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Jerry Lockspeiser: What do wine drinkers really want to know?

Published:  26 September, 2016

Our regular columist Jerry Lockspeiser has published "YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED: The 25 things wine drinkers most want to know", with 100% of the revenue recieved donated to the Millione Foundation, which he started with Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson to fund primary schools in Sierra Leone.

My book "YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED: The 25 things wine drinkers most want to know" has been published by Citizen Press. 100% of the revenue I receive will be donated to the Millione Foundation I started in 2010 with Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson to fund primary schools in Sierra Leone. Working in partnership with ActionAid we have funded 5 schools educating 1500 kids. Those funds came largely from sales of the Millione wine brand. Book sales will go towards building the 6th school.

WHY I WROTE THE BOOK

I started my first wine business 30 years ago. Since then I have had hundreds of conversations with wine drinkers. The vast majority are wine drinkers in the same way someone is a beer, cider or spirits drinker. Many people are all of those things at different times. They drink wine for its flavour, effect and social enhancement. They have no particular interest in the product per se, but they do want answers to the questions they ask themselves when thinking about choosing and using it.

When someone asks what I do for a living and I reply that I work in the wine business, they often say "oh I love wine....but of course I don't know anything about it".  Later, as confidence grows, they sometimes ask a question, almost invariably starting with "I don't want to sound stupid but...." followed by a very sensible question. Questions like:

WHAT IS CABERNET SAUVIGNON?

WHY DO THEY SAY SOME WINES HAVE 'A HINT OF GOOSEBERRIES'?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHAMPAGNE AND CAVA?

HOW LONG WILL WINE KEEP IN AN OPEN BOTTLE?

WHY DOES WINE COST SO MUCH?

ARE HEAVILY DISCOUNTED WINES WORTH THE FULL PRICE?

WHAT IS THE BEST WINE?

IS IT TRUE THAT ORGANIC WINE DOESN'T GIVE YOU A HEADACHE?

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CHOOSE WINE IN A RESTAURANT?

These are practical "usage" questions that drinkers are often too embarrassed to ask. So I wrote the book for them. They are the 99%.

WHAT DOES THE BOOK CONTAIN?

There are 25 short chapters of 2-8 pages each, accompanied by characterful colour illustrations. The title of each chapter is one of the questions, and the content a conversational discussion around it. The chapter ends with "In One Gulp", a take away summary of the answer that can be read in less time than it takes to swallow a mouthful.

WIN - WIN

Every time someone without in-depth wine knowledge buys and reads YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED they will learn something of relevance to them. They will also be increasing the chances of kids in Sierra Leone being able to learn at school.

Projects and businesses that have a sense of purpose beyond profit alone are more fun and rewarding. As a result, they are often highly profitable. That is the dual goal this book embraces.

Buy the book at Amazon £8.99 in print and £5.99 in Kindle eBook (UK and USA) or in print at Waterstone's online and Daunt Books in London.

If you are a retailer interested in stocking the book please get in touch and we will make it happen. Contact orders@gudrunpublishing.com or me at Lockspeiserj@hotmail.com  

See www.yourwinequestions.com for more information on the book and the schools.

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