How to WIN at Wine: A Practical Playbook for Getting Maximum Enjoyment from Every Bottle — Without Spending a Fortune
This is the wine world’s rulebook, rewritten for real people.
You don’t need a cellar, a sommelier pin, or a trust fund to drink like a pro. You just need a plan.
How to Win at Wine is a refreshingly honest, funny, and practical guide to navigating the world of wine on your own terms—written by award-winning wine writer Joe Roberts, creator of 1WineDude.com.
Forget the jargon and intimidation. This is the insider playbook for people who want to enjoy wine, not overthink it. With humor, clarity, and zero pretension, Roberts breaks down the key principles that separate confident wine lovers from confused shoppers—showing you how to:
- Find wines you actually like (and why you like them)
- Buy smarter at every price point
- Spot value in overlooked regions before the rest of the world catches on
- Know when it’s worth splurging—and when it’s not
- Serve, store, and share wine like a natural host
- Travel like a wine pro—with curiosity, not a checklist
- Build real confidence in your palate and your choices
Each chapter blends relatable storytelling with practical how-tos, tasting exercises, and shortcuts the pros actually use. The result? You’ll save money, skip the hype, and start drinking more intentionally—and more joyfully.
Whether you’re new to wine or just tired of the noise, How to Win at Wine hands you the one thing every wine lover secretly wants: permission to trust yourself.
“You don’t win at wine by mastering it. You win by letting it keep surprising you.”
Unlearning Wine: How to Drink Past Wine’s Most Persistent Myths
Wine is supposed to be enjoyable.
So why does it make so many people feel uncertain, self-conscious, or convinced they’re doing it wrong?
In Unlearning Wine, award-winning wine writer and critic Joe Roberts takes aim at the most stubborn, misleading, and anxiety-producing myths that surround wine today—from the idea that expensive bottles are always better, to the belief that only experts know what “good” wine tastes like, to the notion that there’s a single, universal standard for balance, quality, or correctness.
This is not a textbook. It’s not a tasting manual. And it’s definitely not a rulebook.
Instead, Unlearning Wine is a myth-by-myth field guide written in the voice of someone who has spent decades tasting professionally, judging international competitions, traveling the world’s wine regions, and—most importantly—drinking wine alongside real people who just want to enjoy what’s in their glass.
Each chapter tackles one persistent wine myth, exploring:
- Why the idea took hold in the first place
- Why it sounds true
- What’s actually going on beneath the surface
- How Roberts approaches wine instead
- And what all of this means for how you drink, buy, and enjoy wine
Along the way, Roberts draws on personal experience, cultural history, and hard-earned perspective to dismantle the false certainty that has made wine feel more like a test than a pleasure.
You’ll learn why:
- Scores don’t tell you everything you need to know
- Sommeliers are guides, not oracles
- “Natural wine” isn’t a return to some lost golden age
- Old vines don’t automatically guarantee greatness
- Sweet wines can be among the greatest—and longest-lived—in the world
- And why the “right” way to drink wine is usually just the way you enjoy it most
If you’ve ever felt talked down to by wine culture, confused by conflicting advice, or pressured to perform expertise instead of pleasure, Unlearning Wine offers something refreshingly rare: permission to trust your own experience, backed by insight rather than dogma.
Whether you’re new to wine or deeply immersed in it, this book will change how you think about what’s in your glass—and make drinking wine feel human again. Unlearning Wine: How to Drink Past Wine’s Most Persistent Myths
“Bravo! Wine Taster’s Guide is a perfect primer for both wine novices and learning enthusiasts.” ―Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier
Wine Taster’s Guide: Drink and Learn with 30 Wine Tastings
Uncork your understanding of wine and develop your palate with 30 tasting lessons
Ever wish you were the one to confidently grab the wine list and make a fantastic choice for the table? Wine Taster’s Guide is your step-by-step manual to understanding why different wines taste the way they do through 30 tastings. You’ll learn how grape varieties, wine-making processes, and regional styles impact the wine you drink.
Find out how aging can affect the final flavor of a wine. Discover why swirling the wine in your glass will have a huge impact on what you smell. Before you know it, you’ll be drinking and discussing wine like a sommelier at a winery in the French countryside.
The Wine Taster’s Guide includes:
- Tasting 101―Learn about the science of how we perceive aroma and flavor as well as the steps of wine evaluations―look, swirl, smell, and taste.
- Regional wines―Head straight to the source with a chapter on the major wine regions of the world, including France, Italy, the United States, and others, plus wine-tasting suggestions that will introduce you to the styles they are known for.
- Pairings galore―What is wine without food? Learn how to partner like a pro, whether it’s brie or blue cheese, steak, or sushi.
Learning everything there is to know about wine has never been more fun and easy than with the Wine Taster’s Guide.
“Wine Taster’s Journal belongs in everyone’s cellar… preferably wine-stained, dog-eared, and well-used.” ―Brian Freedman, wine/spirits/travel columnist
Wine Taster’s Journal: Drink, Rate, Record, and Remember
Sip, savor, record, repeat―a wine journal for your wine-derful memories
Uncorking a brand new bottle of wine and wafting in its flavorful aromas is a great experience―and tasting it is even better. With the Wine Taster’s Journal you won’t forget what you sample. Its pages will serve as your taste memory, allowing you to record your thoughts on the wines you love and the ones you don’t.
This helpful wine journal also provides you with a list of the most frequently used adjectives in wine evaluation so you can identify that certain something you’re detecting in the aroma or flavor. There’s also space to make a note of your favorite bottles as well as wines recommended to you by other enthusiasts.
This engaging wine journal includes:
- Tasting 101―Use the primer at the beginning of the wine journal to learn the basics of proper wine-tasting techniques.
- You’re judge & jury―Fill-ins and helpful prompts allow you to accurately capture your observations.
- Hope you’re hungry―The prompts also include a section to assess how the wine paired with your meal.
Easy to use and portable, this wine journal helps you get the most out of wine tasting.