36 Bottles of Wine

There is certainly no shortage of books that have been written about wine. From guides with arcane rating systems of varietals, vintages, and growing regions to personal histories of great bottles that someone once drank, the selection seems endless. So, the first thing to realize about 36 Bottles of Wine, Paul Zitarelli’s engaging entry in this category, is that it is different. The premise of this book is compelling: For each month of the year, he suggests three different wines—a red, a white, and an “other,” such as a sparkling or dessert wine—that are seasonally appropriate and then pairs those with meals chosen to enhance the experience. For good measure, the author also intersperses several great sundry tips about this vital (to me, at least) topic, including which stemware to use, the proper serving temperature, how to taste the stuff properly, the source of wine headaches, and the vintage year strategies that wineries follow.

Zitarelli has an absolutely delightful writing style. His descriptions are very funny and not in the least bit pretentious. He consistently provides thoughtful and factual insights about every wine and food pairing, providing a nice blend of historical background, tasting notes, and opinion as to why each was placed in a particular month. Although he did not stress his intention in the Introduction, I appreciated the fact that the author went out of his way to recommend value options from lesser known growing regions whenever possible (e.g., he chose a Chenin Blanc from Montlouis instead of a more expensive option from across the Loire river in Vouvray). Also, it is worth noting that the entire book is beautifully illustrated; the photographs of both the wine and the food are stunning and add considerably to the quality of the text.

I cannot stress enough how everything in this wonderful volume was so well described, from the various wines to the accompanying meals to the peripheral essays. Of course, the heart of the book involves the wine itself and the vignettes I found particularly enlightening were those for Chilean Carménère, Sauvignon Blanc from Loire, U.S.-produced sparkling wine, Gruner Veltliner, Langhe Rosso, and Tavel Rosé. (By the way, the author seems to really like Rosé, but then so do I and I learned a lot about the several examples he features.) Also, it was impressive that among the three dozen bottles discussed, he only included one Chardonnay—and a Chablis at that—which expanded the horizons of this reader who is already far too familiar with that varietal. At the risk of stating the obvious, 36 Bottles of Wine is my new favorite book on this topic and one that I will use frequently from now on.