A wine writer schools a film critic's palate in 'Educating Peter'

Educating Peter: How I Taught a Famous Movie Critic the Difference Between Cabernet and Merlot or How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert
By Lettie Teague
Book Scribner, 256 pp., $25

Wine writer Lettie Teague could have called her latest book "My Fair Film Critic."

In "Educating Peter," Teague's blundering pupil, Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers, goes from wine boob who declares his love for "fatty" chardonnay, to a sophisticate who can navigate a New York City wine auction and a thick restaurant wine list with aplomb.

The book nicely cuts through the snootiness that wrecks most I-know-more-about-wine-than-you literature.

How? By resisting the wine-bore trap of comparing one wine with another, leaving novices hopelessly confused by the third glass. Instead, Teague thinks outside the box -- er, bottle -- and uses Travers's background in film criticism to teach him, and us, about wine.

Wine terminology becomes just a little less confusing and scary when Travers compares an unpleasantly oaky wine to the 2005 release "The Family Stone," starring Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker. "I don't like an oaky movie," he said. "It just says one thing over and over again."

The book is based on an award-winning series Teague wrote as part of her "Wine Matters" column for Food & Wine magazine. Teague sits Travers down for a series of talks and tastings, guiding him through each variety of grape and vintage.

The pair heads out on location to Napa Valley, Calif., including a doomed attempt to meet up with "Godfather" director and winemaker Francis Ford Coppola . But things turn out well when winemaker Jean Phillips gives Teague a bottle of 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet -- a prized first-vintage cult wine worth $4,000 -- to teach Travers about Napa's finest.

Throughout "Educating Peter," Travers blusters and charms. He's not shy, and not afraid to share his sillier musings, including comparing Germany's intense Rieslings to Wim Wenders's otherworldly Berlin story "Wings of Desire."

Other gems from Travers include wacky wine questions like: In Spain, is there a Pedro Almodóvar (the country's only world-famous director) dominating the national wine scene? (No, there are three superstar Spanish winemakers, Teague tells him.)

And does Australian wine have anything in common with the country's finest movies, like " 'Breaker' Morant," and "The Last Wave," which examine a mystical connection to weather and nature? (Yes, she says. There's an Australian wine named after a breed of kangaroo, Yellow Tail, that's one of the most commercially successful labels in the world.)

And aside from Charlize Theron, South African films -- and wine -- don't offer a whole lot to get excited about, Travers and Teague conclude.

Travers turns his nose up at New Zealand's red wines because Peter Jackson, a native Kiwi and the Oscar-winning director of "The Lord of the Rings," doesn't like them, but discovers the country's sauvignon blancs can be great .

It's all a little off-the-wall, but so entertaining readers will hardly notice how much they are learning about wine. Teague even offers a fun 45-question quiz based on the book at the end. (Incidentally, this reviewer got only 28 questions correct, but didn't feel too bad because Travers scored just 37.)

Teague clearly knows her audience; she also collaborated on the similarly novice-friendly 1995 book "Fear of Wine: An Introductory Guide to the Grape."

"Educating Peter" is a winner for people who love wine but not the confusion and attitude that generally accompany it. Teague hits the right notes with her writing, and coaxes us back into the tasting room for a fresh start.

Erica Noonan can be reached at enoonan@globe.com.