Grasping the Grape: Demystifying Grape Varieties to Help You Discover the Wines You Love

Grasping the Grape is a guide to the world's most prominent and essential wine grapes. Striking a balance between practical information and approachable, conversational tone, author Maryse Chevriere goes varietal by varietal to provide an overview of the major wine-growing regions the grape is grown in, the wines they make, and their flavor profile and distinguishing characteristics.  The book also features supporting information like fun, cleverly designed infographics on how to read the world's major wine labels, a glossary that breaks down the essential technical and tasting terminology you need to know to speak wine, and an introductory guide to basic food and wine pairings. Essentially, think of this book as your pocket sommelier: the one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about what's in your glass.

James Beard Award-winning humorist and certified sommelier Maryse Chevriere was most recently the Wine Director at Dominique Crenn's acclaimed San Francisco restaurant, Petit Crenn. She currently resides in Boston where she works in hospitality and continues to develop her popular @freshcutgardenhose account.

'Sommelier Maryse Chevriere has a not-so-secret identity. When she isn't pouring wine, she's reigning on Instagram as @freshcutgardenhose, the world's foremost visual interpreter of wine tasting notes.' -Food & Wine

'Maryse Chevriere illustrates, lampoons, and celebrates the excesses of winespeak via her @freshcutgardenhose Instagram account.' -Luke Sykora, Wine & Spirits Magazine

'Chevriere scours social media platforms such as Instagram, Vivino and Delectable for tips on wines that might be worthy additions to a wine list. And while most of us might read a wine description and wonder what the wine tastes like, Chevriere takes a different tack: She visualizes the description and puts pencil to paper, with surreal and witty results.' -Dave McIntyre, The Washington Post

'A US-based sommelier has struck a blow for clarity by creating a series of witty drawings to represent abstract wine descriptions.' -Darren Smith, The Drinks Business