Andrea Immer - Great wine made simple: straight talk from a master sommelier

GREAT WINE MADE SIMPLE . Copyright 2005 by Andrea Immer Robinson.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
For information, address Broadway Books, a division of Random House.

BROADWAY BOOKS and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Visit our Web site at www.broadwaybooks.com
Visit the authors Web site at www.andreaimmer.com

First published in 2000

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Robinson, Andrea Immer.
Great wine made simple : straight talk from a master sommelier /Andrea Immer Robinson.Rev. ed.
p. cm.
1. Wine and wine making. I. Title.

TP548.146 2005
641.22dc22
2005042068

eISBN: 978-0-307-88578-4

Cover design by Umi Kenyon
Cover photograph by John McJunkin

v3.1

To the loves of my life, John, Lucas, and Jesse

Its a different world is something we think and hear a lot these days. In the revised Great Wine Made Simple, well explore and taste whats different and new in the wine world. A lot has changed, and yet tradition powers on, keeping us connected to the land and to our history, which has been washed in wine since ancient times.

But its a different world in other ways, too. Windows on the World, the place that did so much to shape American wine service and education and my own career, is now a memory both of beautiful times and of friends and family members lost and deeply missed every single day. To Tony Marden of Ladder 165 Brooklyn, thank you for finding and saving a keepsake photograph of my Windows times and for seeking me out to send it. I will never forget how thrilled you were to learn that the girl in the picture taken years ago at Windows on the World was not there on September 11. I think of the work and sacrifices of you and those in your firefighting family every day, with immense gratitude.

In my world there is a new family. It is amazing to live in a house with two of the most extraordinary men on earth. To my husband, John, thank you for love, passion, creativity, and integrity that I never dreamed possible in one man, plus something I never thought Id havea daughter. I get the joy of looking forward to a lifetime of aspiring to earn your gifts and of watching you teach and share them with our children. To Lucas, our pride and joy and the best big brother in the world, thank you for the privilege of being your mom. To our parents, Sharon and David McKinster and Mildred and Garner Robinson; and to the Niemeyers, Whittiers, Steinmetz-Firras, and Yeatses, thank you for being part of the birth of this new family. Heres to many years of toasting our milestones together.

To my dear friend Cindy Renzi, if I could offer just one sip of Champagne for each helping hand and creative idea of the last year alone, Id do itbecause youd end up with a lifetime supply of your favorite wine. And you deserve every drop!

To the professionals and friends whove guided and inspired me so much over the yearsKevin Zraly, my Court of Master Sommeliers colleagues, Dorothy Hamilton and the French Culinary Institute teamthank you for your friendship and for modeling the very best of the hospitality profession.

Thanks to Steve Rubin, Jennifer Josephy, Rebecca Holland, and Umi Kenyon of Broadway Books; John MacDonald, Charles Segars, Susie Romano, Stephanie Eno-Bianco, and the Fine Living Network team; Gordon Elliott, Sandy Green, and the Follow Productions crew; and Greg Duppler and the Target team, for helping me pursue a dream to share with millions of people a simple approach to wine.

To Kimberly Johnson and John McJunkin, thanks for bringing the spirit of this book to the cover; and to Napa Valleys Truchard family, thank you for letting us use your gorgeous vineyard to show everyone who picks up this book where heaven on earth is.

And to the waiters, vinters, wine students, and just wine lovers whove shared your thoughts, questions, enthusiasm, and expertise as Ive continued to explore this deeply historic, personal, and inspiring topic, thanks for helping to bring it to life for others in this revised edition. These pages are for you and because of you.