Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course)

• #13 in Best Wine Books

24 Reviews

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If you don't know anything about wine then this book might seem to be a good introduction. However, if you have any prior knowledge then it is immediately obvious that the author is a self-absorbed pretender. The book fails on multiple levels:

Writing style
The book is poorly written and insults its readers. It's filled with little insinuations that the reader is a hopeless idiot, and after a few pages this repeated rhetorical device becomes insufferable. How often can you tolerate an author characterizing your thoughts and behavior as moronic just to set up the point that he is trying to make? Much of the text unreadable for this reason. In addition to talking down to his readers, the author generally writes like an eighth grader. He loves to put words in quotation marks for no apparent reason, typographical errors are common (even ones that would be caught by any computer spell checker), and he often trips over his own feet trying to write the simplest sentence. Finally, he talks about himself incessantly, like a bore at a dinner party.

Inadequate coverage
The book has gaping omissions at all levels. The author gives the impression that he is introducing the range of varietal grapes and growing regions of the world, but he misleads novice readers in this pretense. His coverage is limited, outside of a few uninformative and incomplete lists, to the larger regions and grape varieties. This is the kind of basic survey that one can gather from going to one or two wine stores and looking at the shelves: there's a lot of wine from California, France, Australia, Italy, and Spain. The author simply repeats the obvious in many parts of the book.

Inaccurate information
The one thing that a book like this should at least get right is the basics. And yet he fails here as well. In one part of the book the author honestly claims that letting a wine breath before drinking it is of dubious value--he actually goes so far as to question whether it has any effect. This is where he exposes himself as a poser. When a wine is exposed to air, the organic compounds in the wine begin to react with oxygen. This is simply a matter of measurable chemistry. For someone to claim to be an expert and yet to assert that letting the wine breath has no effect is preposterous. The effect can be analyzed and measured. And it can be easily tasted! For someone who claims to taste 3,000 wines per year (that is his statement), he is inexcusably ignorant about this most basic fact. The truth is that the vast majority of wines improve their complexity of flavor, bouquet, and smoothness if they are allowed to sit open (or decanted into another container) for 2-3 hours. A real expert on wine would encourage the reader to test this for herself: open a bottle and taste the wine at 30 minute intervals. It's easy to determine that in the vast majority of cases the chemistry of oxidation makes a real difference in enjoyment. Instead, this pompous author proclaims that there is no benefit to a wine breathing, and encourages everyone to drink the wine directly after opening the bottle. He's an idiot.

He also claims that you should never use soap to clean your wine glasses. His explanation is that soap residue can effect the taste of the wine. This might be true if you don't wash the glass thoroughly, but it's generally pointless advice. It sounds insightful, but it's just empty hogwash. Just rinse the glass well and dry it with a clean towel--problem solved. It takes a special type of fatuous blowhard to fabricate pearls of wisdom out of thin air, but he manages to do it!

Over emphasis on wineries
The final major failure of the book is to give the reader an utterly false sense of comfort and knowledge by listing wineries that the author feels have a good reputation. This is the most useless information for a novice seeking to learn about wine. The well known wineries very often fluctuate in the quality of wines that they produce, increase production to cash in on their reputation and thereby suffer a loss of quality, or become priced out of reach for most people (and become overpriced in general compared to wines of equal quality). The author's approach here simply encourages ignorant snobbery and perpetuates the problem of people simply wanting to be told what is good. You need to taste a variety of wines. You need to get a feel for what you like, not what some stuffy and arrogant faker tells you is good. This book is poison to someone who really wants to develop real knowledge about wine. It gives the illusion of being informative, but it simply feeds the reader comforting half truths and steers him off course.

Avoid this steaming pile of nonsense like the plague.

Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course is considered a classic among amateur grape geeks (like me). The 2007 edition sold over 100,000 copies. Zraly uncorks the mysteries of wine with his trusted "wine course." The comprehensive 2008 update is informative in the areas of wine tasting, selection, regions, and countries (from France to Chile), and also includes recommendations and advice on selecting a wine in an often complex market further complicated by the Internet. While this course may not qualify you to become a sommelier, it will definitely improve your knowledge and credentials as an amateur oeniphile, and should be considered an excellent starting point for any wine connoisseur.

G. Merritt

I absolutely love this book. Incredibly informative and broken out so that you don't find yourself overwhelmed by all the vast information available in the wine world. I knew a little bit about wine before this book, and my knowledge has increased dramatically after reading this book. This is a must have for anyone with an interest in wine.

As I stated in the review on the 2007 edition, Zraly writes a good beginner book that delivers some good knowledge. The text is rather large as are the diagrams, it seems that this is in an effort to increase the number of pages only.

Pros: good beginner knowledge, great writing style, easy to understand
Cons: lacks depth, lacks polish, generic maps

Great book that covers all of the basics + provides real-world tasting ideas. Only downside is the focus on French wines; I wish there was more on Italy and "emerging" markets like Argentina. But with that said, Kevin Zraly recommends books that focus on these (and other) regions, so for those that need more information, it is easy to know where to read next.

This book is an excellent resource as your are starting to dive into the world of wine. I was introduced to this book many years ago. It gives a very good over of most of the major regions (although it lacking New Zealand, which is mind boggling) Other than that small caveat, I think this is a must have in your wine library. I am in the wine industry, and teach a beginning wine class, and each of my students receive this as a textbook.

