The Wine Avenger
Gluckstern does not give amateurs a brief, fundamental course in wine appreciation; for that, pick up Mary E. Mulligan's Wine for Dummies (IDG, 1995) or shorter pieces by authorities like Matt Kramer. Instead, his book belongs in the company of Leslie Brenner's Fear of Wine (LJ 10/1/95), offering solace to the intimidated beginnerAthough it's more acerbic. The purchasing director for a popular New York City wine store, Nancy's Wines, Gluckstern takes extreme positions that are both the guide's strength and its weakness. For instance, he justly reprimands those mainstream critics who focus on too narrow an audience but then diminishes his credibility with polemic (e.g., while qualified "wine experts" these days agree that chardonnays have been over-oaked, his tone completely dismisses this grape, which does produce some very graceful wines). Gluckstern gives more (deserved) attention to the virtues of German wines and provides excellent advice on food and wine matching. Not a required purchase for substantial wine collections, but it's good to have someone advocating for the novice.AWendy Miller, Lexington P.L., KYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.