I feel now as if I am Marissa A Ross' bff, sharing her wine loving adventures with her. This gave me a level of confidence my "I'll try anything" self didn't previously have. If you have anyone in your life who likes even the occasional glass of wine, but them this book. It will make a perfect gift, and they'll be grateful not just for the resource, but also the witty banter that accompanies it.

Great and fun for all wine lovers regardless of budget or knowledge of wine. Highly recommend. Very fun without being stuck up.

As always Marissa Ross is a delight. I will never be a serious wine drinker but I found this book fun and full of useful information. I can see myself buying this as gifts in the future. It is that kind of have around, read bits here and there kind of book.

As a longtime reader of Marissa's writing, this book surpassed even my greatest expectations. If you are less familiar with her writing, you'll be a fan by the end of the Introduction. This guide is Marissa at her best--- fun and funny and informative. Her personality, which is both real and endearing, shines through without trying to seem overly familiar with her audience. Before opening the book, there were chapters I wasn't looking forward to seeing, assuming they'd be a bit tedious, i.e. "how wine is made" but instead they were concise, interesting, and light--- without skimping on facts. Marissa delivers on what's most important for a book like this--- she teaches and she entertains, and she does so effortlessly. From novice to expert, I imagine this book can be delighted in and appreciated at any level. It will stand as my go-to wine reference, as well as my go-to gift for all occasions.

This book was both informative and hilarious. I enjoy drinking wine, visiting vineyards and trying new varietals, so I enjoyed this book immensely. I really enjoyed the way the chapters were laid out and how approachable it made the world of wine. If you enjoy drinking wine or are interested in how to pick the best wine for someone in your life, check this book out.

I was given an advance copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I can't wait to buy a physical (not digital ARC) copy of this book!

Marissa Ross began casually blogging about wine in 2012. For three years she sent words out into the great and vast darkness of the internets without much of a following. But she got her big break in 2015 when she was interviewed by New York Magazine. Just a few months later, she got a book deal (for this book) and then began contributing to some of the most impressive wine and food magazines in the country. She found her groove and has been on a roll ever since.

Which is all well and good for her, but is this book any good? I am so happy to say it is PHENOMENAL. I didn't have high expectations, especially after seeing the cover (she looks a little smug, no?), but Ross is so, so funny and entertaining. I definitely never thought I'd be laughing out loud while reading a book about wine, but I did---multiple times. Here's a good example of her irreverent writing style and all-inclusive approach to wine tasting:

Wine tasting often conjures thoughts of quiet tasting rooms with a handful of well-to-do white people who are slurping and murmuring things in slightly British-sounding accents like, "I'm getting willow bark, John." John shakes his head and spits into a bucket with great velocity, saying, "No, no, no, Felicia. You're doing it wrong; you must swirl counterclockwise. And it's most definitely the bark of a silver birch." And there I am in the corner, drinking my wine, trying to figure out their accents and why John is being such an asshole about Felicia's willow bark because who died and made John the king of deciphering different trees in wine, and above all, asking myself, "Where the hell are they getting bark? Am I supposed to be tasting bark? IS THERE BARK IN THIS WINE?!"
And though I love that Ross makes learning about wine fun, I also love that this book actually taught me something about wine. I legit know how to read a wine label now. And I'm not afraid to order wine at a restaurant anymore. I know how wine is made, and I know why it's important to know what region it came from. I can tell you the difference between reds and whites, and I can explain what tannins are. That's crazy to me, that reading just a few hundred pages can make me feel like I actually know something about a subject that used to make me break out in a cold sweat. 

So yeah, I loved this book. I even went out and bought a copy of it, which I almost never do (lest my bookshelves overflow and quickly dominate my home). So if you're looking to learn more about wine---and don't mind a youthful teacher who has a healthy love of swears---I'd absolutely recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I drink A lot of wine and do a lot of tastings, but I'm a very casual wine drinker. This was the perfect guide for someone who wants to know more about wine, but still just wants to have fun with it. The writing itself was actually very good too! Very funny and entertaining!

