Is This Bottle Corked?

September 15, 2009
This enjoyably readable miscellany covers a number of questions that wine lovers may or may not have considered as they contemplate the charms of the lively liquid shimmering in the glass before them. Presenting no systematic treatment, Burk and Bywater address an intelligently curious but not sophisticated audience. Questions they consider range from wine production through secondary subjects including the role of wine in literary works such as The Canterbury Tales. The book sheds light on a number of major and minor issues surrounding wines history, whether it be the great phylloxera blight or the practice of grape stomping. The authors address practical concerns such as what to do with leftover wine and they demystify abstruse wine vocabulary. This volume, which carries a detailed index of the subjects addressed, may prove useful for supplying quick answers to some wine reference questions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)