About the Book
A new and remarkably easy way to choose and enjoy wine.
Complete Wine Selector aims to remove the fear and restore the fun and confidence in buying and enjoying wine. Presented in a compellingly original, visual "info-bites" format, it strips away wine's intimidating facade to convey all the information needed in a truly helpful way. Wine drinkers will be able to choose wine in any setting with complete confidence.
Complete Wine Selector presents information in a simple step-by-step sequence. Colorful visuals and pithy text, casebook examples and tutored tasting master classes progress to the practical mechanics of how to pick from a wine list, buy the right bottle for the right price, and serve it with confidence.
The book's features include:
Introduction to Wine Styles -- How to determine your top 10 preferred wine styles
Buying Wine -- How to find and buy the 10 wine styles from supermarkets, specialist wine shops, internet retailers, and at auction
The Greatest Wine Shops -- 20 best wine shops in Europe, the USA, Australia & New Zealand, and Asia
Restaurant Wine Lists -- Expert advice from sommeliers on how to use a wine list, what to look for, choices by cuisine, plus Q and As
Do Vintages Matter? -- 10 top sommeliers and chefs reveal their favorite matches in style terms
Storing Wine -- Top 10 dos and don'ts, wine cellars, wine fridges
Tools of the Trade -- Wine accessories, tips on opening, decanting, pouring and serving; glasses and serving temperature for 10 wine styles; the 10 most common wine faults; a host's checklist
The World of Wine Made Simple -- Visually arresting, easy-to-read charts for an at-a-glance guide to how red, white, sparkling and fortified wines are made; vineyard years
Rules to Remember -- Easy-to-read graphical reminders summarize the most important points for easy reference.
Packed with expert advice from some of the world's best sommeliers and winemakers, and using vivid, content-rich layouts and graphics, Complete Wine Selector is a new classic guide for a new generation of wine drinkers. Older (and still anxious) wine drinkers will benefit too!
About the Author :
Katherine Cole writes about wine for The Oregonian newspaper, MIX magazine and numerous national publications. She has degrees from Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has studied with the International Sommelier Guild and taught journalism at Portland State University. Her book, Voodoo Vintners, was nominated for International Wine Book of the Year at the 2012 Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Review :
(Best Wine Books for Beginners) Katherine brings a fresh and different approach to understanding wines, which is definitely welcomed by beginners. Instead of classifying wines by their region, she classifies wines by their style. Her aim is to simplify the complexity involved with wine selection, storage, and serving style, and reduce the intimidation associated with the vinous world... Her book also dwells on wine navigation tips, with information about the best vendors and websites for purchasing wines.--Priya Johnson "Buzzle.com" (12/9/2013 12:00:00 AM)
A terrific guide for buying wine that strips away the intimidation and pomposity, making it easier for everyday consumers to navigate a wine shop or the wine section of a grocery store with confidence.... One of the most-attractive aspects of Complete Wine Selector is its easy-to-navigate design, which breaks down information into easy to scan boxes and visual icons. That only adds to the unstuffy feel, emphasizing that wine is something that should be enjoyed, and that picking the right bottle isn't something to dread.--Grant Butler "Oregon Live" (12/3/2013 12:00:00 AM)
Buying wine can be a bewildering act for many. Cole has written a guide to make this common purchase a pleasure for even the novice wine buyer... Cole's narrative is easy and accessible; readers will feel as though they've got a close friend beside them as they enter the wine aisle... Highly recommended for any wine lover, from the novice to the seasoned connoisseur.-- "Library Journal Xpress Reviews" (12/6/2013 12:00:00 AM)
Cole manages to take on the wide world of wine both insightfully and helpfully... Her tips on pairings and bargain buys, coupled with informative takes on the winemaking process at large, make for an effective book. Both wine aficionados and novices can find something to admire... Of course, it would take multiple volumes to tackle it all, but Cole has put together a fairly compact and organized account... Overall, Complete Wine Selector is a worthwhile buy. The wide array of wine coverage creates mass appeal, especially for those who are used to dauntingly large wine stacks at grocery stores, restaurants or bottle shops... Credit Cole for the book's accessibility... It's imperative we recognize the monumental task at hand and simply enjoy what she has covered intelligently, which is quite a lot, even in the gaping world of wine .--Mark Stock "Oregon Wine Press" (11/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)
Complete Wine Selector is about the most practical wine book I own... When you buy the book, you'll wonder how Cole packed so much information in its 250 pages. If you are going to own one wine book, this could be it. I recommend it highly.-- "The Wine Write" (4/20/2015 12:00:00 AM)
Gosh, it sure does deliver on its promise to be complete. There is just so much useful and interesting information packed in these 250-plus pages.--Mike Veseth "Wine Economist" (10/24/2013 12:00:00 AM)
How to "overcome your paralyzing fear of the world of wine" stands as Cole's basic principle in this gorgeous, highly informative guide that ranges in subject areas from the essential wine "styles" (including "crisp, lean whites" and "rich, full-bodied reds") and help in buying and serving. The text is presented, for the most part, in easy-on-the-eye chart format.--Brad Hooper "BOOKLIST Recommended Wine Books" (10/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)
If I had a nickel for every occasion I have been asked to suggest a wine primer book for friends who wish to learn a little more about wine, I'd have about 30 nickels or thereabouts. The problem with this particular ask is that I have never been able to recommend one that I have been truly happy with... How I wish that Katherine Cole's Complete Wine Selector had been around before now, as it's the perfect solution to this perennial question... As the mighty Hugh Johnson says in his foreword, and I'll paraphrase here, with this book Katherine Cole has successfully blown many of the cobwebs from the dusty old world of wine... As a thoroughly researched and delightfully presented primer I feel that it is simply second to none.--Jamie Drummond, Director of Programs/Editor "Good Food Revolution" (12/6/2013 12:00:00 AM)
Not another wine primer, I thought when I picked up Katherine Cole's Complete Wine Selector. Yet I was immediately bowled over by how Cole, wine columnist for the Oregonian newspaper and author of Voodoo Vintners, has figured out a new way to present a familiar topic. By using Web publishing techniques -- heavy use of infographics and short snippets of text--she manages to convey an impressive amount of information on a single page.... Cole has created an essential reference for novice and aficionado alike.--Dave McIntyre "Washington Post Best Wine Books" (12/11/2013 12:00:00 AM)
The most useful wine book I've seen in ages.--Laurie Daniel "San Jose Mercury News" (12/2/2013 12:00:00 AM)
The realm of the wine primer is often a dicey one, but Katherine Cole, wine columnist for the Oregonian, handles it with aplomb... A particularly charming and detailed approach to the challenging task of wine education.--Jon Bonne "San Francisco Gate" (11/29/2013 12:00:00 AM)
Wine writer Katherine Cole's new book, Complete Wine Selector, aims to remove readers' fears and restore the fun and confidence in buying and savoring wine. She provides readers with her top 10 preferred wine styles, 600 wine recommendations, expert advice from some of the world's best sommeliers and winemakers, and more, all to make choosing wine remarkably easy. The information is presented in a compellingly original and visual format, with practical step-by-step sequences that any wine lover will enjoy.-- "Wine Maker Magazine" (2/1/2014 12:00:00 AM)
You don't have to take a sommelier course to make good choices in your wine selection.--Terry Peters "North Shore News" (1/5/2014 12:00:00 AM)
Best Wine Books of 2013-- "Washington Post" (10/13/2013 12:00:00 AM)
