The purchase and consumption of wine, whether in hospitality environments or domestic settings, has huge anthropological significance underpinned by a discourse of wine appreciation. It can be seen as a multi-sensory and symbolically status-rich activity framed by historical, social, cultural and ethical discourses.

This innovative book offers a critical study of wine from social and cultural perspectives. The field of wine studies spans the spectrum of cultural and technical issues concerning the place of wine in society from viticulture, vinification, labelling, regulation, marketing, purchasing, storage and its final consumption. It combines social history and contemporary questions including the notion of terroir, the nature of protected wine designations, the pricing of wine and the different motivations for buying and consuming wine. It considers wine as a beverage, as an aesthetic exercise and as a marker of status, as well as health implications and legal controls.

The title offers a timely contribution into the significance of wine and the role of knowledge, both of which have conceptual and managerial implications in terms of marketing, promotion, consumption and distribution. By offering a holistic and innovative understanding of wine and its consumption, it is a must-read for students and scholars in the fields of wine and social science.

Table of Contents

Foreword Preface Acknowledgements: Our personal wine journeys List of abbreviations 1. The Nature of Wine, Protected Designations and Labelling 2. Understanding the Significance of Wine 3. Fine wine or Plonk? 4. Wine Consumers 5. Terroir 6. Wine at Home 7. Licensing Law, Duty and the Ethics of Alcohol 8. Marketing of the Wine Experience 9. Wine Societies and Wine Education 10. The Semiotics of Wine 11. The Importance of Wine in Contemporary Society

Originally served at the coronations of French kings, Champagne is now popular around the world and sales increase year on year as people discover this delicious, delightful, de-lovely drink. Although Champagne only comes from a small area, there are many producers, ranging from the globally famous houses such as Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon and Taittinger to the 19,000 vignerons who produce on a much smaller (but no less delicious) scale. Champagne has its own vocabulary, etiquette and special place in popular and culinary culture and The Little Book of Champagne traces the history of the drink from its early years to the present day and examines what makes Champagne so special. We delve into the intricacies of chilling (very cold), pouring (one inch, let the bubbles settle, then two-thirds) and drinking (slowly). There are also fun facts, quotes and sayings relating to Champagne's unique position in popular culture. So pop that cork, fill your glass and slowly sip your way slowly through the pages of this joyful celebration. SAMPLE QUOTE: 'Why do I drink Champagne for breakfast? Doesn't everyone?' - Noel Coward SAMPLE FACT: The oldest Champagne producer still in existence is Ruinart. They started production in 1729.

The concept of terroir is one of the most celebrated and controversial subjects in wine today. Most will agree that well-made wine has the capacity to express "somewhereness," a set of consistent aromatics, flavors, or textures that amount to a signature expression of place. But for every advocate there is a skeptic, and for every writer singing praises related to terroir there is a study or a detractor seeking to debunk terroir as a myth. Wine and Place examines terroir using a multitude of voices and multiple points of view-from science to literature, from winemakers to wine critics-seeking not to prove its veracity but to explore its pros, its cons, and its other aspects. This comprehensive anthology lets the reader come to one's own conclusion about terroir.

French Wine For Dummies explores all the major wine regions of France -- from The Rhone Valley to Alsace, with special emphasis on the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, the most important wine regions of France (and possibly the world). This friendly guide explains how France names its wines and decodes French wine labels. It describes classic combinations of French wine with foods, with a new look at some versatile French wines with various types of food. Plus, it details how to buy, drink, and store French wines.

Riesling is the world's seventh most-planted white wine grape variety and among the fastest growing over the past twenty years. It is a personal favorite of many sommeliers, chefs, and other food and wine professionals for its appealing aromatics, finesse, and minerality; for its uncanny ability to reflect terroir; and for its impressive versatility with cuisines of all types. It is stylistically paradoxical, however. Now usually made dry in most of Europe and Australia, and assumed dry by most German consumers, Riesling is made mostly sweet or lightly sweet in North America and is believed sweet in the American marketplace irrespective of origin. Riesling is thus consequently - but mistakenly-shunned by the mainstream of American wine drinkers, whose tastes and habits have been overwhelmingly dry for two generations. Riesling Rediscovered looks at the present state of dry Riesling across the Northern Hemisphere: where it is grown and made, what models and objectives vintners have in mind, and what parameters of grape growing and winemaking are essential when the goal is a delicious dry wine. John Winthrop Haeger explores the history of Riesling to illuminate how this variety emerged from a crowded field of grape varieties grown widely across northern Europe. Riesling Rediscovered is a comprehensive, current, and accessible overview of what many consider to be the world's finest and most versatile white wine.

