Italian Wine For Dummies

Right now, Italy is the most exciting wine country on earth. The quality of Italian wines has never been higher and the range of wines has never been broader. Even better, the types of Italian wines available outside of Italy have never been greater. But with all these new Italian wines and wine zones—not to mention all the obscure grape varieties, complicate blends, strange names and restrictive wine laws—Italian wines are also about he most challenging of all to master. The time has come for comprehensive, up-to-date guides to Italian wines.

Authored by certified wine educators and authors Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Italian Wine For Dummies introduces you to the delectable world of fine Italian wine. It shows you how to:

• Translate wine labels
• Identify great wine bargains
• Develop your own wine tastes
• Match Italian wines with foods

Here’s everything you need to know to enjoy the best Tuscans, Sicilians, Abruzzese and other delicious Italian wines. This lighthearted and informative guide explores:

• The styles of wine made in Italy and the major grape varieties used to make them
• How the Italian name their wines, the complicated laws governing how names are given and the meanings of common label terminology
• Italy’s important wine regions—including a region-by-region survey of the best vineyards and their products
• A guide to pronouncing Italian wine terms and names and how to order Italian wines in restaurants

For Italians, wine (vino) is food (alimentari) and food is love (amore). And you can never have enough love in your life. So, read Italian Wine For Dummies, today and get ready to share the love!

About the Authors

Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy are two wine lovers whose stars crossed at an Italian wine tasting in New York City’s Chinatown in 1981, leading to personal and professional partership. Besides co-authoring seven wine books, they’ve taught hundreds of wine classes together, visited nearly every wine region of the world, run five marathons, and raised ten cats. Together, they’ve amassed more than half a century of professional wine experience.

Mary grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Immediately after college, she took a position at the Italian Trade Commission, where she discovered her love of wine and of Italy, and began sharing that passion with other Americans. She is now president of International Wine Center, a New York City wine school where she teaches classes mainly for wine professionals; she’s also wine columnist for the NY Daily News. Mary’s proudest credential is being America’s first female Master of Wine (MW), one of only 18 MW’s in America and 233 worldwide.

Ed, a New Yorker, graduated from City University of NY with a Master’s degree in psychology. He taught high school English as his day job, all the while working part time in wine shops to satisfy his passion for wine. He began writing about wine in 1985, and in 1995 co-authored, with Mary, the best-selling Wine For Dummies; in 1999, he went solo as author of Champagne For Dummies, a topic in which he’s particularly keen. He and Mary share a wine column in Nation’s Restaurant News, and he also writes for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Underground Wine Journal. Ed and Mary are both Certified Wine Educators (CWE).