I’ve been reading a lot of wine-related books as of late, which is a nice change of pace from always writing about wine itself. What’s been interesting is the different approaches to wine each of the books seems to take – be it informational, education, or just a compilation of wine writing. The One Minute Wine Master by Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, MW is definitely educational.
Unlike some of the other books this one is quite brief (it’d have to be with a name that references a single minute), coming in at 175 pages cover to cover. The first part of the book discusses some of the science of wine tasting, why we taste certain flavors, how we taste, and how aromas come into it, all of which leads to the real crux of the book – the Wine Test.
The author has taken the concept of Seasons that was popular for women some time ago in regards to what colors they should wear and applied it to wine. A quick quiz (11 questions that are supposed to help you get a feel for what types of flavors you prefer) gives you a “season” that has certain wines associated with it.
The latter half of the book revolves around looking at the different wines associated with each Season and gives recommended wines for each varietal. So what do I think about the concept?
For those that are just trying to get into wine it’s not a terrible way to find some wines that you may not have heard of but that will suit your palate as it currently sits, while also giving you ideas for wines down the line as your palate grows and develops. For somebody like myself, somebody that has taken the time to develop their palate and is always happy to experiment with new wines, it doesn’t offer quite as much, but I do appreciate the way that Ms. Simonetti-Bryan is trying to make wine tasting more accessible to people that may be overwhelmed by it (something she talks about towards the beginning of the book).
I would recommend this book to somebody that is either trying to get into wine or is afraid to get into it, but would like to. It’s a good primer for helping you grow into wine and it’s short enough to easily read through the first part and then focus on the wines recommended for your season.
The book has a list price of $14.95 and can be found online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Editor’s Note: I received this book as a free sample to review.
