Written by RAMONA founder and celebrated sommelier Jordan Salcito, Smart Mouth offers a refreshingly accessible approach to demystifying the world of wine
July 10, 2025 (Paris, France) — This fall, lauded sommelier and founder of Drink RAMONA Jordan Salcito will release Smart Mouth, a witty and delightfully informative guide to discovering and embracing wine (Ten Speed Press | On Sale 10/28). Using her personal journey as a template, from vineyards to restaurant floors and rigorous wine exams, Jordan demystifies this beloved beverage so everyone—really, everyone—can feel confident finding wines they love.
Jordan Salcito is a wine industry veteran with over a decade of experience at some of the world’s best restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park, where she served as a sommelier and part of the winning team to bring home a James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service, and Momofuku (Ko, Ssäm Bar, Noodle Bar, Má Pêche), where her wine programs garnered national acclaim for their creativity and depth. She is also a pioneer in the ready-to-drink beverage category: she launched the award-winning spritz brand RAMONA in 2016, and is widely credited with introducing the first quality canned wine to market. From fine dining to everyday sipping, Jordan’s love of wine knows no bounds, and Smart Mouth shares how to incorporate its magic into any and every occasion.
While Jordan believes that there is no right or wrong way to learn about wine, Smart Mouth begins with a chapter about Tasting (And Why We’re Starting Here). There’s a lot to be learned from a wine’s appearance, smell, structure, and taste, and here, Jordan, who passed the Court of Master Sommelier’s “Blind Tasting” Exam on her first try, breaks down how a multisensory analysis can help you identify which wines resonate best with you. Wine Styles For Your Drinking Pleasure covers how sparkling, white, red, rosé, orange, and yellow wines are made, and answers burning questions about what natural really means (both philosophically and in regulated terms). Understand the art and science of winemaking in the chapter titled From Vine to Bottle, and discover how the Lay of the Land and the environment impact each vintage.
After absorbing the nuances of grape-growing and wine production, take a step back with Grapes You’ll Likely Encounter, a chapter that dives into the most common (of over 10,000!) varietals and the unique drinking experiences that each provides. A handy cheat sheet for navigating restaurant wine lists segues into high-level overviews of “Old World” Countries and Regions and “New World” Countries and Regions, which underscore how history and geography have shaped the classifications used today.
Jordan offers invaluable advice on cultivating your personal taste in the penultimate chapter, Wine’s Journey to You (And What to Do When it Arrives). Learn about the distribution and buying process, how wine lists are written, and how to judge whether a restaurant bottle is worth the spend. Here, Jordan also outlines helpful ideas for home entertaining and food pairings, along with tips for storing, decanting, and serving your own wines.
Smart Mouth is for thoughtful and curious drinkers who want to understand why they love the wines they do, and are eager to learn how to replicate that experience and share it with friends and people they love. In addition to practical guidance to make the world of wine make more sense, Smart Mouth is full of historical information, gorgeous illustrations, and infographics that give you permission to feel smart about wine and go forth with confidence, drinking what you love.
About the Contributors:
Jordan Salcito is an award-winning sommelier-turned-entrepreneur. She founded pioneering canned spritz brand, Drink RAMONA, oversaw the national beverage programs for David Chang’s Momofuku restaurants, worked as a sommelier at Eleven Madison Park as part of the team to win the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Wine Service Award,” and spent her vacations working at some of the world’s most storied wineries, from Comte Liger-Belair, Mugneret-Gibourg, and Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, to Bodega Chacra in Patagonia. She is a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 honoree and a two-time James Beard Award semi-finalist for Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional, and one of a handful of individuals to pass the Court of Master Sommelier’s “Blind Tasting” Exam on her first try. Jordan now resides in Paris, France, with her husband, Robert, and their two sons.
Jenny Bowers works both independently and collaboratively across illustration, animation, and installation projects. She studied illustration in Manchester and animation at the Royal College of Art, then worked in film and television as an art director and graphic artist, joining Peepshow illustration collective in 2003. She has been illustrating, art directing, and very occasionally animating ever since. She is based in Gloucestershire, England.
SMART MOUTH by Jordan Salcito | Ten Speed Press | ISBN: 9781984858825 | $35.00
