How To Taste Wine

For more than forty years, Len Evans cajoled, charmed and bullied his fellow Australians into drinking wine. He left England for beer-soaked Australia in the 1950s, and soon found work as glass washer in a Sydney pub. From these humble beginnings was launched one of the wine industry’s great careers. As food and beverage manager of the legendary Chevron Hotel, as director of the Australian Wine Bureau, as ‘Cellarmaster’ of the Bulletin, as founder of the Rothbury Estate and chairman of Petaluma and Tower Estate, and as the doyen of show judges, all through his life, Len Evans was intimately involved with the production, promotion and especially the consumption of the ‘glorious drink’.How To Taste Wine distils Evans’ vast experience into one succinct and practical volume, providing the reader with the essentials of wine tasting; the fundamentals of evaluating the nuances of wine. In his inimitable style, occasionally debunking conventional wisdom and pricking pompous balloons, Evans explains how, after considering colour, you judge wine in five ‘compartments’ nose, entry, middle palate, after palate and finish. The second part of the book details the intricacies of the judging process, while a handy glossary equips the reader with all the necessary terminology.Witty, profound and obligatory reading for both the seasoned connoisseur and novice alike, How To Taste Wine Wine demystifies the complexities of this most wonderful of pursuits. Written by a master at the height of his powers, it is the only book you’ll need when opening your next bottle.Praise for How To Taste Wine by Len Evans‘Len Evans has done more to advance the cause of Australian wine than any other individual.’ The Oxford Companion to Wine‘This book is quintessential Evans — ideas, questions and challenges constantly spilling out from his quicksilver mind and tongue.’ James Halliday‘This is a little gem of a book.’ Jancis Robinson‘[Len Evans is] the finest judge of wine I know.’ Hugh Johnson