Andrea Immer's Great Wine Made Simple

Andrea is one of my favorite wine writers. I am on a first name basis with her even though we haven't met. Maybe it is bit presumptuous of me. But read Andrea and you'll see why. She is one of those people- the kind you just know you could sit down with, share wine, and have a very enjoyable and interesting time.

In a scant few years, Andrea went from Wall Street investment banker to Beverage Director for Windows on the World, the renown restaurant on top of the World Trade Center. Fortunately, the world did not lose Andrea in the 9/11 tragedy and it is a better place for her presence. The last I heard she is Dean of Wine Studies of the French Culinary Institute in NYC.

Her accomplishments are far too numerous to mention here. She has every reason to feel proud. But, unlike some of the wine world, Andrea's writing reveals that she does not place stock in her own importance.

She writes clear, expository, understandable, transparent prose. She grew up in Southern Indiana and she "gets" that most of the world is intimidated by wine. And she hasn't forgotten where she came from. She comes at wine from that perspective. She breaks it down and organizes it into simple charts. She knows that telling most Americans that a wine tastes like red or black currants is of little help because we don't see currants in grocery stores here. So she will find another way, a solution - suggesting we buy a jar of red currant jelly that can be found in the average grocery store.

You can learn alot about wine by reading Andrea. And you may learn something about life too.

Here are a few quotes:

" 'Don't think. Drink.' In that moment, in those words, I learned the true meaning of wine."

"The real purpose of wine is not about the snobbery, the fancy labels, the big bucks, and status symbols that are supposedly going to make you look and feel sophisticated. Its real purpose is simple: Wine is a lube for life."

"...when all is said and done, the wine is just an enhancement to living. It is the life part that matters-the occassion, the lover, the meal, whatever. Now that is real wine knowledge."

From pages 196-7, Great Wine Made Simple.

This advice is coming from from one whose every financial and career incentive is to convince you that it is ALL about THE WINE. That, my friends, is keepin' it real.

Cheers,

Dave
Calicaro Wine