NOSE, LEGS, BODY! is an accessible guide that provides more than the basics about wine for beginner wine enthusiasts.
Author Len Napolitano serves up an easy-to-read guide that is both entertaining and enlightening. The catchy title refers to the smell of the wine, the ‘legs’ around the glass when the wine is swirled, while the body refers to the weight of the wine on the palate. The entertaining preface sets the tone for down-to-earth as well as entertaining wine information as Napolitano shares his humble beginnings with wine—when he first noticed wine sediment, and began shaking the bottle “as if it were a half gallon of orange juice.” Napolitano offers a well-rounded palate of knowledge that includes intriguing tidbits, cultural history, and geographical trivia on the journey “from wine ignorant to wine intelligent.”
The guide leaves the reader with a broader idea of how wine is made, as well as skills on how to discern between the same labels that are priced differently, and how to cut through wine mystique and myth busting—such as whether or not sulfites in the wine create headaches and what to look for in a wine, or to buy with a cork or screw cap?
This handbook is comprehensive and well-thought in its presentation and planning, with bullet points for clear and visually aesthetic presentation, plus bold fonts coding within the narrative to indicate the terms found in the glossary. Napolitano doesn’t get bogged down with any one aspect of wine, but rather he presents information in a practical way that gives the reader the vocabulary and knowledge to easily absorb and apply when choosing wines. For example, charts clearly show the various names for the same kinds of wines, how to pair wines with food, and which wines to use for cooking.
NOSE, LEGS, BODY! is a dynamic and extremely reader-friendly instructional tool for those who want to become more enlightened in the basics of wine appreciation.
~IndieReader.