"101 Wines" news and stories

If you're a Vayniac, you already know that Gary Vaynerchuk came out with a book called 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World. Marisa announced the book here at Slashfood about a month and a half ago, and I just got my hands on a copy a few weeks ago.

I didn't put it down until I had at least looked at every single wine on the list. It's Gary first list of favorite and recommended wines, and it's chock full of enthusiasm, energy, and genuinely great recommendations.

Here are some ways this book can be useful for you:

• Exploring wine if you've never really tried wine before and have no idea where to start.
• Choosing great wines for specific occasions from Gary's very cleverly organized and insightful lists for any event.
• Finding the best wine for that flavor profile you really like (best dry Reisling, best "fruit bomb" red, etc.).
• Learning how you can become better at recognizing what you like about wine and what wines you're passionate about (hint: drink more wine!).
• Understanding that wine can be fun, and that it doesn't have to be serious or snobby.

What I really love about this book is the genuine authenticity that just reverberates from everything that Gary has to say. Each individual wine write-up is like getting to read an episode of Wine Library TV, chock full of enthusiasm, honesty, and insightful wine wisdom. The only thing I would change about the book is that, for a truly ignorant wine novice like myself, it's hard to tell which wines are white or red, etc., which is important for me since I have a hard time really enjoying reds and wanted to go through and pick out all of the wines that I knew I would want to try right off of the bat. A quick cheat sheet or wine primer at the beginning of the book (Petite Sirah is red, Reislings are white, etc.) would have been really helpful for me.

Overall, the book is well written, very straightforward in Gary's typical style, and I think it has potential to really help the everyday wine enthusiast reach a level of immersion in the wine world that many of us don't think we can reach. It can be expensive to start out in wine and buy a bottle of everything, especially if you're back at square one when the wine isn't a quality example of the genre you're trying to explore. This book makes jumping into every corner of the wine world a real possibility for every wine drinker, and that is something really worth sharing. Keep a copy handy for your own trips to the liquor store, and give a copy to a wine-loving (or wine-curious) friend!

I should probably change the name of this column from Cookbook of the Day to Food Book of the Day, for the number of times I write about books that aren't strictly cooking related. However, I always try to write about books that will increase your ability to enjoy and appreciate your food and drink. Take today's book, for example. Written by Wine Library TV host, Gary Vaynerchuk, 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World isn't a cookbook. But it is a book that will help you find the wines that will enhance your meals, dinner parties and cookouts. So, to me, it fits.

The cool thing about this book is that it isn't your standard wine guide, with the same stuffy three sentences to explain why you should or shouldn't be drinking a particular wine. If you've ever watched Wine Library TV, you'll know that Gary is working hard to turn the wine world on it's head and make drinking wine a more accessible and fun activity and this book continues to move that mission forward. His personality translates to text really well and so makes 101 Wines a highly entertaining read.

One helpful thing about the book, in addition to the two pages devoted to each of the 101 wines is that the last few pages are broken up in groupings that will let you know that five best wines for the beach or from the places you least expect. It's a fun way to think about wine and I plan on taking this book with me next time I head to the liquor store.

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