Book Review: Oz Clarke's Let Me Tell You About Wine

Let me tell you about wine. That's the simple premise of this book by Oz Clarke. And with a gorgeously designed and laid out pages, this book does just that. Published in 2009, the layout of the pages is a reminder that in our day and age, physical books can still a superior experience when text, pictures, and charts are laid out with a good eye for design.

It starts with a breakdown of 18 different wines, from juicy, fruity reds to toasty whites, to fortified wines. The first section continues with a breakdown of the most common varieties of grapes and then an overview of how wine is made and the numerous choices a winemaker has available to him to affect the outcome of his efforts.

The next section covers all that goes into enjoying wine: buying, storing, tasting, and pairing wine with food. Here the author covers a good deal of information. Having read Wine Made Easy, much of this information overlaps with that book.

The final section of the book, which covers nearly 1/2 the book, is a detailed overview of the major wine regions of the world. The author does not merely hint at the different named regions in France, Spain, Italy and the rest of the world, like in Wine Made Easy, but he provides detailed maps and an overview of the grapes grown here, the terroir, and how it affects the wines made here.

Surprisingly, there is a page in this section devoted to Midwestern wines. He notes the upstart nature of Midwestern wine, despite a long history cut short due to Prohibition. Mention is also made of the native North American grapes and the distinct tastes that they provide to the wines of the region.

Overall, this is a wonderful book that looks outstanding and has a great deal of useful information. The best part is that the author has broken down a great deal of data into easily read diagrams or charts that make for easy reference. For instance, he includes a wheel of wine that can be used to find a wine based on a desired taste and the intensity of the flavor. I borrowed this book from our library, but on my book rating, I set this at a 'Buy' for its gorgeous design alone. (My book ratings go from 'Ignore', 'Borrow', 'eBook', or 'Buy'.)

In searching for this book, my wife came across a number of other wine books from Oz Clarke, included one published in 2000 titled 'Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine'. While the design of the book is inferior to 'Let Me Tell You About Wine', much of the actual text is the same. The book is laid out in the same 3 basic sections. So far, I've found only 3 main differences. First, the author divides wines into 15 different varieties in the earlier book, where he later divides the wine world to 18 different styles. Second, the newer book offered a list of websites for more information on wine touring and wine in general which does not exist in the earlier book. Finally, while both books cover wines made throughout the world, the older book contains no reference to wines in the Midwest other than a shaded area on a map. But, this is a very revealing difference, as it shows that in the 9 years between the release of the 2 books, wines from the Midwest had risen in production and esteem enough to warrant adding a page dedicated to these upstart wines.

In all, I've found both books by Oz Clarke to be outstanding and I'll be keeping my eyes out for more from him, as his style and knowledge make for a great read.