cover image Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide

Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide

Robert M. Parker, Jr.. Simon & Schuster, $14.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-63380-6

Amateurs and experts alike will find this handbook valuable and easy to use. Parker evaluates the world's major viticultural regions, their best producers/growers and the quality of recent vintages, and provides wine-buying strategies. The heart of the volume is an easily grasped grading system that the author developed for his monthly newsletter the Wine Advocate, where portions of this work previously appeared. Parker never succumbs to florid writing or rehashed legends: the straightforward advice is meant to help readers understand wine and buy it knowledgeably. Assessments are well informed and thought out, although they naturally exhibit a personal element. This reference is packed with solid information presented with common sense. Illustrations not seen by PW. Author tour. (May 20)