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The New Wine Rules: A Genuinely Helpful Guide to Everything You Need to Know
There are few greater pleasures in life than enjoying a wonderful glass of wine. So why does finding and choosing one you like seem so stressful?
Now, becoming a happier, more confident wine drinker is easy. The first step is to forget all the useless, needlessly complicated stuff the “experts” have been telling you. In The New Wine Rules , acclaimed wine writer Jon Bonné explains everything you need to know in simple, beautifully illustrated, easy-to-digest tidbits. And the news is good! For A wine’s price rarely reflects its quality. You can drink rosé any time of year. Don’t save a great bottle for anything more than a rainy day.
Now, becoming a happier, more confident wine drinker is easy. The first step is to forget all the useless, needlessly complicated stuff the “experts” have been telling you. In The New Wine Rules , acclaimed wine writer Jon Bonné explains everything you need to know in simple, beautifully illustrated, easy-to-digest tidbits. And the news is good! For A wine’s price rarely reflects its quality. You can drink rosé any time of year. Don’t save a great bottle for anything more than a rainy day.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2017
217 people are currently reading
994 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
May 30, 2019
Excellent introductory book on everything wine related. As a wine novice this book increased my confidence and knowledge of everything related to wine. And it did so with a dose of humor and infographics and without any fluff or snobbishness. I really enjoyed it and would recommend.
January 6, 2018
This little tome is one that belongs—well-thumbed and often consulted—in the personal library of anyone who enjoys wine for a living. And by “for a living,” I don’t mean just those who buy and sell wine professionally. I mean those who drink and appreciate wine on a regular basis.
The book is eminently digestible, even in one afternoon (as I did). And if you’re not already familiar with brettanomyces (Brett), which Jon Bonné cites in the pair of pages he devotes to “common wine faults,” no worries. He describes it in his easy-to-read prose as “(a) type of naturally occurring yeast that can be used to good effect in some beers, but is generally unpleasant in wine—although some drinkers like small amounts. You can’t really send back a wine for being distinctly bretty, but you can certainly question the judgment of whoever sold it to you.
--> Symptoms: (s)mells and tastes like a barnyard, Band-Aids, or like the less pleasant parts of a horse.”
Mind you, he said “distinctly bretty,” and not “distinctly Brexit.” If you were being “distinctly Brexit,” I’d have to ask you why we ever came to your aid in WWII since you’d obviously left your brains on the beaches of Normandy, right alongside many of our dead soldiers.
And yes, even a wine “expert” like me—who’s been selling wine in stores for years, and before that, serving it in fine European and New York restaurants—can learn a thing or two from this book. For instance, I’ve been telling people for years that Primitivo is the granddaddy (genetically speaking) of Zinfandel. But on pp. 60 – 61, I learned that Zinfandel is “originally a Croatian grape called Tribidrag.” Who knew?
Now, here’s a sound piece of advice (on p. 72): “(l)earning about great importers is one of the best ways to discover top-quality wines, especially as consolidation in the wine industry has made it harder to know whether a wine came from a corporation or a small winery.” There are many wines imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons I’ve never tasted. But I’ve often assured my customers that if a given wine was imported by Wildman and Sons, it’s bound to be good. This particular importer has never disappointed me (even if my letter to Wildman requesting an interview for employment following graduation from Columbia University, a mastery of seven foreign languages, and a ten-year wine education in Europe that started with harvesting grapes on the slopes of the Alps in the canton of Valais, Switzerland ultimately resulted in nothing more than the expense of my letter, an envelope and stamp).
One little item on which I’d have to disagree with Bonné… On p. 75, he lists Muscadet among a few wines he calls “low grade, boring, industrial … wines you can probably forget about.” But I’ve recommended a moderately-priced Muscadet to many people who told me they were looking for a good partner for oysters or mussels. Sure enough, two pages later, Bonné lists Muscadet on “a short list of places worth exploring now … (because t)he best time to buy a wine is when it’s out of style.” And he further suggests, on p. 117, that (g)reat pairings can come from like qualities: the mineral character in a Muscadet and the brine of oysters.” Okay. Pace, Jon.
Yet here’s something else new (not to say ‘alien’) I learned on pp. 98 – 99 from Bonné’s book: champagne flutes? Ditch ‘em! Instead, drink your champagne (lower-case “c,” sorry, Jon; the region is spelled with a capital “C,” but the drink is spelled with a lower-case “c”—I know; I researched it long and hard for my novel) out of tulip-shaped glasses. “They help with the essentials: maximizing your ability both to smell and taste (c)hampagne rather than just staring at bubbles.”
