Let Me Tell You About Wine

Thanks to his previous wine books and his work with the BBC, Clarke's expertise in all things vino is well known in Britain, where this volume first appeared in 2009. And although many pages of this beginner's guide are colored in shades of lavender and grape, Clarke avoids purple prose. His instructions and descriptions are as straightforward as his title. The work is divided into three sections. Part one breaks out the various flavors of wine into 18 categories, such as "juicy, fruity reds," "gutsy rosés," and "intense, nutty whites." A helpful "instant recall chart" provides pithy, one-sentence descriptions for 23 grape varieties ("Pinotage: A love-it-or-hate-it sturdy smoky red from South Africa"). Part two, entitled "Enjoying Wine," is a basic study of how to buy, store, and serve, including a chart on how to decipher European wine labels. The final section tackles the geography of wine, with a look at the offerings from more than a dozen countries ranging in depth from a 19-page study of France, complete with maps, quick guides and definitions, to single paragraph mentions of up and comers like Lebanon, Turkey, and Thailand. (Oct.)