The Way to Make Wine reveals everything needed to make delicious wines - both reds and whites - from start to finish. Rich with insider know-how, this book divulges the many practical advances made in the past few decades and demonstrates that do-it-yourself winemaking is now simpler and more rewarding than ever. Straightforward illustrations of key tools and steps help make this book one-stop shopping for wine lovers, beer brewers, avid cooks, or anyone who's ever dreamed of producing table wines at home. This updated and expanded edition features: new how-to illustrations; tips and techniques from accomplished professional winemakers; up-to-date information on the rewards and challenges of running natural wine fermentations; and fresh ways to apply your home-brewing knowledge to make remarkable reds and whites. Providing concise, clear, and practical guidance, Sheridan Warrick shows that making your own wine is not only easy but also a pleasure.

This title takes us on a definitive tour through the world of wine, with over 500 photographs, maps and wine labels. This is a globetrotting journey through the world's wine regions, from Bordeaux to Rioja, from the Lebanon to California, and from South Africa's Cape to Australia's Barossa Valley, including notes on the top vintages to look for. It focuses on 12 major grape varieties from Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to Gewurztraminer and Gamay, discussing their aromas, flavours and typical characteristics. It explores the principles of tasting wine - identifying dryness, sweetness, acidity, tannin, oak and fruit - plus how to create your own collection in a cellar, a guide to corkscrews and glasses, how to let wine breathe, and which foods go best with which wines. This is a fully revised and updated edition of a classic reference, with over 460 wine and grape photographs, wine labels and hand-painted maps. Written for those who simply enjoy drinking wine and for connoisseurs looking for a deeper knowledge of a fascinating subject, this book is a comprehensive, authoritative and accessible guide that will provide readers with the confidence and enthusiasm to explore in depth for themselves. Country by country, and region by region, the book journeys around the world to drop in on familiar and lesser-known producers, and studies the world's 12 major grape varieties, describing their aromas and flavours. It is a fully updated major reference on the fascinating world of wines and winemaking.

When things turn out right for Bordeaux, as they frequently do, its wines are sublime. They inspire many thousands of tributes, from Samuel Pepys' succinct reviews to the most rhapsodic of Michael Broadbent's tasting notes - in short, over 300 years of wine writing. On Bordeaux is a collection of the best bits, from our best-loved wine writers, critics and commentators, set around 10 of the themes that make Bordeaux tick. As Jane Anson writes in her introduction: "multi-layered, clear-eyed, moving and often extremely funny [this] collection of stories... celebrates, illuminates and renews our understanding of Bordeaux." * Hugh Johnson, Fiona Beckett and Baron Elie de Rothschild discuss dining out on Bordeaux: how best to serve it, with what and who with. * Mathieu Chadronnier, Christian Seely and Joe Fattorini shed light on the way we see claret today. * Ian Maxwell Campbell extols the virtues of 1871 and 1875, the last great vintages before the phylloxera plague. * Fiona Morrison MW explores Bordeaux's great bounce-back and how the vintage of 1982 changed everything. * John Salvi, Bill Blatch and Peter Vinding-Diers reveal the wines that lead the way to Bordeaux's future. * Joe Fattorini serves up everything you need to know on running the iconic Me doc Marathon. * Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent.

Welcome to The Periodic Table of Wine! Instead of hydrogen to helium, here you'll find Chardonnay to Shiraz - grape varieties and wine names, as you would find wine in shops, arranged following the logical ordering of The Periodic Table of Elements. Wine expert Sarah Rowland has arranged 127 wines by their essential colour, aroma and flavour properties, from white to rose to red and including sparkling, fortified and sweet wines too. The result is an engaging pocket guide to wine that makes navigating wine lists and off-licence shelves hassle free and easy for anyone. Do you tend to stick to what you know and like? Find your favourite wine in the table and, in theory, you should like all the other wines in the same column and also the wines immediately to the left or right, regardless of colour, because they all share characteristics you'll enjoy. Then find out why they are similar, how to enjoy them, what to pair them with and even more wines to try in this expert guide.

