First Glass

Every wine question you've ever been afraid to ask, answered by someone who's been there.

In 1986, a young, wine-obsessed bartender named Tim Gaiser worked up the nerve to ask a question at a wine trade tasting: did red wines go through malolactic fermentation the way buttery Chardonnays did? The person running the tasting looked at him, sighed, rolled his eyes, and ignored his question.

Tim felt like a complete fool. He didn't ask another technical wine question in public for a year.

That moment became a promise: if he was ever the one teaching, he'd never make anyone feel that way.

Forty-plus years, thousands of students, and one Master Sommelier title later (one of fewer than 300 people in the world to hold it) Tim Gaiser wrote the book he wishes someone had handed him back then. First Glass is that book, a plain-English, judgment-free guide to everything you've wanted to know about wine but were embarrassed to ask.

Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Learn what you're supposed to taste in wine-decode acidity, tannin, body, and finish using everyday comparisons instead of confusing jargon
• How to 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
• How 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
• How to put on a home tasting that your guests will enjoy and remember
• Talk about wine with confidence, using the same terms professionals use

First Glass is a complete journey from grape to glass and includes a glossary of the essential terms to become fluent in any wine conversation.

Pour a glass and enjoy First Glass. Nobody's going to roll their eyes at any of your wine questions here.