I love books like this. It's thorough and accurate, yet fun to read! I wasn't familiar with the author prior to this book, but I'd imagine I would be a regular reader of her wine reviews for Bon Appetit. I felt like I was listening to my BFF talk about wine. She knows her stuff! (But doesn't come across snobby at all.) Her advice is down to earth and honest. There's everything from "How to order wine" to "How wine is made." My personal favorite chapter is the one about tasting wine. I think we all know the gist of it, you swirl, you smell, you taste and swish if necessary. Marissa goes a bit further with her own tips, such as, "You want to channel your inner Fred Astaire and subdue your Elaine Benes." (when swirling from the wrist) I died! I am going to buy this book for my bookshelf and will also be buying it for my girlfriends as gifts!

I love reading books about wine written by women, so I was very excited to be approved for a book that billed itself as an “unpretentious yet comprehensive guide to wine.” The last wine book that I read was disappointing because it seemed to be a short serious book more suitable for use as an occasional reference, and I was really looking for a book with good humor and a light attitude that could be read from cover to cover.

Unfortunately, the NetGalley ARC only contained the Glossary (pages 7 to 26) so I can’t really say whether the content of the book lived up to its billing as “comprehensive.” The writing style does go over the top to be unpretentious, especially in its gratuitous use of profanity. I got about eight lines into the first page of the excerpt, and already the author was talking about “normal-ass people” instead of just “normal people.” While that writing style may appeal to a certain demographic, it definitely turns off other demographics.

I thought it was particularly clever to put the Glossary at the front of the book to establish a common vocabulary that could be used throughout the book. The vocabulary list is quite extensive – it does span almost twenty pages. Most of the definitions are very good. For example, “mouthfeel” is defined as “The texture of wine and, truly, how it feels in your mouth.” But there are a lot of bad jokes (e.g., “Different oaks for different folks!”), gratuitous profanity, and frequent pot references.

Based on what I read in the Glossary, I probably would not buy this book for the six women who I originally had hoped to buy it for. Last year, I bought them each a copy of Diane McMartin’s book This Calls For A Drink for Christmas, which made me a touch reluctant because of its occasional profanity and its emphasis on “single girl” occasions. But they all loved it. However, Wine All The Time goes too far over the top and was definitely written for a different demographic.

I am not a wine drinker, though I will imbibe at a wine tasting a few times a year, more to be social then anything. This is a terrific book for folks like me! All about wine without the headache, and a good laugh along the way! I buy wine as gifts if I think it looks interesting or it's recommended by a wine drinking friend. Good read for us non drinkers!

Disappointing. If you are looking for juvenile and profane writing, you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, there are many, many better introductions to wine. Let me quote just a few examples. "Or you can just pour it in a glass and let it chill out for a while, and boom, you just aerated that shit!" "Brut: Pretty fucking dry champagne". "It was easy to ignore that they were unemployed, only wanted blowjobs, and always smelled like cigarettes" (there are numerous wine/oral sex comparisons). "the finish is the flavor and sensation a wine leaves in your mouth after you've swallowed, insert innuendo of choice" (I warned you). "I should know the difference by now, just not when it's 9:00 am, and I'm totally stoned, which is the only way I go to the market". So, if you want to equate your education in wine with profanity, unsatisfactory sexual encounters, or abusing drugs, maybe this book is for you. Me, I'll stick with more mainstream literature.

An entertaining read for sure, I appreciated "Wine. All The Time", and Ms. Ross's statement that this book is 'a lighthearted primer for the wine consumer'. I laughed out loud in several parts of the books, and I've been able to remember certain aspects of the book when I'm out buying a bottle of wine, or doing a tasting (while trying to "cure myself of accidental snobbery". It's a great read and resource book (although I wouldn't recommend it to a sommelier).

This is a book entirely about wine. Literally, that's all that this is. Yes, Ross does give some comical anecdotes, but I would love to read more about some of those than the growing regions of wine.

I feel like the synopsis of the book led me in the wrong direction of what this would be about. She says she is in no way a sommelier, but she sure has successfully written an entire 300 page book on every tiny detail about the growing, production, and tasting of wine.

It wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but I did learn a lot about wine.

Very funny book. A very approachable guide on how to enjoy wine. Highly recommended.