Tony Aspler's Wine Lover's Companion

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

As Aspler says in his introduction, “the emphasis here is on the
practical. How to buy wines for current drinking, for laying down, and
for matching with food.” Aspler (a Toronto Star wine columnist and
wine consultant) offers an easy reference guide on what one might expect
a wine to taste like, which producers are reliable, and how to get the
best out of each bottle you buy. Emphasis is placed on the grapes. He
defines what kinds are grown, where they grow, their characteristics,
and the wine-making process.

Wine-tasting and wine color, aroma, and taste are explored, as is wine
service at home and in restaurants. Aspler provides a country-by-country
commentary. In 1986, he wrote his International Guide to Wine; the
current offering represents an extension and a generous updating of the
previous book, adding lists of wine substitutions and of wine and grape
names, along with charts. He writes in a straightforward style that
makes the book extremely useful for the novice.

All the sections are basic, short, easy to read, and loaded with
reference data. He avoids the controversial issue of “health,” as
well as the issue of the pricing policies of both the monopolistic
liquor control boards and the restaurateurs.

But while the book remains good value for the dollar, Aspler fails to
mention many fine Canadian wines and some of the newer wineries with
their premium wines. As well, the average consumer cannot afford many of
the wines in this book, and several are not even available in Canada on
general listing. He would have been wise to have included some bargain
wines in this volume.