Wine critic and writer Steve Heimoff, inspired by Robert Benson's "Great Winemakers of California" (1977), traversed the state of California to record lively and informative conversations with more than two dozen winemakers and grape growers who represent today's leaders and visionaries. While Benson's book captured a wine industry on the brink of exponential growth and recognition, Heimoff surveys a multibillion-dollar business with a global reputation and new issues to face. Heimoff has followed this industry for more than twenty-five years, visiting all parts of the state and monitoring changing styles and trends, and his interviews provide an oral history of contemporary California winemaking. He reveals the personalities, intellects, philosophies, and passions of the individual winemakers, as well as their opinions on recent high-alcohol vintages, globalization, and the 'cult' wine phenomenon. Through this intimate and engaging book, wine lovers can sit in on the back and forth as Heimoff and his vintner subjects talk informally about their favorite subject: wine. The interviewees include: John Alban, Mark Aubert, Heidi Peterson Barrett, Andy Beckstoffer, Greg Brewer, Merry Edwards, Elias Fernandez, Gina Gallo, Rolando Herrera, Genevieve Janssens, Kathy Joseph, Greg La Follette, Adam and Dianna Lee, Dan Morgan Lee, Bob Levy, Rick Longoria, Javier Tapia Meza, Gary, Jeff, and Mark Pisoni, Kent Rosenblum, Ted Seghesio, Doug Shafer, Justin Smith, Tony Soter, Brian Talley, Michael Terrien, Randy Ullom, Margo van Staaveren, and Bill Wathan.

As the global wine industry reinvents itself for twenty firstOCocentury palates, Washington is poised to become as important and influential as California on the world stage. National and international attention has brought interest in the stateOCOs wines to an all-time high. Yet, in just the past few years, a tidal wave of change has rolled over the stateOCOs wine industry. To keep wine enthusiasts thoroughly up to date, Paul Gregutt has now completely revised and expanded his critically acclaimed guide to WashingtonOCOs best grapes, vineyards, wines, winemakers, and wineries. With twice as many winery and vineyard profiles, updated tasting notes, and new recommended producers for each grape variety, this edition of "Washington Wines and Wineries" will continue to be the definitive reference on the subject."

After 20 years of being the ultimate do-it-yourself wine cellar guide in America, this best-selling title is now available in the UK.Worried that your beloved Montrachet is coveting the 50-degree embrace of another's cellar? Think one of your own is out of reach? The classic naturally air-conditioned wine-cellar construction guide is now revised and updated for the modern wine collector who wants or needs a wine cellar but lacks the means to fund a massive renovation, or has do-it-yourself-ness in the blood.The book begins with how to plan for optimum humidity and temperature with a discussion on the best positioning (key to a passive system that takes advantage of an existing structure's natural cooling capabilities and keeping temperature fluctuation to a minimum) and insulation.Section two outlines, step-by-step and with detailed diagrams, every level and aspect of construction, including building of racks and storage bins.Section three is all about the art and science of selecting, recording, tracking and enjoying your wines at their peak performance.

Hundreds of easy-to-scan tips in everyday language let time-starved readers find quick answers.
Most people who enjoy wine would like to know more about it, to feel confident in what they like and why, to know the "lingo." Wine lover and writer Wes Marshall helps readers explore the world of wine, offering plainspoken explanations to wine questions that most people have but are hesitant to ask no question is too simple, no answer too advanced.
Like earlier titles in the series, such as the best-selling "What's a Cook to Do?," this book offers empowering information in question-and-answer format with pronunciation guides, charts, maps, and step-by-steps plus the best-bang-for-your-buck wine recommendations from well-known experts. Is Barolo a grape or a place? What do wine scores mean? What about sniffing the cork and which glasses to use? In this newest book in the "What s a to Do?" series, Wes Marshall presents his years of wine experience and insider tips in everyday language that makes wine approachable and knowable.

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Sure, drinking wine is all fun and good times, but learning about it isn't always as easy. With Grasping the Grape, Maryse Chevriere seeks to be like that friend from school you went to for help because they took the best notes in class (complete with visuals). Featuring profiles of more than 30 of the world's most prominent grapes, this guide to wine gives you the quick download on all the essentials: What the variety tastes like, where it's grown, what wines it's known for, what to drink it with, how to describe it and which other grapes to explore if you're a fan. Because when it comes down to it, learning the grapes is the best way to start your journey into wine.

In Grasping the Grape, you'll also find information on key beginner wine drinking topics like how to become a better shopper and FAQs about rosé, as well as a handy plan of action for food and wine pairing, and a drinking game to help you become a sharper taster. If you weren't grasping for a glass of wine before, you will be after this.

"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."

Americans learned how to make wine successfully about two hundred years ago, after failing for more than two hundred years. Thomas Pinney takes an engaging approach to the history of American wine by telling its story through the lives of 13 people who played significant roles in building an industry that now extends to every state. While some names - such as Mondavi and Gallo - will be familiar, others are less well known. These include the wealthy Nicholas Longworth, who produced the first popular American wine; the German immigrant George Husmann, who championed the native Norton grape in Missouri and supplied rootstock to save French vineyards from phylloxera; Frank Schoonmaker, who championed the varietal concept over wines with misleading names; and, Maynard Amerine, who helped make UC Davis a world-class winemaking school.

Since its first publication in 1920, George Saintsbury's classic "Notes on a Cellar-Book" has remained one of the greatest tributes to drink and drinking in the literature of wine. A collection of tasting notes, menus, and robust opinions, the work is filled with anecdotes and recollections of wines and spirits consumed - from the heights of Romanee-Conti to the simple pleasures of beer, flip, and mum. Thomas Pinney brings this unique work alive for contemporary audiences by providing the keys to a full understanding of "Notes on a Cellar-Book" in a new edition that includes explanatory endnotes, an essay on the book's legacy, and additional articles on wine by Saintsbury.