Barbara Nowak and Beverly Wichman are two grapes from the same vine.
The Saucy Sisters, as they refer to themselves, gave the last book signing of their recently published book The Saucy Sisters' Guide to Wine: What Every Girl Should Know Before She Uncorks on Sunday, May 3, at the Penn Bookstore as the last stop of their tour of over 30 U.S. cities.
The book, not a typical "wine 101" guide, focuses on women and wine and includes fun wine commentary in addition to basic facts and etiquette. For example, in the chapter called "Men and Sex," the personalities of men are compared to the type of wine they drink.
Nowak and Wichman explained that they wanted to make their book more interesting and simpler than the "scientific" wine guides that many people use.
The personalities of the Saucy Sisters matched the flavor of their book. With enthusiasm and cheer, Nowak and Wichman described their source of inspiration for writing the book -- a friend's suggestion over a wine-enriched dinner -- and their subsequent travels, most of which were conducted in a purple van that they affectionately call "the grape mobile."
Nowak and Wichman tested the "wine savvy" of the audience by handing out a short quiz, and described the benefits of drinking wine over other types of alcoholic beverages.
In addition to having higher average IQs than beer drinkers, wine drinkers are "psychologically happier than beer drinkers," Wichman said.
To help people remember key wine terms, both Nowak and Wichman compared wine to football. For example, a "punt" in football is when you kick the ball down the field, but a "punt" is also the indentation on the bottom of the wine bottle that relieves the pressure on the bottle and provides for better storage.
However, both Nowak and Wichman agreed that it is not how much you know about wine that matters, but how well you fake it. Restaurant wine rituals can be easily feigned with the following five steps as outlined in the Saucy Sisters' book -- admire, swirl, smell, taste and enjoy.
"Don't worry about why you do it, just do it," Wichman said.
The sisters concluded their talk by explaining how, for under $140, everyone can create their own full wine cellar. With a collection of "let's boogie red and let's boogie white" wines for fun occasions, cheap "wacky wine" for everyday use and the "sluts of the wine world" like Pinot Noir and Dry Riesling that go well with everything, a person cannot go wrong.
Although only a handful of people were present at the event, the audience members seemed to enjoy the discussion.
"It's Mother's Day, so I was thinking about getting a book for my mom," said College junior Lauren Kowtna, a family friend of Wichman.
Nowak, who is involved in marketing and public relations, and Wichman, a human resources manager, have also written Best Places to Eat in Nashville.
