First Glass:
How to Taste, Talk About, and Buy Wine Like a Master Sommelier
Everyone, I’m thrilled to announce the release my new book, First Glass: How to Taste, Talk About, and Buy Wine Like a Master Sommelier. While I wrote Message in the Bottle for wine students studying for tasting exams, First Glass is for anyone who loves wine and has always had questions they’ve never been able to get answered.
First Glass is also the book I needed way back in 1983 when I first got interested in wine. At the time, I’d just finished a master’s degree in classical trumpet at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During breaks in classes, I bartended part-time at two restaurants that had outstanding wine programs. In no time, I became obsessed with learning about wine. After my Carla and I decided to move to San Francisco at the end of 1983, I started to study about and collect wine.
Like anyone just getting started, I had a million questions. But there was one question in particular that really stuck in my craw. Did red wines go through malolactic fermentation like white wines like did? Finally, at an importer tasting, got up the nerve to ask the question. In response, the importer running the tasting looked me, rolled his eyes, and ignored my question. Then he started talking about the next wine.
I felt like a complete moron. I was so embarrassed I didn’t ask another wine question in public for over year. But that moment also became a promise. I told myself that if I was ever in the position of teaching about wine, the last thing I would ever do was make anyone feel the same way.
Fast forward 40 years later. After teaching thousands of students and consumers, I wrote the book I needed way back when. First Glass has all the answers to questions I had in the beginning—from the language of wine, to the vineyard, to the winemaker’s craft, to a framework for tasting, and so much more.
In First Glass, you’ll learn how to:
- Taste wine like a pro—decode acidity, tannin, body, and finish using everyday comparisons instead of confusing jargon
- Spot a bad bottle—corked, oxidized, or just off—and why
- Navigate a restaurant wine list with confidence, including how to find the best values
- Find a good bottle in any retail shop
- Understand how wine is made, from vine to bottle, and the choices vineyard owners and winemakers make and why
- Pair wine with food using a simple principle sommeliers use, not a complicated chart you won’t remember
- Put on a home tasting that your friends will enjoy and remember
- Talk about wine with confidence, using the same terms professionals use
First Glass is a quick, comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about wine. It’s a complete journey, from grape to glass so you can become fluent in any wine conversation.
Look forward to First Glass: How to Taste, Talk About, and Buy Wine Like a Master Sommelier, coming October 20, 2026.
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