Basically, information in the book is good for a beginner as long as the beginner sticks to her method of learning to taste wine; that is try 2 wines of the same variety from different wineries at a lower, middle and upper price level. There are, however, serious errors of substance in the book, and she is very parochial, in her choice of wines, seemingly to be in love with Napa and Sonoma wines and French and Italian wines, with a few Australian wines thrown in. She completely or almost completely ignores California's Central Coast wineries and those of Southern California, Oregon vineyards and most Washington vineyards. One of her serious errors is that, she states that Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris is a spontaneous mutation of Pinot Noir when in fact Pinot Grigio/Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and 10 other grape varieties that are used to make wine are crosses between the "Pinot" prototype and an obscure vine called Gouais Blanc. That was determined by Dr. Carole Meredith, professor emeritus at the University of California at Davis , by means of DNA typing and has been known since the early 1990's.

She, also, denigrates the wines that are available at Costco and Target Stores. I cannot speak to the quality of wines at Target Stores, as I have never shopped for wine at Target, but I have shopped at Costco. While the Australian "critter wines" are most available, I have seen wines from boutique wineries in California, such as, Opolo and La Crema vineyards, and larger wineries such as Hahn. She, in addition, calls Hahn, a "bottom shelf" wine; however, I don't believe that a winery that has won 27 gold medals for their wines in one year should be called a "bottom shelf" wine.

Grumdahl posits a unique new approach to tasting. Instead of going through a bunch of varietal or regional labels in a designated price group, she advocates tasting variations on the theme, climbing from simple to complex examples. No more boring rate it 85 or 90. Instead judge the grape quality and work your way up the qualty scale. And forget about "blind" bottles and scores. Learn the difference between California Chardonnay and White Burgundy.

This book really adds nothing new that has not been written about over the last 20 years in the wine world. Dara does state to try a variety of different Chardonnay wines from around the world which is great but does it in a way that no wine shop will have all of these examples. She also does not talk about the importance of vintage which is so critical in the actually quality of a wine. The tasting process is not explained well which is what all beginners should start with. The Wine Bible for the same price point is a much better starting point for the new wine drinker.

Not as informative as I would have liked and covers only select number of wines.
The author has an engaging style but I found myself wishing for more concise descriptions of more wines. Probably best for someone who already knows a fair ammount and wants a colorful easy read. I was offended at the repeated use (abuse)of the term "Holy Trinity" as a tool to describe features of wine. As a Christian, these words have very real and special meaning. It's ironic that in the era of saturated political correctness, Christian belief is such an easy target for some.

Years ago Dara wrote a food column with step-by-step instructions for learning the concept of "dry". Several friends and I had a blast (aided by 6 bottles of wine and as many beers) as we compared wines, beers, cheeses, fruits and crackers to get an in-depth understanding of dry. At the time, we wished Dara would do more of this type of writing. Now she has. I assembled my friends together again and we started with the Zinfandel chapter. As one friend said after the Zinfandel was gone, "I could have learned this in a class, but this was much more fun." It was also educational. By following Dara's instructions, I finally can taste pepper, cinnamon or blackberries in wine. We are already planning our next wine tasting party. Read This.

No one likes books written by wine snobs and "know it alls" and Dara dislikes that group as much as anyone. But I think she tries so hard to be "anti-snob" and "anti-establishment" that "Drink This..." ends up lacking quite a bit of needed substance. Yeah, its is "mavericky" and the epitome of anti-snobbery to advise people to go ahead and put ice cubes in their wine but she really leaves the reader hanging about what WHY people get weirded out seeing this. Ice cubes do more than just bring down the temperature of wine (which, BTW, sticking the bottle in the ice bucket is just as effective at a restaurant or home) but they also dilute the flavors and aroma of the wine. The interview with Qupé winemaker's Bob Lindquist only briefly touches on the pros and cons of dilution.

The whole section felt like she found her "maverick" moment ("Ah, I'll be the wine book that recommends putting ice cubes in the wine. That will show people how "anti-snob" I am!") and that was its only purpose. There are many cases where her readers could find themselves enjoying the wine less because she left them hanging. It really wasn't written to help newbie wine drinkers become more comfortable in their knowledge of wine. So someone puts ice cubes in their wine? Why? Because Dara said it was okay! What if the wine doesn't taste good any more? Why? I don't know. Dara doesn't tell us that.

There are other examples in book, (like when she touches upon what oak does to wine) where your interest is piqued but then she quickly jumps to another subject before, I guess, she feels like she goes over our heads with too much info. I think she tries so hard to come across as "newbie friendly" or the wine queen of anti-pretentiousness, that when there are parts in the book that she NEEDS to expand on, in order to give more context and paint a clearer picture-she drops the ball. She so desperately doesn't want to be the kind of wine writer or book that scare people off by being too technical or "know it all" snobbish, that she takes the pendulum too far in the completely opposite direction.

There is some basic wine info and an admirable call to encourage people to try things out for themselves. That later part is probably the most redeeming quality about Dara's book. But ultimately the book does little to really help wine drinkers get confidence in picking out and ordering wine at the restaurant. It goes just far enough to let you know that there is more out there for you to learn, but instead of telling you about those particular things, it leaves you with the same lack of knowledge as you had before. As another reviewer said, there are better options for newbie wine drinkers out there like Katherine MacNeil's Wine Bible, Mark Oldman's Guide to Wine, the For Dummies series and a lot of good online sources like Gary Vaynerchuck's Wine Library TV and Bill Wilson's "Wine for Newbies" podcast.

Unlike so many wine books -- which usually give lots of current vintage recommendations, but don't really help you to understand how to understand your own preferences -- this book gives you a foundation from which to build your personal wine knowledge. Even if you've been piecing it together on your own for years, this little tome puts it all together in one place, and presents a logical, practical and fun method for exploring. The novel "tasting marker" idea is one I've never heard of, but it works beautifully. The insights into history and wine production are invaluable, and it's all presented in the author's signature cheeky style. (There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments in each chapter.) When I was first drinking wine 20 years ago, I acquired several wine books, which are mostly worthless now because the recommendations in them are dated. This is a timeless wine book that will be just as relevant and informative in 20 years as it is right now.