Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly

I picked up this book again after remembering the WOW dinner hosted by our friend, who followed Kevin Zraly's white wine recommendations for the dinner. The book is divided into 8 classes and after each class there is a little quiz to test your mastery of the material. But, this is really a book that takes you on a global wine tour and is also a lesson in geography. For example, the French wines are divided into white and red wines and Zraly does not leave much out as he explains the complexities of the French wine regions and what type of grape varieties are grown in the various regions. He explains the 1855 Classification of the red wines from Bordeaux and lists all of the chateaux as well as their ranking in the classification. He explains the French laws known as Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) that regulates the wine making practices in each of the French AOCs.
A similar detailed treatment of wines from Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile and Argentina is included in this book. Information on how to read a German label, how Italian wines are named, how to understand Rioja wine aging nomenclature are all covered here.
Zraly also covers the wines from Washington, Oregon, New York and California. With each country and region that is explored, he suggests wines and notable vintages as well as possible wine pairings with food.
The second half of this book includes a complete wine tasting course and also a chapter on understanding the physiology of taste. I found this book to be very helpful in identifying wines that I might like to try. I also found many wines that we have already tried and enjoyed. It's a very handy resource book with interesting facts contained on the margins of each page.