Rare is the dictionary that entertains (especially after age 10, when you've looked up all the dirty words).
But David Kamp and David Lynch's forthcoming "The Wine Snob's Dictionary" is that rare exception, and not only will leave you laughing, but might also actually teach you something along the way.
The book is an effort to demystify what Kamp and Lynch consider the impenetrable language of the wine elite. It's a straightforward A to Z guide of the people, places and terms of the wine world delivered with deadpan humor.
The definition for "Food-friendly," for example:
"Olive-branch term used by Snobs when they're in the magnanimous mood to engage non-Snobs. Usually denotes a well-made but 'simple' wine that matches up easily with whatever some polo-shirted weekend grillmeister is cooking up out back."
Best yet, read this dictionary as you would a book and you'll actually come away more wine fluent. Just don't let it go to your head and turn you into a wine snob.
"The Wine Snob's Dictionary"
By David Kamp and David Lynch
Broadway Books
144 pages, $12.95 (paperback)
