The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine

Only hours after Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher's column appears each week in The Wall Street Journal, wine retailers from coast to coast are sold out of the couple's recommendations. Why? With a friendly style that is neither intimidating nor condescending, Dorothy and John provide straight talk for consumers who don't want to be taken for a ride, but do want to get maximum enjoyment from the abundance of good wines available today.

If you're like most people, when it comes to buying wine, you're lost. You walk into a wine shop and you're overwhelmed by the thousands of bottles staring back at you. So you probably pick up the same, safe Chardonnay or Merlot, afraid to take a chance on something different.

Dorothy and John know how you feel. They write their hugely popular "Tastings" column in the "Weekend Journal" for a frustrated majority: people who can afford more and better wine, who want to know more about wine, but who don't know where to begin.

In The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine, they share everything you need to know about buying, drinking, and enjoying wine, along with listings of 300 great wine values to get you started. They encourage you to start at the beginning: Buy two bottles of similar wines, put them in numbered brown-paper bags, and taste them. You will like one better than the other. And that is how your wine education begins.

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine features thirty different kinds of wine in all price ranges, from popular Chardonnays and Merlots to less familiar, but readily available, Gewürztraminers and Dolcettos. Can't find a particular wine mentioned? Look for one from the same region in the same price range.

Throughout the book you'll find helpful information on chilling wine, choosing a wine store, inviting your friends to a wine-tasting, and how to remember that wine you really liked. There are practical tips: what 12 basic bottles you should have on hand at all times, as well as how long to keep that special bottle of Bordeaux.

Through it all, John and Dorothy make it clear that wine isn't an end in itself, but just one part of a good life. This book is not just about wine, but about life, love, romance, and fun. Drink up!

Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, Dorothy J. Gaiter reports on race issues for The Wall Street Journal. John Brecher is the Page One Editor of the newspaper. They fell in love with wine (and each other) 25 years ago and now live with their two daughters, Media and Zoë, in New York City, where they haunt wine shops in search of good values.