The variety of cookbooks that land on my desk each week range from brilliant to questionable, often tending toward the latter (a cookbook devoted to sprinkles? Really?). However, from time to time I get something so spectacular I have to share it immediately. “The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert“ (Richard Betts, $19.99, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) harkens back to the scratch and sniff board books of younger days. The premise is “Wine is a grocery, not a luxury,” breaking down wine into its simplest components with bright illustrations, friendly text and scratch and sniff stickers that bring smells like “black fruit”, “leather”, “dirt” and even bacon (smells often found in wine components) to life. It’s makes understanding work child’s play. Although you may want to think twice about using it as a bedtime story. Then again, it’s Wine Country, why not?
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
Scratch and sniff your way to wine expertise