The Wine Guy: Everything You Want to Know about Buying and Enjoying Wine from Someone Who Sells It

Everybody loves to drink wine, but when it comes to buying it, so many of us are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices, and intimidated because we don't think we "know" enough about wine to take a chance. Too often we end up buying the same Merlot, Cabernet, or Chardonnay because we don't have the confidence to try something different. Enter Andy Besch -- the Wine Guy.

Andy, owner of Manhattan's popular West Side Wine, wants you to take control of the wine-buying process and start looking at each experience as an opportunity to find something new, whether it's an unfamiliar label, grape, or region. The Wine Guy encourages wine drinkers to break free of old habits and start enjoying the thousands of affordable treasures available in today's wine world.

The Wine Guy offers simple advice on how to get in touch with your own tastes by identifying the flavors and styles that appeal to you. You'll taste your way through the eight "everyday" grapes and will learn how to match their qualities to sixteen "breakaways" that will open the door to countless new options. Andy will show you how to find a good wine guy of your own, and how to effectively communicate to get the most out of your shopping experience. With your new knowledge and skill, you will be able to base your wine-buying decisions on your own preferences instead of being sucked in by brand names, arty labels, someone else's opinions, or the common practice of equating price with quality.

In The Wine Guy, Andy shares his personal experiences from behind the counter to help you become a savvy wine shopper. You'll find answers to the questions he is most commonly asked, along with tips on making the most of the wine experience in restaurants, wineries, wine bars, and while entertaining in your own home.

Take advantage of the methods that have turned so many of Andy's customers at West Side Wine into self-assured and adventuresome wine enthusiasts. Get ready to uncork a truly special experience, and let The Wine Guy show you how.

After 35 years working in television, Besch turned an Upper West Side, Manhattan, "wreck of a liquor store" into his own wine-purveying paradise with "aisles wide enough for baby strollers and a tub of treats for the local canine population." In this book, co-written by his wife, Besch distills his love for, and knowledge of, wine into a neat companion for readers who want to know more about wine and the finer points of its appreciation. However, his opening gambit, "Learning about wine simply means figuring out what you like" doesn't quite jive with the subsequent user-friendly, yet lengthy, guides to grapes, wine varieties, tasting, "finding your own wine guy" and so on. In the chapter on how to talk about wine, he wisely notes, "There are no descriptors unique to the wine world. Wine flavor is described only in terms of other things, most often fruit..." This and other helpful advice gives readers a comfort zone when trying a new bottle. Also notable is a chapter on "The Breakaways," or wines Besch suggests for those ready to try something different. Even with the ballooning number of wine books available, this opinionated and informed guide fits a nice niche; it's neither too encyclopedic nor too cursory in its treatment, and offers wine newbies keen tasting and buying advice.
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