Reading between the Wines, With a New Preface

Terry Theise, winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional, is an importer of boutique wines from Germany, Austria, and Champagne. His articles have appeared in The World of Fine Wine magazine. He was Wine & Spirits magazine's Man of the Year in 2001 and Food and Wine magazine's Importer of the Year in 2006.

"A consequential book, rich in ideas and powerful in feeling." New York Times "As thoughtful of a rumination on wine and the beauty of being human, in all of our fragility, that you are ever likely to find in a wine book or any book for that matter." Forbes "I read it almost in one gulp: he writes beautifully, uninhibitedly... almost, one might say, drunkenly... a man after my own heart." -Hugh Johnson "Wise and funny, committed and sincere, but never dogmatic...A passionate defense of the importance of wine." The World Of Fine Wine "Theise first demystifies how to experience wine, then remystifies it by reinstating pleasure as what it's all about." STARRED REVIEW Library Journal "Should be required reading for wine aficionados and also for newcomers who might not yet have put voice to their appetites for new and interesting wines. " Washington Post "Might contain the year's most literate wine writing. Theise, well-known for his lyrical wordsmithing, avoids the usual memoir take and instead pens a rhapsody to the wines he loves, and to the very beauty of wine itself." SF Chronicle "A wine book that's so stunning, your glass will never look the same." Serious Eats / Pithy & Cleaver "It's not even wine that Theise is really tackling. It's aesthetics. As such he skillfully reminds us of wine's timeless place in culture." SF Chronicle "This discussion is general enough that every degree of wine aficionado, from the casual to the deadly serious, can find something of interest." -- Bob Walch Bookloons.com "Thiese is a man I'd like to drink with. Any wine. " Bloomberg News "The book is a compelling read... It draws you in as a thinker, makes you wonder and even compels you to argue back at times." The Kitchn "Terry Theise, perhaps more than any other person, knows how to convey in words just how magical wine can be, and the world needs more of that." Vinography

• Preface to the Paperback EditionIntroductionONE Befriending Your PalateTWO What Matters (and What Doesn’t) in WineTHREE Remystifying WineFOUR The Three HumorsFIVE Pressing Hot ButtonsSIX Of Places and GrapesSEVEN Wine from OutsideEIGHT Wines That Mattered: Or, “The Dog Ate My Point Scores”Acknowledgments