Perfect Pairings

“As a wine and food journalist, I see many culinary books, but there are just a few that compel me to say, "I must have this for my library." There are even fewer that specialize in wine and food pairing. But "Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food," by Evan Goldstein with recipes by Joyce Goldstein, meets my standards on both counts. Evan Goldstein, a master sommelier and career wine educator, and his mother, renowned chef and cookbook author Joyce Goldstein, joyously and gracefully explain and demystify the "magic" of pairing wine and food. They make it so easy, it seems that everyone can do it; after reading their book, I'm convinced everyone can.”

— Fargo-Moorhead Hub

“As the title suggests it’s written by a practicing sommelier, Evan Goldstein . . . has recipes to match each of the principal grape varieties from his mother, chef Joyce Goldstein. . . . There’s also a useful ‘Pairing Pointers’ checklist under each variety, listing dishes with which it’s not likely to work well. A useful and inspiring read.”

— Decanter

“Evan is one of the legends of the wine industry. . . A lot of recipes and wine recommendations make it as practical a book as you will find.”

— Kansas City Star

“For many food lovers, cooking dinner is easy; what’s hard is choosing the right wine to serve with the meal. in Perfect pairings, sommelier Evan Goldstein solves this dilemma with practical, detailed advice on pairing wines with food.”

— Bon Appetit

“Goldstein’s flexible approach manages to be both educational ad entertaining, which makes the world of food and wine matching a lot easier to navigate.”

— Vines

“Maybe the most practical and informative book on matching wines and foods I’ve ever encountered is Perfect Pairings by master sommelier Evan Goldstein, whose mother is a well-known San Francisco restaurateur and supplied some terrific recipes for the book. If you’ve ever stumbled over what to serve with what-and we all have-you need this book. It can get a little esoteric, but so what? Maybe you’ll learn something. I did-a lot.”

— Houston Chronicle

“One of the most useful books on the subject. . . . Rather than simply listing which wines are good matches for which foods, it teaches the reader to create his own pairing based on wine’s level of acidity, sweetness, saltiness, tannin or oak. Equally handy, the book also lists pairings that usually don’t work, like Zinfandel with spicy foods. Way to go, Evan.”

— Wines & Vines

“The book takes you into the mind of a sommelier--a thoughtful, unpretentious sommelier who truly enjoys considering what goes with what--and provides a model for approaching food and wine on your own.” A Best Book of 2006

— Wine & Spirits Magazine

“This mother-and-son tag team could not be better suited to take on a theme that has been addressed in many books over the years, but infrequently with such authority and conviction. Evan Goldstein is a leading sommelier and wine educator who once worked with his mother at her acclaimed Square one restaurant in San Francisco.”

— Philadelphia Inquirer

“You can come away with a deeper understanding of the concepts of matching wine and food so you can figure out for yourself what makes the best match.”

— Seattle Post-Intelligencer