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.

"Thoughtfully conceived and very well written, this is essential somm reading."-The Somm Journal "This is the most important wine book of the year, perhaps in many years."-The Seattle Times "Crisply written, impeccably researched, balanced if fundamentally enthusiastic, scholarly but accessible, and full of unexpected details and characters."-The World of Fine Wine No wine category has seen more dramatic growth in recent years than American Rhone-variety wines. Winemakers are devoting more energy, more acreage, and more bottlings to Rhone varieties than ever before. The flagship Rhone red, Syrah, is routinely touted as one of California's most promising varieties, capable of tremendous adaptability as a vine, wonderfully variable in style, and highly expressive of place. There has never been a better time for American Rhone wine producers. American Rhone is the untold history of the American Rhone wine movement. The popularity of these wines has been hard fought; this is a story of fringe players, unknown varieties, and longshot efforts finding their way to the mainstream. It's the story of winemakers gathering sufficient strength in numbers to forge a triumph of the obscure and the brash. But, more than this, it is the story of the maturation of the American palate and a new republic of wine lovers whose restless tastes and curiosity led them to Rhone wines just as those wines were reaching a critical mass in the marketplace. Patrick J. Comiskey's history of the American Rhone wine movement is both a compelling underdog success story and an essential reference for the wine professional.