Delighted to announce that my new book ‘A Taste for Wine’ is out now – and it is receiving some great reviews:

 

THE TIMES’ BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2025

“How do you distil a lifetime of knowledge and learning into 224 pages?  That was the challenge facing the Master of Wine and Scotsman newspaper columnist Rose Murray Brown.  Rather than a dry, encyclopaedic catalogue of wine grapes and styles, this is a series of masterclasses written for the layperson.  So you cover all the ground at your own pace – with a glass in hand.  On the way, she knocks off the trends you should be up to speed with – piwi grapes, anyone? – but perhaps best are the crib sheets to help you distinguish your Chablis from your white Rioja and your Malbec from your Merlot.”

Tony Turnbull, The Times 29.11.25

FORBES’ ESSENTIAL WINE & SPIRIT BOOKS FOR 2025

“Rose Murray Brown distils decades of teaching into a structured ‘course in a book’.  Short, focused chapters walk readers through the fundamentals, grape varieties, classic regions and ten guided tastings you can set up at home.  The tone is straightforward, no-nonsence without being joyless, and the exercises gently nudge you from ‘I like it’ to real sensory vocabulary and comparative tasting.  Who is the book best for?  The friend who keeps saying ‘I wish someone would just teach me how to ‘taste’ properly’ “.

Jessica Dupuy, Forbes Magazine  3.12.25

CLUB OENOLOGIQUE’s BEST WINE BOOKS FOR 2025

“Rose Murray Brown has written a genuinely useful guide to tasting in the no-nonsense vein of Mary Poppins. In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun – Murray Brown provides the format and it’s up to the reader to have the fun, which this book inspires you to do. It’s not a difficult read but a welcome and practical, quick guide to sampling the world’s liquid sensual delights.

The field of wine communication is littered with failed actors and exposure-hungry personalities; Rose Murray Brown is not one of them. Her delivery is refreshing and informative – the focus is firmly on topic and not on herself.  In an age of emoji personalities, Murray Brown’s book is a welcome tonic….’sans’ guff”.

 Lisse Garnett, Club Oenologique Magazine 18.11.25  

THE WINE CONVERSATION’S BEST WINE BOOKS FOR 2025

“A Taste for Wine by Rose Murray Brown MW, a sensory journey into tasting, appreciating, and above all enjoying the extraordinary array of flavours so many of the wines of the world offer these days.  It’s like being given the keys to an abundant and very comfortable wine cellar, certainly technical, but served up with clarity and even affection, extremely well-organised and written – there are charts and highlights, and crib sheets, but also reassurances galore, a useful invitation to considerable pleasure.”

Brian St Pierre, The Wine Conversation Dec 2025

Listen to the podcast here where Brian St Pierre discusses my book A Taste for Wine with Sarah Kemp (ex editor of Decanter magazine) – they seem to love it!

WIDE WORLD OF WINE 

“Reading Rose’s new book, A Taste for Wine, it is clear that her interests, knowledge, and in fact her far-sighted understanding of the modern wine world extend far beyond that narrower world of wine in which we both grew up.

Who should read it? Anyone who enjoys wine and thinks there is more to learn”.

Read full review here

David Crossley, Wide World of Wine 7.11.25

INTERNATIONAL WINE REVIEW

“All told, this is a most interesting and useful book.  The subtitle of the book, “A new tasting masterclass for wine lovers,” tells it all. This is a book for consumers already interested in wine wishing to deepen their understanding of wine, especially how to taste and evaluate the final product. It’s the perfect gift for them”.

Read full review here

Donald Winkler, International Wine Review 1.11.25

QUICK SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK:

It’s a practical unpretentious guide to understanding, tasting and appreciating wine – it’s a ‘general’ wine book with a difference – ideal for the adventurous wine lover.

Includes 10 step-by-step interactive tasting practices which you can do at home with or without tasting buddies, focus on food/wine matching, taste trends (natural, orange, low/no alcohol, Pet Nat), two page features on the changing world of wine from carbon neutral wineries to future proof grapes – and a detailed guide to 100+ indigenous grapes and 51 wine countries – with my pick of the best wineries to visit.

RRP £25

Published by Mitchell Beazley, Octopus Publishing Group

Available from Amazon, Waterstones, Topping Booksellers, Foyles, Hatchards, Valvona & Crolla, Cockburns of Leith, Villeneuve Wines, Made from Grapes & more

For further information & stockists: https://linktr.ee/atasteforwine