Wine-er

Much to tell you about so let's get this pardee started -

On the music front: Playing this Friday with Steve-O and the boys at the Flying Pig in Malvern, PA - hope to see you there! I had a listen to the basic tracks (sans solos & vocals) for the up-coming SL release and so far the tunes are really burnin'.

On the wine front: Took the WSET exam last night, it went pretty well I think (despite some tricky questions on regional styles) and I should find out how I did in about 2 weeks. I've been asked by a few people about good wine books, especially ones making for decent holiday gifts. So, here goes - a quick compilation of Joe's Recommended Wine Library (owner tested & approved):

1. Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine -This is a great book and the one I most wish had been available when I was starting out experimenting (aka heavily drinking) my way into the world of wine. Tons of info. presented in a easy style, plus some room to grow with you as gain more experience.
2. The Wine Bible - An astonishing achievement, this mighty tome is exceptional in the fact that it somehow combines breadth & depth on every important wine topic with easily accessible and eminately browsable prose. If you have some experience with wine then this could be the only wine book you'll ever need - a classic.
3. World Atlas of Wine - The gold standard by which all other wine references are now measured, it's a good-looking coffee table book that also happens to have boatloads of information on nearly every wine region on the planet. Only buy it after you are able to comfortably define the term terroir to others.
4. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book - Packs a ridiculous amount of information into an impossibly small amount of space. Surprisingly intuitive to use after you get used to the abbreviations. Will shortly pay for itself in both real savings (on good cheaper recommendations) and/or cost avoidance (in keeping you from shelling out mad bank on an overpriced/overhyped wine).
   

So - in the words of Austria's Joseph II, "there it is." I should also note that I've heard excellent things about the Oxford Companion to Wine (but I don't own it myself yet).

Oh, one more thing - the best things going on-line for wine are probably the WineLoversPage and CellarTracker.

Later!