I was pleased to see Bonné mention, on p. 124, that “many wines (like much New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc) have high, if hidden, levels of sugar.” A customer once came into the wine store at which I was employed in Park Slope (Brooklyn), New York. She asked for a recommendation—and pointed specifically at a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I told her, quite (or perhaps too) frankly that all New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs tasted to me like cat piss. Unfortunately, I hadn’t listened carefully enough to her accent. ‘Turned out, she was a Kiwi.
I lost my job soon thereafter.
But life is “short, brutal and nasty.” And so, I leave my review with a special note of congratulations to Jon for this, on p. 130, under “Rule 74: Big wine lists are not better than small ones. Stick to the adage: it’s not the size, it’s what you do with it.” There aren’t many wine experts/writers on this planet who can adroitly introduce the topic of sex (however mischievously) into a sacerdotal discussion of wine.
I’d also like to contribute kudos to both Lizzie Allen and Maria Hergueta for their fine design/illustrations, respectively. As visuals frequently do, theirs contributed greatly to my appreciation of Jon Bonné’s work.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
06 January 2018
The book is eminently digestible, even in one afternoon (as I did). And if you’re not already familiar with brettanomyces (Brett), which Jon Bonné cites in the pair of pages he devotes to “common wine faults,” no worries. He describes it in his easy-to-read prose as “(a) type of naturally occurring yeast that can be used to good effect in some beers, but is generally unpleasant in wine—although some drinkers like small amounts. You can’t really send back a wine for being distinctly bretty, but you can certainly question the judgment of whoever sold it to you.
--> Symptoms: (s)mells and tastes like a barnyard, Band-Aids, or like the less pleasant parts of a horse.”
Mind you, he said “distinctly bretty,” and not “distinctly Brexit.” If you were being “distinctly Brexit,” I’d have to ask you why we ever came to your aid in WWII since you’d obviously left your brains on the beaches of Normandy, right alongside many of our dead soldiers.
And yes, even a wine “expert” like me—who’s been selling wine in stores for years, and before that, serving it in fine European and New York restaurants—can learn a thing or two from this book. For instance, I’ve been telling people for years that Primitivo is the granddaddy (genetically speaking) of Zinfandel. But on pp. 60 – 61, I learned that Zinfandel is “originally a Croatian grape called Tribidrag.” Who knew?
Now, here’s a sound piece of advice (on p. 72): “(l)earning about great importers is one of the best ways to discover top-quality wines, especially as consolidation in the wine industry has made it harder to know whether a wine came from a corporation or a small winery.” There are many wines imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons I’ve never tasted. But I’ve often assured my customers that if a given wine was imported by Wildman and Sons, it’s bound to be good. This particular importer has never disappointed me (even if my letter to Wildman requesting an interview for employment following graduation from Columbia University, a mastery of seven foreign languages, and a ten-year wine education in Europe that started with harvesting grapes on the slopes of the Alps in the canton of Valais, Switzerland ultimately resulted in nothing more than the expense of my letter, an envelope and stamp).
One little item on which I’d have to disagree with Bonné… On p. 75, he lists Muscadet among a few wines he calls “low grade, boring, industrial … wines you can probably forget about.” But I’ve recommended a moderately-priced Muscadet to many people who told me they were looking for a good partner for oysters or mussels. Sure enough, two pages later, Bonné lists Muscadet on “a short list of places worth exploring now … (because t)he best time to buy a wine is when it’s out of style.” And he further suggests, on p. 117, that (g)reat pairings can come from like qualities: the mineral character in a Muscadet and the brine of oysters.” Okay. Pace, Jon.
Yet here’s something else new (not to say ‘alien’) I learned on pp. 98 – 99 from Bonné’s book: champagne flutes? Ditch ‘em! Instead, drink your champagne (lower-case “c,” sorry, Jon; the region is spelled with a capital “C,” but the drink is spelled with a lower-case “c”—I know; I researched it long and hard for my novel) out of tulip-shaped glasses. “They help with the essentials: maximizing your ability both to smell and taste (c)hampagne rather than just staring at bubbles.”
I was pleased to see Bonné mention, on p. 124, that “many wines (like much New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc) have high, if hidden, levels of sugar.” A customer once came into the wine store at which I was employed in Park Slope (Brooklyn), New York. She asked for a recommendation—and pointed specifically at a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I told her, quite (or perhaps too) frankly that all New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs tasted to me like cat piss. Unfortunately, I hadn’t listened carefully enough to her accent. ‘Turned out, she was a Kiwi.
