For anyone who feels intimidated in a wine shop -- vast selection, mystifying variety, attitudinal staff -- this guide simplifies choosing wine in an easy-to-use system of pictograms

With this innovative book, browsing and buying wine is transformed into a fun, positive experience, empowering anyone to understand at a glance which bottle is the right choice taking into account budget, occasion, and personal taste.

Featuring an infographic, user-friendly, intuitive approach that minimizes impressionistic, flowery descriptions by using pictograms to navigate wine selection, this new method of buying wine is full of information and encouragement -- a smart "life hack" zeroing in on 300 of the world's most widely available bottles. Each profile also points the reader to several similar wines in an "if you like this, you will also like that" feature that actually increases the number of wines covered to almost 1,500 varieties.

The book works by first organizing wines into flavor families. Within a family, individual wines are profiled in pictograms and graphs keying out important characteristics: region of origin, grape variety, mouth feel, flavor portrait (showing levels of alcohol, acidity, and tannins), price range, ideal serving temperature, best age range, and finally food pairings.

About The Author

Stéphane Rosa is the director of the annual Hachette Guide to Wines (Guide Hachette des Vins), which has been considered to be France's most authoritative guide to wine for over 30 years and is commonly referred to as the bible of the French wine industry.

Jess Grinneiser is a designer and illustrator based in Paris. He specializes in both publications and web design.