Esther Mobley Photo: Russell Yip

We all know someone who is just not the best conversationalist when they start talking about wine. They might name drop, they might use obscure terms and, frankly, sometimes it's an incredible bore. And if you don’t speak winespeak, it can seem like the whole language around wine is meant to keep people out. Wine critic Esther Mobley covers the California wine, beer and spirits beat for The San Francisco Chronicle. Our contributor Ali Bouzari went to her for some answers about the madness and method of the way we talk about wine, and get some wine suggestions.

Ali Bouzari
Ali Bouzari is a culinary scientist, author, educator, and co-founder of Pilot R&D, a culinary research and development company, and Render, a new food company that collaborates with the best restaurant chefs in the country to reinvent the way food lovers eat. His book, Ingredient: Unveiling the Essential Elements of Food, won the 2017 IACP award for Best Reference Book. Ali also writes a monthly column, Housemade, for the San Francisco Chronicle.