California's Napa Valley is one of the world's premier wine regions today, but this has not always been true. James T. Lapsley's entertaining history explains how a collective vision of excellence among winemakers and a keen sense of promotion transformed the region and its wines following the repeal of Prohibition. Focusing on the formative years of Napa's fine winemaking, 1934 to 1967, Lapsley concludes with a chapter on the wine boom of the 1970s, placing it in a social context and explaining the role of Napa vineyards in the beverage's growing popularity. Names familiar to wine drinkers appear throughout these pages-Beaulieu, Beringer, Charles Krug, Christian Brothers, Inglenook, Louis Martini-and the colorful stories behind the names give this book a personal dimension. As strong-willed, competitive winemakers found ways to work cooperatively, both in sharing knowledge and technology and in promoting their region, the result was an unprecedented improvement in wine quality that brought with it a new reputation for the Napa Valley. In The Silverado Squatters, Robert Louis Stevenson refers to wine as "bottled poetry," and although Stevenson's reference was to the elite vineyards of France, his words are appropriate for Napa wines today. Their success, as Lapsley makes clear, is due to much more than the beneficence of sun and soil. Craft, vision, and determination have played a part too, and for that, wine drinkers the world over are grateful. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.

Richard Betts is one of fewer than two hundred master sommeliers in the world, but he's no wine snob and he hates wine-speak. In the first book of its kind, he helps readers scratch and sniff their way to expertise by introducing the basic components of wine--the fruits, the wood, the earth--enabling anyone to discover the difference between a Syrah and a Sangiovese and get the glass they love every time. Humorously illustrated, with 16 scents, this irresistible gift puts the fun back in wine fundamentals.

In Craft Brew: An American Beer Revolution, M. B. Mooney tells the stories of more than a dozen of the best independent brewers from across the nation. For these brewers, their business is to help those new to beer find that special brew and to offer veteran beer drinkers new and exciting tastes. But more than that, they know that they are extending an invitation to join a warm community and share in a vibrant culture. Mooney explores their stories of passion and caring, history and innovation, creativity and influence, fellowship and rebellion, and, most of all, great beer. Craft Brew: An American Beer Revolution offers the beer enthusiast a chance to be immersed in the stories and culture of the brewing community. But if you are unlucky enough to have not yet found that beer you like, Craft Brew will open your eyes to possibilities and just might send you in search of that special brew that will usher you into the ranks of the converted.

In Craft Brew: An American Beer Revolution, M. B. Mooney tells the stories of more than a dozen of the best independent brewers from across the nation. For these brewers, their business is to help those new to beer find that special brew and to offer veteran beer drinkers new and exciting tastes. But more than that, they know that they are extending an invitation to join a warm community and share in a vibrant culture. Mooney explores their stories of passion and caring, history and innovation, creativity and influence, fellowship and rebellion, and, most of all, great beer. Craft Brew: An American Beer Revolution offers the beer enthusiast a chance to be immersed in the stories and culture of the brewing community. But if you are unlucky enough to have not yet found that beer you like, Craft Brew will open your eyes to possibilities and just might send you in search of that special brew that will usher you into the ranks of the converted.