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 specialise in wine and food pairing, writes Lynne Char Bennett of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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.

The book, according to the reviewer, is packed with common-sense suggestions, many of them contained in bulleted cheat sheets. A couple of examples:

When a wine is tannic, Goldstein suggests, "Counterbalance the tannins by serving foods that are high in protein, fat or both; remember that tannin and spicy heat can clash brutally; and use pepper (cracked black or white) to counterbalance tannins, as it's somewhat bitter by nature."

The clean, simple flavours of Italian Meatball and Vegetable Soup go with easy-drinking, fruit-forward Sangiovese, while rich, hearty Osso Buco with Mushrooms and Tomatoes needs a more complex, fuller-bodied Super Tuscan-style Sangiovese, which worked when I made this dish for dinner recently.

Book Details: Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food. Evan Goldstein. Recipes by Joyce Goldstein ( University of California Press ; 318 pages; $29.95).

For the complete review, go to the San Francisco Chronicle 's Web site, www.sfgate.com

( Hyperlink: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/22/WIGFKJH8621.DTL&hw=wine&sn=001&sc=1000 )