Acclaimed importer and wine guru Terry Theise, long known for his top-notch portfolio and his illustrious writing, now offers this opinionated, idiosyncratic, and beautifully written testament to wine. What constitutes beauty in wine, and how do we appreciate it? What role does wine play in a soulful, sensual life? And can wines of place survive in a world of globalized styles and 100-point scoring systems? In his highly approachable style, Theise describes how wine can be a portal to aesthetic, emotional, even mystical experience - and he frankly asserts that these experiences are most likely to be inspired by wines from artisan producers.

"Uncorked" quenches our curiosity about the inner workings of one of the world's most prized beverages. Esteemed for its freshness, vitality, and sensuality, champagne is a wine of great complexity. Mysteries aplenty gush forth with the popping of that cork. Just what is that fizz? Can you judge champagne quality by how big the bubbles are, how long they last, or how they behave before they fade? And why does serving champagne in a long-stemmed flute prolong its chill and effervescence? Through lively prose and a wealth of state-of-the-art photos, this revised edition of "Uncorked" unlocks the door to what champagne is all about.

Providing an unprecedented close-up view of the beauty in the bubbles, Gerard Liger-Belair presents images that look surprisingly like lovely flowers, geometric patterns, even galaxies as the bubbles rise through the glass and burst forth on the surface. He illustrates how bubbles form not on the glass itself but are "born" out of debris stuck on the glass wall, how they rise, and how they pop. Offering a colorful history of champagne, Liger-Belair tells us how it is made and he asks if global warming could spell champagne's demise. In a brand-new afterword, he updates the reader on new developments in the world of bubble science and delves even more deeply into the processes that give champagne its unique and beautiful character.

Bubbly may tickle the nose, but "Uncorked" tackles what the nose and the naked eye cannot--the spectacular science that gives champagne its charm and champagne drinkers immeasurable pleasure."

An all-inclusive, easy-to-use primer to all things wine

Want to learn about wine, but don't know where to start? "Wine All-In-One For Dummies" provides comprehensive information about the basics of wine in one easy-to-understand volume. Combining the bestselling "Wine For Dummies" with our regional and specific wine titles, this book gives you the guidance you need to understand, purchase, drink and enjoy wine.

You'll start at the beginning as you discover how wine is made. From there you'll explore grape varieties and vineyards, read labels and wine lists, and discover all the nuances of tasting wine. You'll see how to successfully store wine and serve it to your guests-and even build up an impressive collection of wine. Plus, you'll find suggestions for perfect food pairings and complete coverage on wines from around the world.Features wine tasting, serving, storing, collecting, and buying tips, all in a single authoritative volumeIncludes information on California wines, as well as other domestic and foreign locations including the US, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina.Helps you choose the best vintage for your needsAlso covers champagne, sherry, and port wineEd McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan are the authors of seven Dummies books on wine including the bestselling "Wine For Dummies, 4th Edition," other contributing authors are recognized wine experts and journalists in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada

Whether you're a wine novice or a budding sommelier, "Wine All-In-One For Dummies" is the one guide you need on your shelf to make your wine experience complete.

Champagne: Wine of Kings and the King of Wines guides you through the astounding history of how this delicious drink became the hallmark of celebrations, commiserations and partying across the globe. It covers the process of making champagne and the vintage years and the special cuvees; the history of champagne; individual entries on all the major Champagne Houses, the lesser estates, co-operatives, growers and variations of sparkling wine; the social and cultural impact of champagne - how it has become a part of certain traditions; by a man with great knowledge of the drinks business, the beautifully illustrated Champagne: Wine of Kings and the King of Wines is for the connoisseur and the newcomer alike.

