Wine Books - Page 13

Great Tastes Made Simple

Andrea Immer

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

Editorial Review:

The author of Great Wine Made Simple now adds great eating to her repertoire, showing how to enhance the flavor of even the most casual meals with winning wine selections.

Most wine experts’ advice on wine and food pairings consists of rigid rules that apply largely to haute cuisine and luxury wines. But, in her trademark accessible style, Andrea Immer now takes the mystery out of choosing wine for food–and vice versa. Great Tastes Made Simple unlocks the secrets of basic food tastes–sweet, earthy, savory, buttery, tart, and spicy–and their particular wine affinities.

Giving even ordinary meals extraordinary flavor, Immer shows readers how to bring the flavor alchemy of wine to everyday fare from burgers (with Zinfandel) to macaroni and cheese (with Rioja Crianza). She calls Pinot Grigio her “tuna helper” and likes barbecued brisket with Valpolicella. There’s also plenty of more sophisticated eating, including smoked salmon and Riesling; asparagus hollandaise and Champagne; wild mushroom risotto and California Pinot Noir, to name a few upscale matches. In fact, there isn’t a food or category of food–including a panoply of cheeses, ethnic foods, and desserts–for which Immer doesn’t provide a match and the reasons why they work so well. Chart of mouthwatering pairings and an easy-to-use index make finding wonderful wine and food combinations a snap.

Zeroing in on “wine-loving food”–those flavors, textures, and cooking techniques that truly dazzle when paired with wine–Immer demonstrates how to get the maximum enjoyment out of every food and wine encounter. A selection of twenty recipes–Low Country Shrimp and Grits (think Chardonnay), Beet Risotto (Pinot Noir), Short Rib Ragù (brawny reds), and Warm Chocolate Torte (Madeira)–provides delicious examples of wine-loving dishes and cooking techniques that will become part of every wine-loving cook’s repertoire.

Invaluable in restaurant settings and at home, this innovative guide can make every meal a cause for celebration.

Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits

Harold J. Grossman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Get up to speed on spirits in 600 pages 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

There may be more recent books focused on wine or beer, but this is the most comprehensive guide to alcoholic beverages in general. Tired of listening to a couple of colleagues discussing a subject that I knew nothing about, I read this fascinating book, and soon turned the tables: until I showed them evidence, they simply would not believe that Amaretto was made made from apricot pits rather than almonds! Many other products, like Spanish sherry, have interesting details and histories that I had never suspected. About the organization, roughly one-third is devoted to wines (a chapter per country), one-third to other alcoholic beverages, and one-third to technical advice and appendices on menu-planning, storage, vintages, etc. A highly enjoyable and informative book, very nicely balanced.

Editorial Review:

Turn to Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits for quick answers to your questions about any alcoholic beverage and for insights into the history and origins of liquor. Whether you're looking for technical advice or interesting conversation pieces, this resource is sure to meet all of your needs.

North American Pinot Noir

John Winthrop Haeger

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Pinot noir, the famously elegant, sexy, and capricious red grape of Burgundy, is finally producing impressive wines in North America. Credit talented winemakers, enthusiastic restaurateurs, and consumers in search of alternatives to cabernet and zinfandel. Considered perhaps the ultimate food wine, pinot noir has an allure based on its special combination of aromas, flavors, and mouthfeel; on its legendary capacity to reflect the terroir where it is grown; and on its reputation for being hard to grow and make. This is the definitive work on pinot noir in North America. A comprehensive reference for winemakers and aficionados as well as a sourcebook for casual enthusiasts, it includes extensive historical and viticultural background on pinot noir in the New World and profiles of six dozen prominent producers in California, Oregon, British Columbia, and New York.
John Winthrop Haeger, known for his perceptive wine writing for more than fifteen years, gives contextual and comparative information about pinot noir in Burgundy and then tells the story of wine producers' early failures, frustrations, and breakthroughs in North America. He discusses plant genetics and clones, identifies the essential conditions for really good pinot, tells where the best wines are grown and made, and analyzes the factors that determine wine styles and signatures. In the second part of the book, he presents detailed producer profiles with accessibly written tasting notes on recent and mature vintages. A final section covers glassware, vintages, wine and food pairings, and other matters of interest to consumers. Maps prepared especially for this book cover all the major pinot-producing regions in North America.