I bought this book in search of basic information about the wines of the world, the various grapes, regional distinctions and recommendations for all the categories. This book does not disappoint in that regard. I have no complaints at all about any of the information in the book--every bit of it was helpful. However, I would like to have seen more information about wines from the various regions of the U.S. (I live in North Carolina where we have quite a few vinyards, but my state wasn't even mentioned) other than the West and NY State. Also, after reading the book I realized I'd do well to make up some index cards listing categories and recommendations according to regions, so I could have something handy to go with me to the wine shop when I wanted to try something new. I think that a wonderful addition to this book would be some tear-out "cheat sheets" to carry in one's pocket or purse. However, for an at-home reference, this book is excellent.

This was the first wine book I ever purchased (2006). At the time, it was too hard to read for me. This book is really packed with great information and great pictures. However, if you are buying your first book on wine, make it Oldman's guide to outsmarting wine. Later, when you grow a bit more "geeky" about wine, you will begin to fully appreciate this book.

I am new in the wine world and I have enjoyed reading the book and look forward to studying it further to broaden my knowledge of wine. Thank you so much.

I do not have the 2008 edition (yet), but have the last 3 books. I strongly disagree with the reviewer who thinks that Zraley is full of himself and a "poser". First of all Kevin Zraley is THE wine instructor. Ever hear of a little restaurant called "Windows on the World"?

That said, his last 3 editions are a wonderful introduction to wine. As a restaurant manager, I keep them in our lending library and recommend them to all new servers, to get a handle on the vast world of wine.

These books are well written and easy to understand. They cover a little bit of each region, but do it in an interesting way.

We were first introduced to this book at a vacation home we stayed in. I loved it so much I rushed to the bookstore and bought one for myself.
Excellent layout that takes you through the world of wine in a simple, easy-to-understand manner. Allows you to read a section at a time, or just use the book as a reference. A thorough index makes it easy to look up any question you may have about wineries, vintages, grapes, pairings, etc.
I was really impressed with the obvious work that went into this book -- including excellent photography, reproductions of wine labels, and interviews and commentary from some of the most respected vintners in the world. Truly a labor of love here by Zraly.
If you ever wanted to have a working knowledge of wines -- even if just enough to make a decent choice off the wine list on your next dinner out -- this book will not disappoint.

This book is awesome! Every question I have ever been asked and then some is in this book and I haven't even finished the second half yet. I work in a retail wine shop and I will refer to this book often. I feel like I'm learning about wine all over again.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves wine or who wants to know about wine. It also makes a wonderful gift, I gave one as a birthday gift and the person really loved it. It also looks great on a coffee table!

I received this book as a gift from my best friend (who's husband is a rep for Chateau Ste Michelle). Although I rarely drink, and do not know a great deal about wine, I do seem to have a sharp palette, especially for French Burgandy (I reached this conclusion thanks to my dear, knowledgable and generous friends) ... which is really quite fortunate since my family currently lives a stone's throw from the Red Dundee Hills! This book is down to earth, well written, frequently hilarious ... and simply a joy to read!

I ordered this book for my husband who is known to love a good glass of wine of any colour, year, bottle or chateau.
It is a wonderful read. Especially with a glass of wine.
It is all your ever wanted to know and could possible remember about wine, the regions, varieties, qualities and prices.
I found it hard to put down. It is interesting, a great reference to all who enjoy that glorious grape juice we call wine.
It is a superb present to one's self and to any lover of the juice.
I will refer to it on my next wine sampling, be that at a local winery or at my local grocery store wine section.
It is a great collection to add to your home.

Well written and thus easy reading. Enriching work for the wine enthusiast. Excellent compilation of more than thirty years of teaching, lecturing and advising experience. A must have for the wine lover.

I really learned a lot from this course. It is a little more involved than I thought it would be, but easy to follow. The writer knows his stuff. The pictures are beautiful and the information is presented in a way even a novice can understand. I only wish that there were more actual wine recommendations and food pairings. Love this one!

I have an older edition of this book. To learn about wines, one needs to research them. In this book, everything is broken down into sections and is easy to learn (also it is very entertaining to read).

Great book with an easy to follow format. Takes you through the various wine regions of the world in a format that follows the well-known Windows on the World wine class. I especially like the 'great' and 'exceptional' vintage information he puts into each section; this is very useful when you are scanning a wine list full of unfamilar names and is worth the price of the book itself! Great book, good price, buy it.

This book is very informativ and fun to read. Zraly gives an easy to comprehend introduction to wine and recommends characteristic wines in each chapter for tasting, making this book a perfect "travel guide" through the world of wine.

This book was recommended to me by a wine snob. He said it was a great way to learn about different wines, and he was right.

An excellent book for wine novices and junkies. There is plenty of practical and esoteric information in it. A good blend of facts and fun.

Very informative for the novice as well as the connoisseur. Makes a nice addition to all the wine books in order to learn more. Delivery was fast and item arrived undamaged. Will continue to shop from Amazon for all items.

I have gained a lot of valuble wine 'smarts' from this book. I now enjoy shopping for and tasting wines like a hobbyist.