I lost my job soon thereafter.
But life is “short, brutal and nasty.” And so, I leave my review with a special note of congratulations to Jon for this, on p. 130, under “Rule 74: Big wine lists are not better than small ones. Stick to the adage: it’s not the size, it’s what you do with it.” There aren’t many wine experts/writers on this planet who can adroitly introduce the topic of sex (however mischievously) into a sacerdotal discussion of wine.
I’d also like to contribute kudos to both Lizzie Allen and Maria Hergueta for their fine design/illustrations, respectively. As visuals frequently do, theirs contributed greatly to my appreciation of Jon Bonné’s work.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
06 January 2018
December 17, 2017
I started learning about wine five or so years ago after being tired of not understanding the differences between the hundreds of options I saw on the shelf. Long story short, what started as a "what the heck does all this mean" has turned into an all out obsession.
I read a lot of these kinds of beginner friendly books and articles when I first began my wine journey, but almost none were as practical, readable, and approachable as this one. I got a lot out of this little book, even as someone who has spent a few years digging into the subect.
If someone asked me what to read to learn about wine, my suggestion would be this book, followed immediatly by "Drink This: Wine Made Simple" by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.
I read a lot of these kinds of beginner friendly books and articles when I first began my wine journey, but almost none were as practical, readable, and approachable as this one. I got a lot out of this little book, even as someone who has spent a few years digging into the subect.
If someone asked me what to read to learn about wine, my suggestion would be this book, followed immediatly by "Drink This: Wine Made Simple" by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.
September 10, 2023
Якщо ви новачок у вживанні вина або лише починаєте свій шлях «серйозного» знайомства з винами щоб почати розбиратися в темі - книга 100% для вас. Тут немає великих описів історії, розкриття інформації про різні сорти винограду і особливості виготовлення умовного шардоне. Це скоріше збірка порад для абсолютно недосвідчених у цій сфері людей які хочуть почати своє знайомство з темою але не знають з чого почати. Для старту - доволі непогано подана основна інформація, більшість якої зводиться до доволі логічної істини - не потрібно вганяти себе в рамки догм і канонів.
Книга (чи то скоріше навіть гайдлайн) читається легко (книга була прочитана за 2 вечора) але людям які щось вже знають про вино чи просто «в темі» буде скоріш за все нецікаво і занадто банально.
Книга (чи то скоріше навіть гайдлайн) читається легко (книга була прочитана за 2 вечора) але людям які щось вже знають про вино чи просто «в темі» буде скоріш за все нецікаво і занадто банально.
March 28, 2022
Easy and informative read! Very simple examples and great intention on trying to make reader not fear wine choices.
September 23, 2020
I thought this was a very good overview. A quick read with a series of rules about wine. Some very basic (at least by the time you have been drinking wine for 25 years), and some that would help one who has been ignorantly drinking wine for 25 years. There are about 80 rules ranging from types of wine glasses to how to order a decent bottle in a restaurant (and how to know if you are probably being fleeced).
April 16, 2022
Not a bad book, to clarify. I felt like I was getting patted on the head by a sommelier, them saying “you want to learn about wine? Buckle up kiddo it’s a wild ride, haha jk just drink what you like and here’s some brief vocab!” It was more or less what I expected and wanted it to be, but I didn’t want it to be anything great. I’ll look for thoroughness elsewhere, but it was a decent introduction.
March 27, 2021
A quick, easy read. Nothing life altering but good little overview on main wine topics.
April 11, 2023
Now let's see if I retain any of this the next time an intimidating waiter asks me if anything on the wine list sparks my interest
June 15, 2025
Telling wine beginners not to worry about rules whilst teaching them about wine through a set of wine rules is a curious choice.
December 4, 2017
Even if I don't always agree with him, I always enjoy reading Bonne's wine commentaries. This is a book more for beginners, but it is always good to go back and review the basics, even if your wine drinking experience is deep.
Nicely illustrated, reads easily, informative, good graphs etc. I especially liked the one where he showed the 5 steps of making wine after the harvest - and how the grapes are treated in each step differs between a small winemaker, a bio conscious winemaker, and the mega-corporate wine purveyor. You can easily breeze through this in a couple sittings.
My best suggestion for beginners, get email feeds from K&L. find a good store with a knowledgeable owner/clerk, go to tastings, and take a class at a store or your local community college. For example, I could not figure out what "cola" tasted like in a wine, until I drank a wine with friends that had that cola taste to it. With so many subjective descriptions out there, knowing what is meant by "leather" or "wet stone" etc etc is something gained by tasting it.
