Brett, The Wine Maestro

You have been a wine drinker for a while then one day you realise that there’s more to wine than meets the eye. You want to learn more, only to discover that there is so much information to assimilate, and all this knowledge can often seem too daunting.

Here is a cheerful book that not only tells you serious facts about wine but, and more importantly, it looks at the stories, ideas and opinions about and around wine. And in a way that is far from daunting.

The book opens with the story of the invention of wine (with meetings between God and Kevin!) and the author’s father’s pleasure in serving humble wine stylishly and with respect, before embarking on a range of topics. Arranged alphabetically from anecdote and fact to advice and philosophy, all celebrate wine.

Young Melbourne-based freelance writer Andrea Frost has a way of explaining ideas and stories in a thoughtful and considerate way. She tells us how she learnt to appreciate wine and how she shares the pleasure of it with friends and acquaintances. She writes well with great humanity and good humour.

The subjects include Flaws, Scores, Snobs, A Lesson on Corked Wine, Ordering From a Wine List, Mystery, Spitting (practice in the shower) and a Manifesto to the Wonders of Wine. The varied topics encourage you to turn the page and relish what Andrea has to say.

The book is sparkling and jolly, and its subtitle describes it exactly: An A – Z of the Wonderland of Wine. I am sure the reader, be they a wine novice or a mature veteran, will enjoy this book.

Through a Sparkling Glass
An A – Z of the Wonderland of Wine
By Andrea Frost
Hardie Grant Books