If you can't drop everything and embark on a global tasting tour, Wines of the World Gold Edition may offer the next best thing. Aimed at users who would like to cultivate their taste for fine wine, this program is packed with information and multimedia goodies that will delight, educate, and inform you on the finer points of wine culture. Using Wines of the World's maps, photographs, and extensive videotape footage, you can explore the winemaking universe down to its tiniest details. Topics such as grapevine cultivation, winemaking, and the particular characteristics of the wine-producing regions of the world are all explored. What's more, the program helps users educate themselves on the specific merits and weaknesses of vintages. Using this program, you can learn to judge a wine's sugar content and relative dryness or its compatibility with differing types of meals, or how to select a wine you are likely to enjoy.
In the Gold Edition, many new vintages have been added to the wine review list, bringing the total to 40,000. It does not limit itself to the most expensive labels, instead identifying the top wines in every price range. It has full Internet compatibility and allows you to make up a personal database of favored wines, with notes on everything you have tasted. Its search function and glossary are both simply designed and effective. The program also has some humorous touches that enhance the pleasure inherent in its use.
This CD runs a simple program and is fully compatible with older PCs and Macs. As such, it lacks high-end Flash animations or any of the other high-impact characteristics of newer adult educational software. What it has, instead, is a lot of information. Do you want to go on virtual tours of world vineyards, or widen your appreciation of the wines served at your favorite restaurants? Either way, Wines of the World Gold Edition will teach you the terminology, knowledge base, and fundamental skills to get you started down the road to wine expertise. --Alyx Dellamonica
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