Matt Kramer

A great read. Not what I would call an"introductory" work on wine like the name suggests, but very entertaining. Another thing, the author states facts and lets the reader know his opinion is, after all, only an opinion. This may seem like a common sense qualifier in a work of this kind, but it isn't. Most books on connoisseurship blend in their snobby opinion with fact so that it's difficult to tell which is which; a very sneaky trick that I despise in a book that's supposed to be introductory.

Mr. Kramer, however, will first shun snobbery, give his opinion, then ultimately create his own brand of snobbery. I like that. Snobbery is never the problem in these books. In fact you read them specifically because of their supposed ability to let you in on the secrets of such snobbery.

What IS a problem in these sort of works is the weaving of truth and opinion and the intentionally blurred line between them.

Kramer's formula is thus: 'Listen, folks, drink wine any way you want to if it makes you happy, but if you don't want to look like a goddamn loser here's the glass you should use and the meal you should have it with. But by all means, if you want to be a hack wino, be my guest.'

This works for me. Four stars.… (mere)

As Matt Kramer mentions in the introduction, the book is not intended to be a comprehensive book about Italian wine but is instead an introduction to a number of wines that one can find (or should search out) in the U.S; I think he succeeds. Because of the number of wines that he wants to cover, the information about most wines is pretty short with information about pronunciation, where the wines come from, some information on the tradition (and sometimes changes) in the wine making, information on common or interesting producers, foods that one should have with the wines, and his recommendation on whether you should look for the wine. As is apparent in his other books, the author's preference in wine is that wine taste like where it is made.… (mere)