50 Ways to Love Wine More

This book is a must-have for anyone who is even remotely into wine or wine-drinking. 50 Ways to Love Wine More is an easy-to-read book with simple ways to enhance the reader’s knowledge of wine. One aspect of the book that I immediately noticed and loved was the use of wine glass rings on several of the pages. That little ring that red wine makes on the table or napkin gives the book an authentic, warm feeling whether you are drinking while reading or not. The overall design was so thoughtfully laid out, with the rings and corks labeling each chapter along with the red wine accent color used for the page number borders. Jim Laughren does a wonderful job of teaching the reader about all aspects of wine, not only what to look for when tasting but also the history of wine and methods of wine-making. As someone who enjoys all types of wine, I was surprised to read about varietals I had no idea existed. The orange wine that is produced by leaving white wines to macerate on their skins especially piqued my interest. I had never heard of such a thing. The science of blending wines also sounded like a fun idea to try with friends. Laughren addresses the debatable issue of cork versus screw top and even gives a little history lesson as to the cork and the materials that were used back in the olden days to seal up the containers of wine. Another part of the book that I very much enjoyed was the lesson on terminology. Words like oenophile (connoisseur of wines) and maceration (the wine-making process where all of the different parts of the grape are leached out to make the wine) are great words to know when speaking to others about wine. Plus, they just make you sound smart. This book clarified several wine subjects that we’ve all heard of but may not have had a true understanding of. The subjects covered include the scale from dry to sweet and the amounts of sugar and acid in wine and balancing them to create certain flavors. Overall, 50 Ways to Love Wine More gives the reader so much to think about after reading. The complexity of wine is both interesting and delicious. I recommend purchasing this book and using the table in the back to check off the wines you’ve tried. It also makes a great gift for the wine lover who has everything.