Reddit reviews Wine For Dummies

I've been looking for something similar. I have read Tasting Beer and am currently reading Tasting Whiskey. I love the format of both of them.

Most wine books I've found are much easier to read by section as a reference than to read straight through. If you've looked at the Oxford Companion to Beer, a lot of them are kind of like that (and not just the Oxford Companion to Wine).

In order of most narrative to most reference I recommend:

Wine for Dummies (not kidding, nor to be confused with An Idiot's Guide to Wine)

Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course (reminds me of Bernstein's Complete Beer Course)

The Wine Bible

The World Atlas of Wine

The Oxford Companion to Wine

I once tried to read A Beer Drinker's Guide to Knowing and Enjoying Fine Wine. I couldn't read much of it because its tone seemed a little too... forced conversational.

Skip the bartending course, that's a scam. All the receipes you need you can just google, and the "practical experience" of a classroom setting is meaningless. Save your cash and buy these books:

If you're serious about bartending:
http://www.amazon.com/Bartenders-Black-Book-Updated-Edition/dp/1934259179

If you're serious about serving (fine dining):
http://www.amazon.com/New-Food-Lovers-Companion/dp/1438001630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408551678&sr=1-1&keywords=food+lovers+companion+2014

If you're serious about making big money serving:
http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Dummies-McCarthy/dp/1118288726/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408551722&sr=1-1&keywords=wine+for+dummies+2014