W.R. Tish
Saving the best for last, Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine is phenomenal. Maybe the best new wine book I’ve seen since Wine For Dummies. Organized into 108 “shortcuts,” it’s easy to see that much of the book sprang from Mark Oldman’s bicoastal wine classes. He dispenses background, anecdotes, advice and commentary in equal measures, giving readers everything they need to feel not just comfortable but confident. Sidebars beckon with “cheat sheets,” food-pairing suggestions, label-reading tips and Mark’s own picks. Other sidebars detail favorite wines of 83 big-names ranging from Mario Batali to well-known vintners to rapper Ludacris. The book may sound basic, but really it’s not. Consider these shortcut titles: “Syrah: The Inky Abyss,” “Super Tuscans: Big, Rich Rule Breakers,” “Wine and Cheese: Bedfellows and Power Struggles.” Mark drills right to the essence of each topic, and encourages us to appreciate wine in a truly evolved sense, without a whiff of snobbery and nary a wine rating in sight. Accessible and in-depth at the same time, Outsmarting Wine works as a handy reference, a plain good read or a starter guide. Just named winner of the Georges Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year, Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine (364 pages, $18) is published by Penguin and available nationally or at www.markoldman.com. I hope it gets heavy play from the mainstream press; and every tasting room and fine-wine store should stock it.
