Drinks & Beverages Books

The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

Benjamin Wallace

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Wine & Winemaking
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Collecting

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.

In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux—one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose. Why wouldn’t Rodenstock reveal the exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret?

It would take more than two decades for those questions to be answered and involve a gallery of intriguing players—among them Michael Broadbent, the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women and staked his reputation on the record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent’s elegant archrival, whose palate is covered by a hefty insurance policy; and Bill Koch, the extravagant Florida tycoon bent on exposing the truth about Rodenstock.

Pursuing the story from Monticello to London to Zurich to Munich and beyond, Benjamin Wallace also offers a mesmerizing history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated and of Jefferson’s colorful, wine-soaked days in France, where he literally drank up the culture.

Suspenseful, witty, and thrillingly strange, The Billionaire’s Vinegar is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. It is also the debut of an exceptionally powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction.

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Isa Moskowitz, Terry Romero

Amazon Price: $18.15 List Price: $27.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Da Capo Press Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $17.24

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Diets & Weight Loss -> Diets -> Vegan

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 167 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who knew vegetables could taste so good? Moskowitz and Romero's newest delicious collection makes it easier than ever to live vegan. You'll find more than 250 recipes--plus menus and stunning color photos--for dishes that will please every palate. All the recipes in Veganomicon have been thoroughly kitchen-tested to ensure user-friendliness and amazing results. And by popular demand, the Veganomicon includes meals for all occasions and soy-free, gluten-free, and low-fat options, plus quick recipes that make dinner a snap. Recipes include:

-Autumn Latkes
-Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes
-Grilled Yuca Tortillas
-Baby Bok Choy with Crispy Shallots
-Chile-Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Po' Boy
-Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta
-Jicama-Watercress-Avocado Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette
-Acorn Squash, Pear and Adzuki Soup
-Tomato Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans
-Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto
-Almost All-American Seitan Pot Pie
-Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh
-Black Eyed Pea Collard Rolls
-Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
-Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel

Green for Life

Victoria Boutenko

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Raw Family Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $8.96

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Nutrition
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Personal Health -> Healthy Living

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 108 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Life changing 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I know this sounds quite dramatic, however this book did change life. I lost my cravings for sweets and I gained energy. My digestion and egestion had improved dramately. I have even lost a few pounds (5 lbs).The book was recommended by my brother and now I recommended it to so many people. Drinking puree Kale sounded really gross, however it is quite pleasant. Please give it try, your body will thank you

Powerful 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book. Intelligent, informative, its a fast & easy read...but you'll want to take in all the knowledge she has to share. One of the most important books i've ever read. Enlightening. I am a 60% raw foodest, and enjoy & value the green smoothies that have become a big part of my diet. Highly recommended!

Editorial Review:

In search of the perfect human diet, Victoria Boutenko compares the standard American diet with the diet of wild chimpanzees. Chimpanzees share an estimated 99.4% of genes with humans, but their diet is dramatically different from ours. The most glaring difference is that chimpanzees consume significantly more green leaves than humans. Victoria developed a series of greens smoothies that enable anyone to consume the necessary amount of greens in a very palatable way.

Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis

Kingsley Amis

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bloomsbury USA Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $11.59

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Gastronomy -> Essays
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Funny, thorough -- and bittersweet 4 out of 5 stars.
19 of 22 people found this review helpful.

If you want a funny and thorough handbook on drinking, this one's for you. I liked the book, but as an infrequent drinker I found myself floundering in its depths. Even when I was in over my head, though, I enjoyed the late author's wit and wry humor.

There's a lot in this little book. An encyclopedic collection of three previously published essays, it covers everything from which wine goes with fondue (Neuchåtel will help you "force it down") to how to handle a hangover (drink more alcohol). There are dozens of drink recipes, and the back has a series of funny quizzes, each on a different type of alcoholic beverage.

But in the end, all this attention and intelligence devoted to drinking left me a little sad. Here was a man with such a graceful way with words, yet he spent so much time drinking or recovering from drinking. Indeed, the introduction mentions that "the booze got to him in the end, and robbed him of his wit and charm as well as of his health." What a shame.

