Dick says....
Start with Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book. You can look up any word on your wine label—very handy when you’re staring blankly at a wall of wine in the shop. But the best learning tool is to taste wine with people in the know, so make friends at your local wine bar or take a class. Then you’ll be ready for the weightiest wine tome of all: The Oxford Companion to Wine. Serious stuff.

Dick Snyder eats, drinks and writes in downtown Toronto. Send him your drink questions here.