A tour of the French winemaking regions to illustrate how the soil, underlying bedrock, relief, and microclimate shape the personality of a wine. For centuries, France has long been the world's greatest wine-producing country. Its wines are the global gold standard, prized by collectors, and its winemaking regions each offer unique tasting experiences, from the spice of Bordeaux to the berry notes of the Loire Valley. Although grape variety, climate, and the skill of the winemaker are essential in making good wine, the foundation of a wine's character is the soil in which its grapes are grown. Who could better guide us through the relationship between the French land and the wine than a geologist, someone who deeply understands the science behind the soil? Enter scientist Charles Frankel. In Land and Wine, Frankel takes readers on a tour of the French winemaking regions to illustrate how the soil, underlying bedrock, relief, and microclimate shape the personality of a wine. The book's twelve chapters each focus in-depth on a different region, including the Loire Valley, Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence, the Rhone valley, and Bordeaux, to explore the full meaning of terroir. In this approachable guide, Frankel describes how Cabernet Franc takes on a completely different character depending on whether it is grown on gravel or limestone; how Sauvignon yields three different products in the hills of Sancerre when rooted in limestone, marl, or flint; how Pinot Noir will give radically different wines on a single hill in Burgundy as the vines progress upslope; and how the soil of each chateau in Bordeaux has a say in the blend ratios of Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon. Land and Wine provides a detailed understanding of the variety of French wine as well as a look at the geological history of France, complete with volcanic eruptions, a parade of dinosaurs, and a menagerie of evolution that has left its fossils flavoring the vineyards. Both the uninitiated wine drinker and the confirmed oenophile will find much to savor in this fun guide that Frankel has spiked with anecdotes about winemakers and historic wine enthusiasts-revealing which kings, poets, and philosophers liked which wines best-while offering travel tips and itineraries for visiting the wineries today.

In 2003, the United States had about 60 craft distillers; today there are over 2,000 in all corners of the country, 500 of which are making whiskey. This book introduces the entrepreneurs and the companies behind this American craft whiskey movement. Whiskey Rebels is a collection of first-person accounts of the brilliant, brave, and slightly crazy innovators responsible for changing the whiskey landscape forever--people like Ralph Erenzo, recipient of the first distilling license in New York State in 80 years who went on to create Hudson Baby Bourbon; Nicole Austin, a prominent female producer and vocal activist who brought an indie spirit to the renowned American whiskey region of Tennessee through George Dickel Tennessee Whisky; and Bill Owens, who founded the American Distilling Institute in 2003. Spirits pro and award-winning author John McCarthy (The Modern Gentleman) has conducted hundreds of hours of interviews to gather these fascinating first-person accounts and give readers an amusing and thorough insight into the world of American craft whiskey. Under his expert guidance, readers will also learn the requirements to be considered a craft whiskey distiller, the effect of the craft beer movement on modern craft distilling, why craft distillers hate the word craft, and many other pieces of insider information.