Welcome to Wine: An Illustrated Guide to All You Really Need to Know

Meyer, whose family has been in the wine business for five generations, brings the inherited knowledge of her family’s business to bear in this pleasing introduction to all things wine. Opening chapters cover glassware and serving temperatures, and offer food pairing suggestions (“Spicy dishes—sweet white wines. Fatty dishes—full-bodied red wines”). There are also tips on knowing which wine to pick for which occasion (when celebrating any “occasion that marks a new direction in your life, cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, is ideal”), and reflections on hangovers (“Blame for the hangover lies not with the alcohol, but with the drinker”). Concluding chapters take a deep dive into grape growing and wine production. The terrors of understanding terroir are eased, and hand-drawn maps plot out wine regions of France, Italy, and Spain. A spread on biodynamic fertilizers and composts is not essential, but is unique (“Yarrow flowers are fermented in a stag’s bladder”), and the ample illustrations are simple, colorful, and fun without being cartoonish. This cheerful wine primer makes for an all-around enjoyable and easy-to-swallow experience. (Nov.)