The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Educating Peter—and Tida

Posted on | January 27, 2010 | Written by Tida Lenoel | 2 Comments

Plenty of encyclopedic wine references offer densely packed servings of seemingly endless amounts of information. These guides are extremely useful to have on hand when you are looking for the answer to a specific question, but they’re not always the easiest to pick up and read for enjoyment. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a wine book that would not only be fun to read, but also informative for wine lovers of all levels. The book I found was Lettie Teague’s “Educating Peter: How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert.”

Teague, wine columnist (“Wine Matters”) and contributing wine editor at Food & Wine Magazine and author of the blog Forklife, chose to write this book to show that learning about wine isn’t as hard as people think. Using as her disciple her friend Peter Travers, a film critic for Rolling Stone who knew nothing about wine other than that he liked “fatty Chardonnays,” Teague provides a crash course in wine education. She starts out with the basics of how to taste, gives some wine vocabulary, outlines the six basic grapes and what each contributes to a wine, describes various vinification techniques, and explains the importance of vintages. Then she moves on to different winemaking regions, starting with the Old World wine and ending with New World wines. The last section of the book is where Teague puts Travers’ newfound skills to the test; he goes on his own to a wine auction, buys wine at a wine shop, chooses wines to pair with dinner at a restaurant, and takes Teague’s final exam.

I just recently started reading the book—I’ve just reached the Old World and am now learning about the different regions in France. Teague gives a very brief overview, more than enough for the novice, and I’m finding that her writing works to make me more intrigued about learning the regions in further detail. I appreciate the story behind Teague’s writing and the third-person perspective that draws on the film critic Travers’ learning experience, but some people might find the comparisons between wine and film a little drawn out at times. During Teague’s tasting lessons, she uses everyday wines at reasonable prices, which is great because it shows that wine can be both high quality and inexpensive. These value-conscious choices will give readers the encouragement and the incentive to try many different wines of varying grape varietals from different regions.

So far, I am genuinely enjoying the book. Though familiar with a lot of the information presented, I am still learning some interesting new facts. For example, I’ve learned that the Bordeaux bottle has square shoulders to catch the sediment that comes from aging a wine; that Château d’Yquem was the only dessert wine recognized in the 1855 Médoc classification; and that Martin Scorsese’s favorite wine is Chianti. I think this book has something to offer for all levels of wine knowledge, and I’m curious to see how Travers’ journey ends. Does he pass the exam or continue drinking only “fatty” Chardonnay?

Given all that I’ve learned thus far, I’m betting on the former. Who wouldn’t want to pass an exam this tasty and fun?

Category: Italian Wine Merchants

Comments

2 Responses to “Educating Peter—and Tida”

  1. Tom Powers
    January 27th, 2010 @ 11:29 am

    I have always loved Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course as a wonderful introduction. The Culinary Institute of American has a wonderful text book called Exploring Wine and no considerable student should be without Tom Stevenson’s Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia.

  2. Kerry-Jo
    January 27th, 2010 @ 2:10 pm

    Go Educating Peter! :)

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