In this book, Clive Coates, a Master of Wine who has spent four decades of his distinguished career in Burgundy, shares his vast insider's knowledge of one of the world's most exciting, complex, and intractable wine regions. Personal rather than encyclopedic, and informed by Coates' unparalleled access to regular, extensive tastings, this book imparts the author's philosophy and expertise as to how best approach, appreciate, and discuss the wines of Burgundy. Coates updates and supplements the domaine profiles featured in his two previous books, Cote D'Or and The Wines of Burgundy with new in-depth assessments of specific vineyards. Divided into three sections - Vineyard Profiles, Domaine Profiles, and Vintage Assessments - My Favorite Burgundies considers the leading vineyards and today's top estates, and features detailed maps and a wealth of tasting notes that reflect how the wine develops as it ages. Enlivened by Coates' singular, firsthand knowledge and precise descriptions, this is an indispensable guide for amateur and professional enophiles alike.

A professional booze writer whose life spins out of control tries to piece it back together by embarking upon an epic wine-fueled adventure that takes him to every corner of the U.S. Part vision quest, part guidebook, part journey into the bizarre tapestry of American life, it will make you laugh, make you cry and teach you a whole lot about wine. Former Playboy magazine nightlife columnist Dan Dunn has a made a career out of drinking. Yet this man's man-a connoisseur of beer and whiskey-knew next to nothing about one of the major drinks enjoyed the world over: wine. When a fateful tasting experience coincided with a serious existential crisis, Dunn decided to hit the road on a journey of discovery. To quench his thirst for knowledge (and be able to throw down with the experts), he would educate himself about the industry glass by glass, from winery to winery, in nearly every region in the United States. His bold 15,000-mile road trip took Dunn from Sonoma, California, to Pawley's Island, South Carolina, where he twirled, sniffed, and sipped glass after glass of a vast array of wines with vintners, savants, and celebrities, including Kurt Russell and "The Most Interesting Man in the World," Jonathan Goldsmith. Dunn's mission was to transform himself from a heartbroken schlub who barely knew the difference between Merlot and Meritage, into a confident connoisseur capable of wowing others simply by swirling some fermented grape juice around in his mouth and pronouncing it "troubling, yet brilliant." In American Wino, Dunn shares it all-the good, the bad, the sublime. As his wine knowledge grows and becomes more complex, he shares it with the reader in the form of digestible, actionable nuggets in each chapter. It's like a wine-tasting course at your local community college extension program, only with more sex and less crushing despair. An intoxicating blend of travel writing, memoir, and booze journalism that pairs earthy humor with fine wine for hilarious and enlightening results, it is the story of one man's journey to find himself-and everyman's journey to better understand the true spirit of this divine elixir.

Interest in wine has steadily increased in recent years, with people far more sophisticated about wine than they used to be. And, inevitably, those who take a serious interest in wine find themselves asking questions about it that are at heart philosophical.
Questions of Taste is the first book to tackle these questions, illuminating the philosophical issues surrounding our love of wine. Featuring lucid essays by top philosophers, a linguist, a biochemist, and a winemaker and wine critic, this book applies their critical and analytical skills to answer--or at least understand--many thorny questions. Does the experience of wine lie in the glass or in our minds? Does the elaborate language we use to describe wine--alluding to the flavors of cheese or fruit, or to a wine's "suppleness" or "brawniness"---really mean anything at all? Can two people taste one wine in the same way? Does a wine expert enjoy wine more than a novice? These questions and others are not just the concern of the wine lover, but go to the heart of how we think about the world around us--and are the province of the philosopher.
With a foreword by leading wine authority Jancis Robinson (editor of the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to Wine), this volume will be of interest to anyone who thinks seriously about the experience of enjoying wine, as well as those interested in seeing philosophy applied to the world of the everyday.

For many people, wine is an anxiety-inducing mystery as arcane as quantum physics, and with so many varieties, it's difficult to know what to choose. As New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov argues, that puzzling uncertainty often prevents people from buying and ordering wine, depriving them of an exquisite, deeply satisfying experience. In How to Love Wine, Asimov examines why the American wine culture produces such feelings of anxiety and suggests how readers can overcome their fears and develop a sense of discovery and wonder as they explore the diversity and complexity of the world of wine. With warmth, candor, and intelligent authority, Asimov interweaves his professional knowledge and insights with engaging personal stories of his love affair with wine, a lifelong passion that began when he was a graduate student on a budget. In a direct, down-to-earth manner, Asimov discusses favorite vineyards, wine's singular personalities, the tyranny of tasting notes -those meaningless, over-written wine descriptions that often pass for criticism today-and current wine issues. Throughout, he incorporates in-depth discussions of beautiful wines, both easy to find and rare, and pays special attention to those that have been particularly meaningful to him. Thought-provoking and enjoyable, How to Love Wine will help diminish readers' anxiety, bolster their confidence, and transform them into true wine lovers.

