Tag: Wine Books

Book review: Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th edition

If there’s one book I recommend all wine enthusiasts possess—no matter their level of knowledge or interest in wine—it’s the Oxford Companion to Wine (OCW). Yes, it’s an encyclopedia: bloody heavy and astonishingly comprehensive. It’s […]


So you want to be a Sommelier?

When I tell people I’m a sommelier their typical reaction is usually one of both admiration and confusion. “A sommelier?” they ask. Then, “Wow! But what exactly does that mean?” (There was also that memorable […]


Wine Movie Reviews: from Sideways to SOMM

I’ve been marathoning wine movies over the last couple weeks and decided to write some capsule reviews of the better-known ones for this week’s Vue column. Here are the expanded versions: Sideways (I just wrote […]


Sideways: comparing Payne’s movie with Pickett’s book

“It’s very possible his film will be better than my book.”– Rex Pickett, referring to director Alexander Payne Truer words were never spoken. Sideways is one of those rare exceptions in which the movie is […]