Cheers!
Nicely illustrated, reads easily, informative, good graphs etc. I especially liked the one where he showed the 5 steps of making wine after the harvest - and how the grapes are treated in each step differs between a small winemaker, a bio conscious winemaker, and the mega-corporate wine purveyor. You can easily breeze through this in a couple sittings.
My best suggestion for beginners, get email feeds from K&L. find a good store with a knowledgeable owner/clerk, go to tastings, and take a class at a store or your local community college. For example, I could not figure out what "cola" tasted like in a wine, until I drank a wine with friends that had that cola taste to it. With so many subjective descriptions out there, knowing what is meant by "leather" or "wet stone" etc etc is something gained by tasting it.
Cheers!
March 4, 2021
A good introduction for beginners; a good refresher for the knowledgeable. This was an upbeat, friendly and well-researched read whose quips and myth-busting I appreciated right until the final page. It lacked the depth I wanted from a book on wine as a semi-trained somm, but then again: that’s not what this book was written for.
I bought this for myself, but it’ll certainly be added to my book gift list from now on.
A tip before buying: I read this book on Kindle and found the format a little unforgiving when it came to the graphs etc. Buy the hardcover if you plan on referring back every now and then.
I bought this for myself, but it’ll certainly be added to my book gift list from now on.
A tip before buying: I read this book on Kindle and found the format a little unforgiving when it came to the graphs etc. Buy the hardcover if you plan on referring back every now and then.
July 5, 2018
This short, snappy set of "rules" for approaching wine culture confidently, are spot on. Much of it is common sense, but it's easy to be hesitant in the face of snooty sommeliers, or when faced with a restaurant wine list that ranges all over the map (both geographically and otherwise). Lots of great advice about storage and serving temperatures, glassware, pairings (try champagne with food that's difficult to match), and fair value in terms of pricing, are found in these small covers. Recommended.
April 1, 2018
Another wine book for beginners that does an ok attempt at simplifying wine without dumbing it down. There are a couple points in the book that are simplified too much and enter the dumbed down territory but mercifully they are not as pervasive as another leading, bestselling, cultural phenomenon, scam of a book - which will remain unnamed. To take such arguments from leading talking heads as axiomatic would be folly. (ahem).
August 3, 2018
I have gone to several wine tastings and always try to learn, but the info comes fast and furious and sometimes disorganized if there are folks interjecting questions. Obviously we are drinking so I dont retain everything. This slim volume is a quick, but comprehensive overview of wine including: choosing wine, serving it, storing and traveling with it, pairing it, dining out and drinking in. I learned a few things that may be useful. The illustrations and diagrams are nice too.
April 1, 2018
I wish this book had been around for the last 20 years! Fun read for every wine lover--or even for those who aren't that into wine. Bonne's "rules" remind us to drink with joy and find what we like. His "rules" come from decades of experience and he writes with good sense and a twinkle in his eye. Good information, not too serious. I'm going to stock up and share these as gifts.
March 21, 2021
A fun introduction to everything wine related. The book was easy to read with helpful charts and graphics inserted throughout the book. I liked the author's tone - it was upbeat and highlighted the view that there is no wrong way to enjoy wine as long as you are enjoying it. Very refreshing compared to some other wine books that can come off as being snobby.
August 17, 2021
Lives up to its tagline, although a solid third of the advice is intended for someone at a ~very different stage of life than me.
Less content here about tasting wine (although what is present is very useful) -- most of the book is devoted to the social and commercial side: how to navigate wine as it is currently marketed. Still helpful though!
Less content here about tasting wine (although what is present is very useful) -- most of the book is devoted to the social and commercial side: how to navigate wine as it is currently marketed. Still helpful though!
December 25, 2017
Good, common-sense guidelines for appreciating wine. The book is written for the absolute novice wine-drinker, but there are some good nuggets even for sophisticated wine-drinkers and wine industry professionals.
December 26, 2017
Digestible, straightforward, and, as the title promised, "genuinely helpful". These 'rules' are more practical tips than information that needs to be memorized. I would say this book is primarily geared towards the newest or most self-conscious wine drinkers. Heartily recommended for that crowd.
December 30, 2017
A great little book explaining how wine rules have changed (a lot) and how things have stayed the same. I learned a lot from this opinionated volume that is basically a list. Mostly, we should all throw fear about wine out the window.