Anyone looking for delicious food and wine, stunning landscapes and a warm welcome will find Germany wine country truly delightful. Germany''s different regions have the largest hectarage of vines of any country in Europe. A Traveller's Wine Guide to Germany provides a basic introduction to German wine, from the vineyards to the cellars, with guidelines on what to expect when sampling it. It also takes the wine tourist on a journey through remote areas that are infrequently visited in order to taste the best of German wines. - Itineraries and maps - Local gastronomic specialties - Hundreds of visitor-friendly wineries - Descriptions of local and regional wines - Museums and sightseeing points - Lists of wine festivals and exhibitions - Restaurants, hotels and wine stores - Reference section, websites and glossary

As wine connoisseurs know, Argentine wine was once famously bad. The grapes were overwatered, harvested in brutal heat, fermented in enormous cement pools, aged in antiquated oak vats, and then watered down and adulterated. The final product was industrial plonk, drinkable only on ice. But in 2001, a Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec blend beat Napa and Bordeaux's finest in a blind taste test. Suddenly, Argentina emerged as a premier wine region with a champion varietal-what best-selling author Benjamin Wallace calls "the humble Malbec." How did this happen? Ian Mount's vivid journey through Argentina's Wild West explores the alchemy of weather, soil, and viticulture techniques that, on rare occasions, produce a legendary bottle of wine. He also investigates the dynamics of taste, status, and money that turned Malbec into a worldwide phenomenon. Profiling the larger-than-life figures who fueled the Malbec revolution-including celebrity oenologist Michel Rolland, acclaimed American winemaker Paul Hobbs, and the Mondavi-esque Catena family-Mount describes in colorful detail the brilliant innovations and backroom politics that put Malbec on the map. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the snow-capped Andes and Mendoza's sweeping plains, The Vineyard at the End of the World tells the fascinating, four-hundred-year story of how a wine mecca arose in the Argentine desert. It is at once a sumptuous travel narrative, a riveting history of a fascinating region, and an intriguing business story in which a small group of passionate vintners remade their world.

This illustrated introduction to Chinese wine explores the history of wine production in China, the legends and customs that surround it and its place in China today. Traditionally, Chinese wine and spirits were made from grain, and had three important uses: to perform rituals, to dispel one's worries and to heal. Today, wine is still believed to have a therapeutic benefit, but the Chinese beverage industry has expanded on a large scale and now includes famous brands of beer and, increasingly, vineyards producing red and white wine for global consumption. Chinese Wine is indispensable reading for both wine-lovers and all those with an interest in the transition from traditional to modern Chinese culture.

