's "The Wine Bible" - a very comprehensive, yet still easy to understand resource.


Great Book for Wine Novice   June 5, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book is essential for a budding wine connoisseur. It keeps things simple and introduces you to the wine regions of the world, grape varieties etc.


It Is What It Is   April 29, 2002
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is one of the best introductory wine books on the market. I give it to anyone that I know that is interested in learning more about wine. I hope that they can use the information that they find here to graduate to Parker, or Clarke.


Very Eerie   December 8, 2001
 2 out of 67 found this review helpful

It's strange to see this book title, especially with the 2002 date. The entire staff of the restaurant was wiped out on 9/11.


Wealth of Wine Info Compressed into Usable Book   November 21, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

What a magnificent wealth of data on wine in this nicely laid out book.

Beginning with the planting, care and harvest of grapes, Zraly takes one through a catechism on wine. This question and answer format is followable, and presents it in a sequence that makes sense and one can take to the dining experience or wine store to utilize what one learns.

Like the section of food and wine matches and wine and cheese. Further, the "Wine Buying Strategies for Your Wine Cellar" is highly commendable and reliable.

This is great motivator to keep exploring this fascinating and always fluid enjoyment. The updated editions permit new tastings to grace the latest in the wine world.