We read for edification. We read for enjoyment.

There’s plenty of both in a dandy new book, “The Wine Snob’s Dictionary” ($12.95, Broadway Books, 111 pages). It’s a smart, cheeky read that would be most welcome anywhere from a  gathering of oenophiles to a solo outing on the, uh, throne. The ability to laugh at oneself is recommended but not required.

The blurbs are beautifully chosen, hilarious and often seriously snarky. The descriptor “straw-colored,” for example, is “used to … obscure the fact that most white wines resemble urine or cooking oil.” The Robert Mondavi segment ends by noting “the status he commanded, with his aggressively blonde wife, Magrit, as the Bob and Dolores Hope of Napa Valley.”

Interspersed throughout the alphabetical listings are pages with lists (Italian Lagrein and Clare Valley Riesling are among “Ten Worthwhile Snob Causes Celebre’,” while Merlot Over and Play Dead tops “The Ten Most Preciously Named Wines” list).

I did not include this book in last week’s roundup of works that might make great gifts, which was intended to skew a bit toward novices and intermediate wine folks. This book is ideal for more advanced drinkers; it takes some knowledge to be able to fully appreciate entries on the likes of Alexis Lichine and “the La-La’s” (”the childlike term is especially unpleasant to hear coming from a Snob’s lips, like a billionaire oilman’s baby talk to his mistress”).

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