I know nothing about wine, other than how to drink it, so I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review Good Better Best Wine, a No-Nonsense Guide to Popular Wines by Carolyn Evans Hammond. It’s a little book of big wines and it is so easy to read and understand for someone like me, who is a wine newbie.

Right off the bat, I loved this book. White, Red, Rose and Bargain wines, Good Better Best covers it all. The big name wines are grouped under $5, $8, $11, and $15 by color and grape variety with bottle images so you can find them easily on the shelf. Good, Better, Best Wines focuses on the best-selling wines in the United States, like Beringer, Barefoot, Kendall-Jackson and Woodbridge, so you’ll be able to find them at most local stores. The tasting notes are user friendly (even I could understand them), and Carolyn Evans Hammond covers trade secrets for getting the most out of each bottle.

I decided to put Good Better Best to the test. I slipped it in my purse, yes ladies, it is small enough to fit in your purse, and went to the grocery store. I went to the wine section and pulled out the book. I looked under Reds, Cabernet and found a brand that I was familiar with, Yellow Tail, and read what Good Better Best had to say. Two dollar signs, which meant it was in the $8 category, yup, $7.99. Here is an excerpt of the book for this wine;

“This wine would be a hit at a backyard barbecue. Not complex but certainly intense with scrupulously clean, articulate flavors and a satisfyingly smooth mouthfeel. Full-bodies with 13.5% alc.”

Spot on and sold for $7.99. Into the cart it went. I also bought several other bottles of wine, all found through Good Better Best Wines.

Good Better Best Wines is a must have book if you love wines. Oh, and because it fits in your purse, no more excuses about not buying a great wine for a great price!

Carolyn Evans Hammond is an accomplished and very busy wine writer whose articles have appeared in such eminent magazines as Decanter and Wine & Spirit International in the United Kingdom, as well as Maclean’s, Taste, and Tidings in Canada. Her first book, 1000 Best Wine Secrets, earned critical acclaim and international distribution, and Good Better Best Wines will be a must have for your personal library. She also issues a newsletter, runs a wine club, conducts seminars, and publishes a blog on her website-www.wine-tribune.com.

Good, Better, Best Wines, A No-Nonsense Guide to Popular Wines
Carolyn Evans Hammond
April 2010, $12.95
ISBN: 978-1-59257-977-8
Alpha Books