On that jolly note, here's the chapter list:

I. On Drink
Introduction
Drinking Literature
Actual Drinks
Tools of the Trade
The Store Cupboard
First Thoughts on Wine
Further Thoughts on Wine
Wine Shopper's Guide
What to Drink with What
Abroad
Mean Sod's Guide (Incorporating Mean Slag's Guide)
The Hangover
The Boozing Man's Diet
How Not to Get Drunk

II. Every Day Drinking

III. How's Your Glass?
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
Quizzes:
Wine -- Elementary
Wine -- Intermediate
Wine -- Advanced
Wine -- France
Wine -- Germany
Wine -- Italy, Spain, Portugal
Wine -- Others
Beer in General
Beer in Particular
Vodka
Aperitifs and Such
Gin
Liqueurs
Rum
Cognac and Armagnac
Brandy (One Step Down)
Distillation
Minor Spirits
Scotch Whiskey I
Scotch Whiskey II
Whiskies and Whiskeys
Port
Sherry
Madeira, Marsala and Others
Cocktails and Mixed Drinks
Inventors and Inventions
Pousse-Café I
Pousse-Café II
Pousse-Café III
Alcohol and Your Interior

Editorial Review:

A gift for anyone who loves good liquor and high-proof prose: a collection of hilarious and deeply informed writings about drink from one of the all-time authorities.
Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject. Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) the book includes Amis’s musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man’s Diet, What to Drink with What, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk—all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humor and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.

How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time

John J. Palmer

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Brewers Publications Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $12.09

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 55 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

All you need to start homebrewing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Very simple to read. Has diagrams, pictures and simple to follow instructions. It even has sections ranging from beginner to expert brewer. I learned everything I needed to know about home brewing from this book.

Good book for the new brewer - with some basic knowledge 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Being a rookie homebrewer, I found the book to be very helpful. It basically takes you through everything you need to know to brew your first batch, and it helps you improve it and understand what might have gone wrong.
I wouldn't recommend it as the first thing you read when starting up, as you need some basic knowledge in order to fully benefit from the book. But it's really helpful, especially once you've brewed a few batches.

Indispensible 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is undoubtedly the best single-volume resource for homebrewers. Whether you're just starting out with your first kit extract beer, or whether you're a relatively advanced all-grain brewer, this book is terrific. Lots of illustrated step by step guides to get you going on the right track, and innumerable and invaluable conversion charts, graphs, and other resources that you will return to again and again. Indispensible.

Editorial Review:

Everything needed to brew beer right the first time. Presented in a light-hearted style without frivolous interruptions, this authoritative text introduces brewing in a easy step-by-step review.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

Julia Flynn Siler

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Agricultural

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 55 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Interesting tale, but poorly written 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Only a writer with cloth ears would start a sentence with "As well, ..." Ms. Siler does so at least 50 times in this book. I cringed every time.

As well, she devotes far too much space to irrelevant minutiae. See what I mean?

The real Falcon Crest 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book to read if you have interest in the Mondavi wine business. My interest was piqued after a recent trip to the Napa/Sonoma wine region and visiting the Opus Winery, amongst others. Mondavi is a legend in the California wine business and after reading Robert Mondavi's book entitled Harvests of Joy: How the Good Life Became Great Business I was further drawn to learn more about the family story. In Harvests of Joy: How the Good Life Became Great Business Robert Mondavi tells his side of the story but in this meticulously researched book the big picture is further explained and goes deep into the demise of the wine empire. The ins and outs of the busines, complete with sordid stories, success and faillures, makes this book an epic tale of a family in turmoil. The conflicts between the elder brothers, the Robert Mondavi heir brothers, Michael and Timothy is given an impartial reporting that is refreshing. The book does focus primarily on the fall of the Mondavi empire but it is done in such a way that the background information on the rise of the empire puts everything into perspective. The contributions to the wine industry cannot be denied and the author acknowledges the innovations and techniques the Mondavi family brought to making wine, as well as making Caifornia wine world renowned and mass consumed. The expansion of the business to other parts of the world is quite interesting. It is a tragic story in the end as big business takes over the Mondavi name but not before many years of drama, which Julia Flynn Siler so eloquently describes. If you are interested in the Mondavi story this book is without question the one to read. The book has two sets of pictures that put faces on the characters in this real life soap opera. It is a very satisfying read that leaves you thirsting for more every time you stop reading it. Check it out, highly recommended, especially if you are a wine enthusiast or a person involved in business.

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built—and then lost—a global wine empire Set in California’s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. A meticulously reported narrative based on more than five hundred hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is a modern classic.

