Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine
There never seems to be a shortage of wine guides, but a recent publication, Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine by Courtney Cochran, seeks to demystify the seemingly impenetrable, dizzyingly complex world of wines by explaining terms, types, and things such as terroir to the uninitiated, the curious, or those who might otherwise be intimidated by wine snobs. Cochran, a certified sommelier and event planner in San Francisco, covers the basics (and even includes a pronunciation key) such as proper serving and storage, how to read a wine list, and suggestions for essential accoutrements for the serious wino.
Designed in a long slim style often reserved for these types of research texts, Hip Tastes (and its attendant blog), is dedicated to helping enthusiastic novices navigate the wine world with confidence.
Basically, the book serves as a crash course in wine, chockablock with information on how it’s produced to what influences the taste of wine and how to pair it with food and cheese (naturally, regional pairings are recommended). Chapters three and four, on white and red wines respectively, are especially good. Here, Cochran covers the grapes, their aromas and flavors, and the regions of the world where you’re likely to find them. She highlights star players, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc, along with less familiar grapes, such as Viognier and Chenin Blanc, with articulate insights on the way that these varietals play up and please the palate.
Cochran also infuses her writing with a cultural currency and useful observations borne of experience. For example, she starts off the red chapter by discussing the increasingly popular Pinot Noir (thanks, Sideways), a lighter but deceptive red that can be as complex as its heavier and more aggressive cousins, and the PR crisis that Merlot has been experiencing (again, thanks Sideways).
We also learn that serious wine folk are the types who usually invest heavily in rare vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cochran intersperses factoids about wine throughout the book and offers helpful ideas, such as employing a “dump bucket” which she does when she hosts wine tastings, so that guests do not feel obliged to finish wines they do not like. However, a book that attempts to cover a lot of ground is bound to have its limitations. I wanted a more in-depth look at emerging wines and wine regions in Spain, South America and South Africa. One particular sidebar guides readers to order a cocktail or a beer if they’re at a restaurant that does not seem to devote much thought or care to its wine list.
Such insight might be helpful to complete food and wine newbies, but I would argue that a restaurant with an unimaginative wine list probably also serves generic beers and cocktails mixed without fresh fruit juices.
As someone who enjoys wine but bristles at its historic snobbery, I welcome any resource with a democratic, fresh voice. Cochran begins her book by sharing a humorous anecdote about how she arrived to her first class at sommelier school, overly prepared and laden with textbooks. While textbooks—even shorter, breezily written ones such as hers—have a role too, Cochran reminds us that experience, in the form of tasting wines you find intriguing, provides the essential hands-on education you need, but that there is always room for surprises.
Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide To Wine is available from Amazon.co.uk