March 11, 2018
Learned a lot - easily
This is a good book for both beginners or those with more wine knowledge. Lots of easy to understand tips and information. I enjoy the author’s column in the NYT and this book is very much in his style.
This is a good book for both beginners or those with more wine knowledge. Lots of easy to understand tips and information. I enjoy the author’s column in the NYT and this book is very much in his style.
November 15, 2018
Краткий гид для новичков в мире вин. Занимательно!
May 7, 2020
Li a versão brasileira, da Companhia de Mesa. É uma edição caprichada, com capa dura, ilustrações e um design bem limpo. A proposta do livro é simplificar e "desglamourizar" o vinho por meio de regras simples. Exemplo: basta ter um saca-rolhas comum; dois ou três tipos de taça são suficientes; nem todo vinho serve para envelhecer etc. Gosto da proposta, mas a verdade é que nada do que ele elabora é muito diferente do que já foi publicado antes. E a parte final, sobre como lidar com festas e restaurantes, me parece não ter aplicação para a nossa realidade aqui no Brasil. Não aprendi nada de novo com esse livro, mas gostei de lê-lo, e acho que ele serve bem pra quem, com razão, não tem paciência para os tiozões enochatos de sempre.
August 3, 2021
A bit oversimplified to the point of erasing nuance. It's well meaning by a longstanding newspaper wine critic, but also feels a bit too insistent and self-important in dismissing industry knowledge. It gives the book a Dunning Kruger feel that I found distracting and annoying. Probably good for the very casual interest, but likely to impart a smug and false confidence. I admire the goal of making wine less intimidating and accessible, but the source felt like a person who's eaten at restaurants explain how to navigate menus, without having any experience in the kitchen. Sure, he's experienced, but not as authoritative or knowledgeable as I would like in a reference work, even one intended as an introduction.
November 28, 2020
Русский перевод названия скорее всего введет вас в заблуждение. Никакого отношения к слову "исчерпывающее" данная книга не имеет. Это сборник статей по разным темам и категориям, связанным с вином. Качество этих советов весьма разное. От абсолютно провальных до разумных. Часть советов сводится к мысли "Не заморачивайтесь". Можно порекомендовать эту книгу, как краткое введение в мир вин. При этом вам нужно будет сделать скидку на то, что автор часто излишне упрощает. И это безусловно минус этого опуса.
January 14, 2024
Meh, it was fine. Since I work in a restaurant and wanted to educate myself, I made a list of books about wine and started with this one because of its brevity. Only took a few bits away though:
- keep an empty half bottle handy for storing unfinished full bottles (super useful!)
- don't use a corkscrew with wings (nobody in the industry does, they're clumsy)
- store bottles on their side so the corks don't dry out (which you probably already know)
- and a few other things, none of which I recall at this moment
The print edition adds a lot versus the audiobook. Also, if enjoying wine isn't about fancy experts, do we really need dozens of rules about it? I think rules help, personally, but this book can't decide whether it's for the commoner or for the wine snob who can pronounce French vintners correctly.
- keep an empty half bottle handy for storing unfinished full bottles (super useful!)
- don't use a corkscrew with wings (nobody in the industry does, they're clumsy)
- store bottles on their side so the corks don't dry out (which you probably already know)
- and a few other things, none of which I recall at this moment
The print edition adds a lot versus the audiobook. Also, if enjoying wine isn't about fancy experts, do we really need dozens of rules about it? I think rules help, personally, but this book can't decide whether it's for the commoner or for the wine snob who can pronounce French vintners correctly.
March 16, 2018
I’m not an expert at all but honestly I did not learn anything from this book. Take-home message is enjoy wines without any specific rules, which is fine... this is what I do.
Apart from that, and having finished the book 10 min ago, I don’ remember any of the 80+ rules explained in the text. Yes, I remember I was happy to see that the author also agrees that red wine is served too warm in many restaurants.... well.. that’s the summary of the book...
Apart from that, and having finished the book 10 min ago, I don’ remember any of the 80+ rules explained in the text. Yes, I remember I was happy to see that the author also agrees that red wine is served too warm in many restaurants.... well.. that’s the summary of the book...
December 27, 2019
Some helpful tips here, but ultimately the author is up against a paradox: the world of wine is just too complex to boil down to a few helpful rules. He does his best, and any would-be wine aficionado could use this slight volume as a good starting point, but it's not going to change anyone's live. (My biggest takeaway: the author's promotion of champagne as a drink for all occasions, not merely for celebrations.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews