Flawless - by Jamie Goode (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Flawless is the first book of its kind dedicated to exploring wine faults. It's an interesting and topical subject, not least because there's currently a lot of discussion in the wine trade about "fault" compounds that can, in the right contexts, be seen as desirable. And with the rise of "natural" wines, there is also a lot of interest in how wine faults develop. This book is written in an accessible voice, yet deals with the science in an accurate and balanced way"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A New York Times Best Wine Book of 2018

Flawless is the first book of its kind dedicated to exploring the main causes of faults in wine. From cork taint, to volatile acidity, to off-putting aromas and flavors, all wine connoisseurs have encountered unappealing qualities in a disappointing bottle. But are all faults truly bad? Are some even desirable? Jamie Goode brings his authoritative voice to the table once again to demystify the science behind what causes a good bottle to go bad. By exposing the root causes of faults in wine, Flawless challenges us to rethink our assumptions about how wine should taste and how we can understand beauty in a glass.

From the Back Cover

"Jamie Goode has expertly peeled the onion of wine biology and chemistry layer by layer in this carefully woven story of wine faults. There is as much to learn from this book about wine quality as wine faults, and the empirical observations and musings about the unknowns by the many winemakers quoted are fascinating. A great contribution to wine knowledge."--Dr. Brian Croser AO, winemaker and owner of Tapanappa Wines

"When it comes to wine quality, the focus has always been on what makes a wine great. As a result, many wine professionals have little more than a basic understanding of what can make a wine less than great. In Flawless Dr. Jamie Goode flips this paradigm on its head with his trademark rigor, transforming "scary" scientific equations into highly accessible concepts to elucidate one of the most overlooked and misunderstood areas of wine quality. Flawless should be on the bookshelf of all ambitious and passionately curious wine professionals."--Sam Harrop MW, winemaker and coauthor of Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking

Review Quotes

"At the exit of Flawless you will smell wine differently than before. And if the purpose of science and scientific popularization is to increase the well-being and the competence of all of us, the only thing I can say to you - in the hope of a sudden translation in Italian - is to read carefully this wonderful, unmissable, essential book."-- "Vinix" (8/24/2018 12:00:00 AM)

"This accessible work should fill numerous knowledge gaps for many readers . . . .This is far from being a dry technical tome. . . . The chapter titles are unambiguous and make quick dips into the book easy enough. Each chapter starts with a list of questions and answers: What is It? What is its flavor impact? What causes it? Is it always bad? How can it be prevented? These are then fleshed out in the subsequent prose. The coherency of organization along with a lighter writing style means a cover-to-cover read is not out of the question...Flawless is compact enough to easily transport as a mobile resource or a (admittedly geeky) travel read."-- "Wine Searcher" (10/21/2018 12:00:00 AM)

"Very close to being required reading on a touchy set of subjects, and while not exactly an easy read, it's digestible for both the consumer and those on the inside of the wine biz."-- "1 Wine Dude" (8/20/2018 12:00:00 AM)

The Best Wine Books of 2018
"Mr. Goode is succinct and clear about how . . . various flaws are expressed in wines. This can be helpful to any wine lover who knows when a wine is not right, but doesn't know exactly what is wrong."--Eric Asimov "New York Times" (11/29/2018 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Jamie Goode is wine writer for the Sunday Express and a contributor to The World of Fine Wine and Wine & Spirits. He is the author of The Science of Wine, I Taste Red, and coauthor of Authentic Wine.