The story of wine
A Good Nose and Great Legs - Rob Geddes MW
Robyn Lewis
The art of wine from the vine to the table - A Good Nose and Great Legs by Robert Geddes
Rob Geddes is an Australian Master of Wine and has 'studied, drunk and slept in some of the world's most famous vineyards and wineries'. This is his irreverent yet comprehensive guide to growing, making and drinking wine.
He describes wine as 'a coded message from another place' and this book aims 'give you the key to... unlock the message'. Rob asserts (and we agree) there are three legs to the wine stool: the place it originates, the people who grow and make it, and what grape varieties it is made from. The first 2/3 of this rather weighty book introduces these three elements, in considerable depth.
On top of this stool sits you, the wine drinker, to whom the remainder is dedicated - how you taste, how to buy, wine in your life (serving, wine etiquette, etc) and matching wine and food, and cooking with wine.
This is an excellent book for a person relatively new to wine - not perhaps for a total novice but for someone with a bit of experience who wants to learn more. More a reference and for regular dipping into than a book to read from cover to cover, it brings together lots of material that are scattered elsewhere, like the aroma wheel (more easily presented here in a matrix format) and examples of the primary fruit spectrums for several grape varieties, and puts a new perspective on them.
The palate graphs for each grape variety are a step forward in understanding and communicating about tasting wine - certainly they will provoke some discussion.
Buy online through our online bookstore now at a special subscriber-only discount or 12.5% (Your book will be posted to you from our book partners Seekbooks).
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