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

Ani Phyo

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Da Capo Press Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $12.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 77 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Greasy Recipes 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book hoping that it would provide some new and interesting recipes. I have been preparing healthy raw meals for over 2 years. I have a few problems with Any's book: (1) All her recipes use lots of oil and nuts, and many of them a lot of sugar, and therefore they are ultra-high in calories, (2) Most of her recipes are from other cookbooks (not much of originality), (3) I find it very unappealing to see Any's photos on every other page instead of pictures of deliciously cooked food. Honestly, the book from Jennifer Cornbleet is much better for simple, delicious and light raw meals.

Editorial Review:

This is the ultimate gourmet, living foods "uncookbook" for busy people. You don't have to sacrifice taste or style to reap the benefits of raw foods. These delectable, easy recipes emphasize fresh, animal-free ingredients and how to include more organics into your daily diet. Chef Ani offers delicious raw, animal-free versions of: breakfast scrambles, pancakes, chowders, bisques, and other soups, cheezes, mylks, lasagna, burgers, cobblers, pies, and cakes, and more. Included are recipes for dishes such as Stuffed Anaheim Chili with Mole Sauce, Ginger Almond Nori Roll, Coconut Kreme Pie with Carob Fudge on Brownie Crust, Mediterranean Dolmas, and Chicken-Friendly Spanish Scramble. Make your own kitchen more living-foods friendly with Chef Ani's tips on Essential tools, Key ingredients, Stocking your pantry, and How-to kitchen skills.

The Bartender's Black Book, Eighth Edition: 2,800 New and Classic Recipes

Stephen Kittredge Cunningham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Compact drinks book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a very good drinks book with lot of drinks, and listed by types of drinks eg if you got a bottle of vodka you can fine about 50 drinks that can be made from that single bottle with the exception of a few other ingredients that have to be bought. The only down side there isn't any pictures to see how the drinks should look.

Editorial Review:

Easy to use: Designed with your convenience in mind. Index by ingredient: Find all of the drinks made with your favorite spirits. Over 2,800+ recipies Spiral Binding: Allows this bar guide to lie flat, open to your drink selection while you mix it. Martini Section: Complete list of martinis. Mixing instructions: How to mix them. Garnishes: The finishing touches. Expanded Wine Section: Serious wine info! 150 of the HOTTEST New Drinks EXPANDED Glossary and Beer Section COGNAC Guide Weights and Measures Shooters Floaters and Frozen Drinks Dessert Drinks Mixing Techniques MORE advice for the professional bartender PLUS: Robert M. Parker Speaks On Wine! Glossary of Wine Terms Wine Rating System Latest Vintage Guide The Worlds Greatest Wine Values

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods

Sandor Ellix Katz

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Chelsea Green Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $15.44

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Spirits

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods is the first cookbook to widely explore the culinary magic of fermentation. "Fermentation has been an important journey of discovery for me," writes author Sandor Ellix Katz. "I invite you to join me along this effervescent path, well trodden for thousands of years yet largely forgotten in our time and place, bypassed by the superhighway of industrial food production." The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes-some familiar, others exotic-that are easy to make at home. The book covers vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and sour pickles; bean ferments including miso, tempeh, dosas, and idli; dairy ferments including yogurt, kefir, and basic cheesemaking (as well as vegan alternatives); sourdough bread-making; other grain fermentations from Cherokee, African, Japanese, and Russian traditions; extremely simple wine- and beer-making (as well as cider-, mead-, and champagne-making) techniques; and vinegar-making. With nearly 100 recipes, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fermentation cookbook ever published.

The World Atlas of Wine: Completely Revised and Updated, Sixth Edition (World Atlas of Wine)

Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Buying Guides
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Wine & Winemaking

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Hailed by critics worldwide as “extraordinary” and “irreplaceable,” there are few volumes that have had as monumental an impact in their field as Hugh Johnson’s The World Atlas of Wine: sales have exceeded four million copies, and it is now published in thirteen languages.
World-renowned authors Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson once again combine their unrivalled talents to enhance this masterpiece of wine knowledge. There are now 48 extra pages, including 17 new color illustrations, 20 new maps, and—for the first time ever—double page spreads and full-page photos in the atlas section for maximum visual impact. New World coverage has been extended for both Australia and South America; some New World regions even have their own entries for the first time, including Rutherford, Oakville, and Stag’s Leap from California; Mendoza (Argentina); Limestone Coast (Australia); Central Otago and Martinborough (New Zealand); and Constantia (South Africa). And Old World coverage has grown too, with the addition of Toro (Spain), the Peleponnese (Greece), and Georgia. It’s a truly incomparable book, and an essential addition to every wine lover’s or professional’s library.