Whether you're just getting curious or an aficionado leveling up, you need this book.
Take a Tour of the Book
Pages 14 - 25
What the Experts are Saying
Tyler Balliet has done it again with a radically accessible take on wine education.
Interactive, fun, creative and packed with color and wit.
A stone cold stunna! I don't assign textbooks for my classes, but this one is going on the list.
Rebel School of Wine says the quiet parts about the wine industry out loud.
The fastest, easiest, most fun way to learn what wines I actually like.
The step-by-step insider's guide you wish you wrote yourself.
The most fun and original wine expert in the world.
Your backstage pass to the global wine scene. The preamble to a wine revolution.
450+ Illustrations
The hand drawn illustrations and diagrams make complicated concept seem easy. All illustrations by Amber Day.
Every Major Wine Region
Together we'll travel the world hopping from France to Australia to California with over 130 wine regions covered.
Food Pairings
Wine and food are natural best friends so local food pairings are in every chapter from the usual to queso and Texas Rosé.
All the Major Grapes
We cover over 80 grapes from every corner of the globe. The illustrations are even botanically accurate!
Global Wine Culture
People are the most important part of wine. Wine can't exist without people so let's find out how they tick!
Wine Buying Tips
I'll teach you to always buy the best bottle of wine for your money whether it's for a special dinner or drinking from a plastic cup in a parking lot.
Meet the Team
Hi, we made this book!
Author
Tyler Balliet
she/herI’ve spent 20 years as an entrepreneur and journalist. I’ve worked in every single aspect of the wine industry.
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I created and owned Wine Riot and Rose Mansion, wine tasting experiences attended by over 500,000 people. I’ve taught over 450 wine courses, launched a wine tech startup, owned a wine ecommerce business, and a wine marketing agency, designed wine labels, created a mountain of content for social media, worked in a wine store, then I owned a wine store, and I also owned a wine bar, I created wine lists for fine dining restaurants, and even rebranded a small family winery in Massachusetts and spent the summer selling their wines at a farmer’s market.
As a wine journalist I’ve flown around the world interviewing everyone from the CEOs of the largest wine companies in the world to small grape growers in the rural corners of the world. I’ve judged international wine competitions, been a speaker at the largest wine conferences in the world.
I’ve poured wine on live TV over 100 times (usually before 9am), I’ve been interviewed on Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News. I’ve been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, LA Times, and so many more.
I crammed everything I have into this book. I took everything I’ve learned in my career and then spent two full years during the pandemic researching and reading about wine, history, economics, chemistry, agriculture, and even neuroscience.
Creative Director & Instigator
Morgan First
she/herMorgan has been my business partner and best friend for 20 years. We started and ran every business together and Rebel School of Wine wouldn’t exist without her.
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When the pandemic hit she dusted off the book outline we wrote in 2010, leveraged her contacts and got us a book deal with HarperCollins. Every night for three years she would read what I wrote that day, listen to me complain (that’s an understatement, btw), hug me when I would cry, and keep moving the project forward.
As Creative Director she decided the look and feel of the book. She spent three years working with our illustrator, Amber, to create the 450 hand drawn illustrations and diagrams in the book. We would brainstorm an idea, then Morgan make a rough sketch, find reference images, and go back and forth with Amber, sometimes 5 or 6 times to get it perfect. She repeated this process 450 times over three years.
At the same time she was running Catching Flights, an immersive experience agency, where she single handedly launched live events for Barbie in 2022 building Malibu Barbie Cafes in New York and Chicago, a huge 14,000 sqft interactive Barbie experience in the Bahamas, Barbie themed hotel rooms, and more.
This is her book as much as it is mine.
Illustrator
Amber Day
she/herAmber is one of the most talented and wonderful humans I’ve been lucky enough to work with and call my friend.
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Amber is a true artist, hand drawing her illustrations using a drawing tablet attached to her laptop. Watching her draw is nothing short of amazing! What is even more amazing is how she would take the scribbles Morgan and I would draw along with the reference images and turn them into a beautiful illustration.
It didn’t take long before Morgan, Amber and I just clicked and we were creating a dozen new illustrations each week. At the time, Amber was hopping between the US, Europe, and Bali so for years we would all take turns staying up until 3am to have long work sessions. I’ve never had so much fun, laughing and working until the sun came up. Amber later told me she would draw until her hand hurt so bad she had to stop. She poured so much of her heart and soul into this book that her agent wrote the project off as a “charity.”
It’s important to note that Amber is a really big deal. Also known as VISBII, she is an acclaimed editorial artist whose work has appeared in TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Target, Patagonia, Wine Enthusiast, and dozens more. She created a mural for New York’s Penn Station and designed an interactive experience for a Tag Heuer x Malbon collab.
Rebel School of Wine would not be the same book without Amber. She brought my words to life.
In 2025 Nominated for a
James Beard Award
It's Oscars for Restaurants, Food, and Beverage
The only wine book nominated in any category in 2025. Only six beverage books are nominated for the prestigious James Beard Book Awards each year, and Rebel School of Wine was one of them. We definitely had fun that night!
ADHD Friendly Book Alert!
Both Morgan and I have pretty intense ADHD and we know a LOT of people in wine that do too. We created this book with ADHD in mind.
Flip to Any Page and Start Reading:
You don’t have to read this book front to back. There are over 700 sections that can be read independently. It or in order. It’s up to you.
What readers say
Customer Reviews
From verified reviews by Major Book Stores
Making wine understandable and fun!
Imagine standing in your favorite wine shop, holding a bottle of wine you know very little about and being able to press a little button giving you a 30 second audio clip about what the wine tastes like, how it was made and the history of the winery. This book is the press button for the wine industry. It uses words that make sense, words that resonate, words that can be repeated, coupled with pictures and fun facts. It was written by a wine professional who found a way to speak to the non-professional and make wine understandable and freaking exciting!
Brad A. Johnson · April 7, 2025
Every server should have this book
As a restaurant and bar manager, this book should be a must have for every server and bartender in the industry. It's filled with an abundance of knowledge with some humor that makes for an easy read. I purchased 2 of the books to keep in our break rooms at the restaurant and my staff love them.
Matthew L. · August 22, 2024
A colorful and immersive journey into wine
What an amazingly fun book! You can literally flip it open to any page and you'll find a fun fact, an eye-catching illustration, or an amusing anecdote that helps put the information in context. Everything is presented in an accessible manner, and it's clear that Tyler really believes that wine is for everyone. The perfect gift for the wine-lover in your life!
Melissa Suzuno · December 27, 2024
The perfect book for restaurant workers
Both my partner and I are server bartenders at upscale restaurants. Spending time in this book has profoundly leveled up my wine knowledge, enhancing my ability to serenade my customers and my own enjoyment when I go wine tasting. It's the perfect read for new school restaurant workers who want to go deeper into wine culture without suffering through the boring and snobby literature that is so pervasive in the wine world.
Whitney · November 14, 2024
So much more than a wine book
This book is not a guide or an instruction set. It's quite literally a work of art. From the illustrations to the way information is presented, each page is something you'd eagerly read and also casually leave on display on your coffee table. It makes wine approachable and intriguing, and showcases Tyler's personality throughout. Great gift. Great read. Great coffee table book.
Kat Lafata · November 8, 2024
10/10 recommend
Could not recommend this book more! I have been in the service industry for over 10 years and of all the trainings, books, and pamphlets I've read through, this is by far the most digestible and fun approach. Such a great read and the graphics are absolutely beautiful.
Tiffany · October 14, 2025
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Save$31The Everything Bundle
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