If you love wine, this book will give you all the knowledge and self-confidence you need to become a world-class wine taster. It reveals in methodical steps exactly how to acquire essential wine-tasting skills. Cees (it's pronounced 'Case') van Casteren is a brilliant scientist, author, and international wine competition judge, as well as one of the global super-elite (less than 500 top experts worldwide) who have been able to earn the supreme title, Master of Wine. Anyone Can Taste Wine first appeared in Dutch and instantly established itself in the Netherlands as far and away the most authoritative and popular book on the subject. From the book's introductory chapter: "Many people typically believe that the ability to taste comes from some kind of inborn, innate aptitude-as though 'taste' were a genetic hand-me-down-something that you either have, or you don't have. But that's not true. "Wine tasting is a skill. Anyone can taste wine, as long as they have normally functioning senses of smell and taste. Anyone (that is) who is motivated to learn and practice-a lot-can become a good wine taster. Genes or no genes. "Much of this skill will involve awareness of how to train your senses. While there are genetic differences between humans in terms of smelling and tasting, these innate differences do not make one taster better than another. Research by taste professor Linda Bartoshuk, previously at the University of Yale, has shown that a wine taster's ability to taste is mainly due to the amount of training that the taster has experienced. Specifically, exercises dedicated to recognizing wine scents and developing an attendant wine language are the main contributing factors in developing wine tasting abilities. The difficulty that most besets inexperienced tasters is a lack of suitable vocabulary that would enable them to name and describe the flavors and scents that they taste and smell. This vital skill, being able to describe flavors and aromas in words, remains a common problem, even for the most experienced of wine tasters. According to Professor Tim Jacob of Cardiff University, a method that will enable you to associate smells and flavors with a suitable repertoire of words will contribute greatly to the enhancement of tasting skills . . . that is . . . you just need a method. The more user-friendly, the easier it will be to learn and remember. And that's exactly what I realized at the start of my Master of Wine studies. The method had to be user-friendly in order to help me to remember all relevant aspects for tasting, describing, and analyzing the wine. In search of these aspects, I started with . . . the wine itself. With this fascinating blend of water (colorless, odorless, tasteless), alcohol (colorless, odorless, slightly sweet), acids, sugars, pigments, aromas, and tannins which together give wine its color, smell, and taste. "And I was quite quick to learn that this very curious and complex combination of color, aromas, alcohol, acids, sugars and tannins actually were the 'relevant aspects' I was looking for, and therefore the targets of my attention while developing a method. The answer to my quest was indeed in the wine itself!"

Home winemaking is an appealing hobby for a new generation of wine lovers lured by the promise of a great payoff - small batches of handmade wine. It's the perfect opportunity to experiment with flavours, have fun playing with chemistry, and share a few tasty bottles with friends and family. But safely fermenting, bottling, and aging wine is a demanding process requiring special equipment, impeccable sanitation, an understanding of chemical reactions, and the patience to see the aging process through to the end. No matter how experienced the home winemaker, unforeseen questions develop with every batch of new wine. When a winemaker has problems with leaky corks or finds an oily film on top of his fermenting wine, what's the simplest, quickest way to get an answer? "The Wine Maker's Answer Book" is a 24 hour helpline with advice on hundreds of wine-making dilemmas. From the basic curiosity of the novice (What equipment will I need to get started?) to the finer points of fermentation (What is the impact of malolactic fermentation on acidity?), every step of the process is covered in detail. Author Alison Crowe uses a friendly question-and-answer format to explain the mysteries of turning grape juice into wine, whether the reader is beginning with fresh grapes or a home wine-making kit. To the straightforward requests for information, she offers detailed descriptions of procedures and equipment. For stickier real-life problems, she first carefully assesses the possible causes and then gives expert advice on fixing the trouble.

Broaden your palate and enhance your appreciation for gourmet flavor combinations withTasting Wine and Cheese. Is there anything better than a great wine and cheese pairing? You might enjoy a robust cabernet with the sharp, aged cheddar, or perhaps a crisp Sancerre with a tangy, creamy chevre. Based on the curriculum Adam Centamore developed teaching at Formaggio Kitchen and the Boston Wine School, Tasting Wine and Cheese guides you through the world of flavor pairing with an emphasis on understanding and developing your own palate. Maitre d 'Fromage Adam Centamore teaches you how to first taste wines and cheeses separately, allowing you to understand the complex profiles of reds, whites, aged, and fresh. But wading through these waters is only half the battle. Tasting Wine and Cheese takes you on a journey through pairings of cheeses with white, red, sparkling, and dessert wines. There is even a section to help you pair condiments with your wine and cheese. Whether you're looking to broaden your appreciation for gourmet combinations or simply looking for a menu to host a party, you'll find everything that you need in this comprehensive guide. "Adam Centamore is a master at making the perfect wine and cheese match. The interactive pairing workshop he teaches is one of our most popular Wine School classes ever." - Jonathan Alsop, founder & executive director of the Boston Wine School and author of Wine Lover's Devotional: 365 Days of Knowledge, Advice and Lore for the Ardent Aficionado "Wine and cheese pairings decoded! In Tasting Wine and Cheese, Adam employs the same approach in this book as he does his classes - comprehensive, fun and filled with practical information for anyone interested in the enjoyment of food. The result is a pairing of its own as both a solid primer and a worthwhile reference for your future wine and cheese pairing adventures." - Tim Bucciarelli - Manager, Formaggio Kitchen