A Beer Drinker's Guide to Knowing and Enjoying Fine Wine

A Kirkus 2013 Indie Book of the Year. Are you ready to learn more about wine and beer? About how to become a wine expert without really trying? Is it finally time to expand your horizons, learn what you need to know about wine, impress some clients, or introduce your better half to that new wine bar down the street? If so, here's the ideal wine guide. A Beer Drinker's Guide to Knowing and Enjoying Fine Wine is a friendly, arm-around-the-shoulder wine primer that educates and enlightens from a beer drinker's point of view. You will find no geeky disquisition or convoluted wine writing here, just a relaxed, easy-going explanation of styles and varietals, wine tasting and scoring, major wine regions and inside tips for buying or selecting the perfect bottle. Infused with nuggets of beer lore, the keys to understanding winespeak, and much more. Enjoy this light-hearted, yet surprisingly informative and educational look at the delicious world of fine wine.

About the Author :
Jim Laughren, CWE, is a wine expert and consultant--and novice beer aficionado--with more than 30 years experience sampling and acquiring fine wines. He is the former president of a wine importer and distributor, and has toured the wine regions of Europe, South America, and the United States. He appears frequently on various ABC, CBS, Fox, and NPR radio programs and is a regular wine and beverage contributor to The Huffington Post. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Review :
" Jim dives into the world of fermentable beverages and comes up a winner. Unpretentious and utterly enjoyable, [it] is masterfully written a true imbiber s fun and friendly exploration into wine, beer, and exciting wine cocktails." Linda Pettine, professor of mixology, Johnson & Wales"" ""This book is not just for beer drinkers. Full of useful information, it is perfect for anyone looking to improve his or her wine knowledge. Laughren covers all of the basics of enjoying wine like a pro . . . aton of specificity . . .it is insanely useful . . . full of interesting, useful information for selecting, smelling, tasting, and, yes, enjoying wine." "City Book Review/San Francisco Book Review" ""Wine and beer are the world s oldest and most important beverages. Finally here s a book that respects, appreciates, and gives both their due . . . A must read for anyone, beer drinker or not, who wants to increase their knowledge of fine wine. It s probably the best, and certainly the least snobby, introduction to wine on the market today. Shields Hood, past president, Society of Wine Educators"" ""Jim dives into the world of fermentable beverages and comes up a winner. Unpretentious and utterly enjoyable, [it] is masterfully written--a true imbiber's fun and friendly exploration into wine, beer, and exciting wine cocktails." --Linda Pettine, professor of mixology, Johnson & Wales" ""Wine and beer are the world's oldest and most important beverages. Finally here's a book that respects, appreciates, and gives both their due . . . A 'must read' for anyone, beer drinker or not, who wants to increase their knowledge of fine wine. It's probably the best, and certainly the least snobby, introduction to wine on the market today." --Shields Hood, past president, Society of Wine Educators" "Jim dives into the world of fermentable beverages and comes up a winner. Unpretentious and utterly enjoyable, [it] is masterfully written--a true imbiber's fun and friendly exploration into wine, beer, and exciting wine cocktails." --Linda Pettine, professor of mixology, Johnson & Wales "This book is not just for beer drinkers. Full of useful information, it is perfect for anyone looking to improve his or her wine knowledge. Laughren covers all of the basics of enjoying wine like a pro . . . a ton of specificity . . . it is insanely useful . . . full of interesting, useful information for selecting, smelling, tasting, and, yes, enjoying wine." --City Book Review/San Francisco Book Review "Wine and beer are the world's oldest and most important beverages. Finally here's a book that respects, appreciates, and gives both their due . . . A 'must read' for anyone, beer drinker or not, who wants to increase their knowledge of fine wine. It's probably the best, and certainly the least snobby, introduction to wine on the market today." --Shields Hood, past president, Society of Wine Educators "Quick tutorials and in-depth details of both the similarities and differences between beer and wine . . . The editing is superior, what a pleasure! And the witticisms scattered throughout are unfettered by editorial rules. It is just beautiful stuff, a book that I would gladly share with my beer-drinker cronies while keeping a copy stashed away for myself." --Readers' Favorite Review "Scores a bulls-eye for anyone wanting to explore the ins and outs of wine. [Laughren's] conversational, easy-to-understand style makes this a book for anyone seeking entree to the world of wine. From styles and varietals to scoring, storing, and wine-speaking, this book is both fun and truly educational." --Jane Nickles, CWE, author, WineSpeak 101 "Though shelves creak under the weight of wine books, here's a welcome addition that's relaxed, inviting and intelligent. A sweet, bright humor pervades the book, as Laughren makes wine tasting sound like fun rather than an opportunity to embarrass yourself. He's like a knowledgeable friend who doesn't wear it on his sleeve. Cheers to this spirited, perceptive guide." --Kirkus, starred review