gastronomy

OK, this is a fundamentally sound book. The advice generally makes sense, the pairings are likely to work. But, it is SO poorly edited and proof-read, I can't stand to "read" this book. I'll reference it occasionally, but won't delve into it any farther than I need to in order to answer a quick question.

For example:

Viognier -- it's a white grape not a red one as they claim.

They frequently will list a series of pairings in the ollowing fashion 'pairs well with red wines like x, y, and z, or white wines like p, d, and q' where z may be white or q is red.

Their spelling is frequently awful -- even worse than mine.

Like I said, for a quick question it's fine.

This book is very helpful for the beginner who is trying to get a sense of what food to put with a particular wine. However, it is lacking in some detail about why some wines go well with certain foods. It would be more helpful if it went into the characteristics of certain foods and seasonings and why those pair well with the characteristics of the wines. It is a handy reference though and well worth the price!

This is the first practical book I have seen that tells you simply and easily which wines go best with which food. The nicest thing about the book is that it is not stuffy. It tells you which wines will go well with things like nachos, Kentucky Fried Chicken as well as elegant foods like Chateaubriand, coq du vin, etc.

Tells you, too, how and where to buy wine....and all the wines are American !