Sure, reading the back of the bottle can explain quite a bit. Yet to quench your thirst for knowledge you have only two realistic choices. First, you can spend quite a bit of time, energy, and money in going to the various wine schools now available to you. Or you can invest in Jennifer “Chotzi” Rosen’s book Waiter, There’s a Horse in My Wine, the first in a series of books my Rosen (see my review of The Cork Jester’s Guide to Wine) and wine-related materials (like novelty card decks).

Does the title strike you as irreverent? Do you prefer titles like Scientific Examination of Soil Types In Global Wine Regions? Well, I can assure you that Rosen would be the first to admit that soil types are of key importance. Yet she is savvy enough to understand the importance of responding to what wine aficionados need to know now. Despite her first-rate wine education, she has the unique ability to translate what may be considered boring wine terminology into everyday language we can all understand.

Now I can describe all the cleverly written, brightly colored stories in this book, yet why ruin your fun? When she visits the Chianti Classico region, for example, she doesn’t bore readers with details about the soil, the specific demands of the appellation (for example, Italy’s strictly controlled DOC and DOCG regions demand a specific percentage of the blend to be the Sangiovese grape, a specific period for maturation, etc.). Instead, she entertains us with stories of three-hour lunches on the terraces of villas overlooking olive groves and the smoldering glances of bare-chested vineyard workers.

I hear you saying "I want a book about wine, not a glossy romance novel." Please understand that Rosen's book is about wine and, yes, she talks about soils and wine maturation and winemaker tools as well. But the truth is that most books about wine viticulture are as boring as reading a hundred pages about the proper cultivation of potatoes. You'll find that the magic of Rosen's art is to tease the reader with a fun colorful story and then explain the essence of a specific region.

Jennifer Rosen was on my radar screen long before Gary Vandnerchuk became a pop icon, so who is to say which of these zany wine entertainers was first to really “demystify” the subject of wine and make it fun and safe for adults to explore without tears. As a wine educator myself, the fun thing about Rosen's book is that it is great for neophytes as well as scholars in that it forces any reader to let go of old, outmoded wine associations. Thanks for this fun, juicy book, Ms. Rosen, and let us know when you too will become a wine show reality star.

Sure, reading the back of the bottle can explain quite a bit. Yet to quench your thirst for knowledge you have only two realistic choices. First, you can spend quite a bit of time, energy, and money in going to the various wine schools now available to you. Or you can invest in Jennifer “Chotzi” Rosen’s book Waiter, There’s a Horse in My Wine, the first in a series of books my Rosen (see my review of The Cork Jester’s Guide to Wine) and wine-related materials (like novelty card decks).

Does the title strike you as irreverent? Do you prefer titles like Scientific Examination of Soil Types In Global Wine Regions? Well, I can assure you that Rosen would be the first to admit that soil types are of key importance. Yet she is savvy enough to understand the importance of responding to what wine aficionados need to know now. Despite her first-rate wine education, she has the unique ability to translate what may be considered boring wine terminology into everyday language we can all understand.

Now I can describe all the cleverly written, brightly colored stories in this book, yet why ruin your fun? When she visits the Chianti Classico region, for example, she doesn’t bore readers with details about the soil, the specific demands of the appellation (for example, Italy’s strictly controlled DOC and DOCG regions demand a specific percentage of the blend to be the Sangiovese grape, a specific period for maturation, etc.). Instead, she entertains us with stories of three-hour lunches on the terraces of villas overlooking olive groves and the smoldering glances of bare-chested vineyard workers.

I hear you saying "I want a book about wine, not a glossy romance novel." Please understand that Rosen's book is about wine and, yes, she talks about soils and wine maturation and winemaker tools as well. But the truth is that most books about wine viticulture are as boring as reading a hundred pages about the proper cultivation of potatoes. You'll find that the magic of Rosen's art is to tease the reader with a fun colorful story and then explain the essence of a specific region.

Jennifer Rosen was on my radar screen long before Gary Vandnerchuk became a pop icon, so who is to say which of these zany wine entertainers was first to really “demystify” the subject of wine and make it fun and safe for adults to explore without tears. As a wine educator myself, the fun thing about Rosen's book is that it is great for neophytes as well as scholars in that it forces any reader to let go of old, outmoded wine associations. Thanks for this fun, juicy book, Ms. Rosen, and let us know when you too will become a wine show reality star.

The cards are fun, colorful, and feel good in your hands — more than I can say for my own multicolored, 3 x 5 index cards I created myself to help remember answers I need to pass various wine examinations. While these cards might have been designed to be a party game, or to help an amateur wine buff improve his or her knowledge, serious connoisseurs can use them to further their own wine education.

Here’s a good example. If you are reading this article, you yourself may had the experience of visiting a vineyard. Do you remember seeing rosebushes in the vineyards? I have — in Bordeaux as well as Long Island. Of course, though the rosebushes look attractive, they are in the vineyard for more than cosmetic purposes. The idea (which is hundreds of years old) is that both roses and grape vines are susceptible to both powdery (odium) and downy mildew. When a vigneron sees a rosebush overtaken by one of these mildews, he or she can move fast and treat the vines with sprays of sulphur for powdery mildew or copper sulphate for downy mildew.

This card deck is perfect for today’s 21- to 30-year-old millennial generation, as they prefer to have fun and interaction while learning. Beyond its main purpose as a party game, it would be terrific to pack for a trip to the wine country. In the two-hour drive from San Francisco to Napa, for example, or from Paris to Burgundy, one could conceivably become proficient in the field of wine.

For those who are reluctant to blow the cobwebs and dust off of a giant wine encyclopedia, Rosen’s wine deck is a great way to master wine and have fun in the process.

See also review of "Waiter There's a Horse in My Wine"

The cards are fun, colorful, and feel good in your hands — more than I can say for my own multicolored, 3 x 5 index cards I created myself to help remember answers I need to pass various wine examinations. While these cards might have been designed to be a party game, or to help an amateur wine buff improve his or her knowledge, serious connoisseurs can use them to further their own wine education.

Here’s a good example. If you are reading this article, you yourself may had the experience of visiting a vineyard. Do you remember seeing rosebushes in the vineyards? I have — in Bordeaux as well as Long Island. Of course, though the rosebushes look attractive, they are in the vineyard for more than cosmetic purposes. The idea (which is hundreds of years old) is that both roses and grape vines are susceptible to both powdery (odium) and downy mildew. When a vigneron sees a rosebush overtaken by one of these mildews, he or she can move fast and treat the vines with sprays of sulphur for powdery mildew or copper sulphate for downy mildew.

This card deck is perfect for today’s 21- to 30-year-old millennial generation, as they prefer to have fun and interaction while learning. Beyond its main purpose as a party game, it would be terrific to pack for a trip to the wine country. In the two-hour drive from San Francisco to Napa, for example, or from Paris to Burgundy, one could conceivably become proficient in the field of wine.

For those who are reluctant to blow the cobwebs and dust off of a giant wine encyclopedia, Rosen’s wine deck is a great way to master wine and have fun in the process.

See also review of "Waiter There's a Horse in My Wine"