For those new to wine or for dabblers who could use some help deciphering foreign labels, Knack Wine Basics brings unprecedented clarity to the world of the world’s most ubiquitous libation. By a California-based expert—and including 400 full-color photos, ten recipes, and twelve maps—it covers everything from how to read a label to entertaining with wine; ordering and serving wine; food and wine pairings; cooking with wine; profiles of red, white, rose, and sparkling wine; wine from all regions of the world; and how to interpret wine ratings.

By breaking down drinks in a visually organized format, Knack Bartending Basics allows the reader to instantly master more than 400 cocktails.

Knack Grilling Basics combines instruction and recipes in sumptuous spreads that help readers easily build their skills.

An engaging introduction to wine that concentrates on the reader as much as the wine, pointing out the most common pitfalls as it proceeds step-by–step through the essential skills everyone needs to have in order to select, serve and serve wine successfully. Primary emphasis is given to teaching the reader how to identify the taste of different wines according to grape variety, climatic conditions and wine making style, how to select, serve and store wines and how to match them with various foods and occasions. Through a series of ten engaging conversations, the author coaches the reader through the steps needed to become a consummate wine consumer, concentrating on common stumbling blocks, pitfalls and sources of confusion that aren’t covered in other introductory wine books. Instead of presenting a curriculum in a categorical fashion, this fast-paced, witty and literate book shows why trusting your own instincts is more important than studying diagrams of the tongue, pouring over aroma wheels or memorizing the minute details of all the leading estates. It explains how and why labels, ratings and reviews can be misleading, how to see through various marketing ploys and what the most persistent misconceptions are about serving and storing wine. Readers learn how to read between reviewer’s lines, how to make excellent pairings with little fuss and how to converse with sommeliers and retailers in a way that tells whether they are trying to help or giving them the run around. Without giving you any tables, charts or listings of regions and producers, or requiring you to memorize a glossary of definitions before you can understand what the author is saying, this book communicates all the essential skills you need to fall in love with wine and become a very savvy consumer. Filled with unique insights and down-to-earth, practical wine advice, this book lets the reader understand what the others are really trying to say.

For those who have always wanted to prepare Chinese food at home, here is the book they can actually learn Chinese cooking from—full-color, step-by-step photographs fully convey the process and presentation of Chinese cuisine. With 350 photos and 100 main recipes plus 250 variations suited for the contemporary kitchen, Knack Chinese Cooking offers a veritable banquet of authentic recipes from the Eight Great Cuisines of China, as well as dishes from China’s emerging cosmopolitan capitals and from the best Chinatown kitchens. Readers gain a basic knowledge of the equipment, ingredients, and techniques needed to prepare an essential repertoire of Chinese dishes.

Adventures with Old Vines offers an engaging and knowledgeable guide to demystify wine for novice enthusiasts. Richard Chilton provides detailed information about buying and storing wine, how to read a wine list, the role of the sommelier, wine fraud, how wine is really made, and how weather patterns can influence the quality of a vintage. A vineyard owner and lifelong wine lover, the author encourages readers to discover wine by tasting, taking notes, and tasting again. The book also includes a richly illustrated, full-color reference section on a select group of vineyards from all over the world, describing their history, winemaking philosophy, terroir, and top vintages—what Chilton calls benchmark wines. The characteristics of these memorable wines provide the essential starting point to understand what to look for when evaluating any wine. Equipped with this easy-to-read reference, readers will have all the tools they need to begin their own wine journey.

Featuring a fresh layout, revised maps, and more detail than ever before, the seventh edition of Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide offers collectors and amateurs alike the ultimate resource to the world's best wines. Understanding that buyers on every level appreciate a good deal, Parker separates overvalued bottles from undervalued, with wine prices instantly shifting according to his evaluations. Indifferent to the wine's pedigree, Parker's eminent 100-point rating system allows for independent, consumer-oriented, inside information. The latest edition of Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide includes expanded information on Spain, Portugal, Germany, Australia, Argentina, and Chile, as well as new sections on Israel and Central Europe. As in his previous editions, Parker provides the reassurance of a simple number rating, predictions for future buying potential, and practical overviews of regions and grapes. Altogether, an indispensable resource from the man the Los Angeles Times calls “the most powerful critic of any kind.”