101 Champagne Cocktails

Kim Haasarud

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The perfect choice for anyone searching for just the right champagne drink 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Written by the founder of beverage consulting and specialty cocktail firm Liquid Architecture, 101 Champagne Cocktails lives up to its titles with one hundred and one exotic alcoholic recipes. From Black Cherry Champagne to Sparkling Apple Cocktail, Stormy Ginger Fizz, Golden Banana, Sparkling Mocha Truffle, and much more, 101 Champagne Cocktails features beautiful color photography on almost every two-page spread, and easy-to-follow directions. The perfect choice for anyone searching for just the right champagne drink, whether to go with an appetizer, main course, or simply as a dessert cocktail.

Editorial Review:

"Corks popping, frothy liquid flowing, a cold crispy freshness . . . nothing quite so perfectly reflects the notion of 'the best in life.' This is a book for celebrants. It's a book for romantics. It's a book for the entertainerwho wants a light, fresh concoction that can bring people together to accent the joys of the day. So break out the bubbly and toast!"
-From 101 Champagne Cocktails

One Hundred and One Beautiful Towns in France: Food & Wine (101 Towns)

Simonetta Greggio

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Beautifully illustrated as well as informative, One Hundred & One Beautiful Towns in France: Food and Wine explores the local delicacies of a country known for and proud of its love of food and wine. Organized by region, this book features a wonderful sampling of French plaisirs de la table and the shops and markets where you can find them. The classic dishes and drink of France are as remarkably varied as its many different regions: Quench your thirst with a glass of calvados, the heady apple brandy that Normandy is known for; reach "land’s end" or Finistère, in Brittany, and enjoy a galette, a savory buckwheat crêpe stuffed with ham and cheese or mushrooms and lobster; don’t miss the vendange (harvest) in romantic Burgundy or a simple, hearty meal of boeuf bourguignon; in scenic Alsace enjoy a piping-hot flammekueche, a tart of local cheeses, speck, and onions. A thorough appendix provides useful addresses and phone numbers to accommodate planning your trip, including hotel listings, restaurants, wineries, and shops. Sidebars give information on local delicacies to be tasted and imbibed, as well as where to find the choicest goods.

Matt Kramer's Making Sense Of Italian Wine

Matt Kramer

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

Veni, vidi, vini 3 out of 5 stars.
26 of 26 people found this review helpful.

This is the most recent addition to Matt Kramer's "Making Sense" series of wine books. If you've read any of the others, you know that the dumbed-down "Making Sense" tag is a bit of a misnomer. The original Making Sense of Wine is one of the most intellectual wine books ever written, with thoughtful chapters on the nature of connoisseurship, the importance of typicity of place, and wine's changing role at the dinner table throughout history. And then there is Kramer's rare, inexplicably out-of-print Making Sense of Burgundy, which costs north of $100 if you can find it... rather like a prized Burgundy itself.

For better or worse, Making Sense of Italian Wine doesn't continue this deceptive labeling. It's organized like a buyer's guide for beginners and indeed Kramer states flatly in the introduction: "This book is not intended for wine lovers who are already deeply knowledgeable about Italian wines.... Instead, this book is for relative newcomers to Italian wines. It's for everyone who has enjoyed a bottle recommended to them in an Italian restaurant and would like a little guidance about how to go about having another such delicious experience."

The majority of the book consists of overviews of about 40 different types of Italian wine, broken down, for each category, into a brief history, a list of recommended producers, an overview of the cuisine typically served with the wines in Italy, various vital stats, and references to similar wine types. The culinary descriptions are particularly refreshing because they don't degenerate into any of the customary voodoo about what micro-elements in the wine and food "pair" with each other in whatever barely noticeable ways. Instead, Kramer just describes, quite evocatively, what the locals eat, so the result is a small lesson in culture rather than the usual dinner-table dogma.

The 40 wine categories cover about as much breadth as you can expect in a book of 250 pages without very much depth for any particular type. (Big guns like Barolo get 20 pages tops, mostly producer descriptions.) It's tempting to skip through a lot of this, but the fact is that Kramer has a real knack for isolating distinctive producers and tying their wine into the kind of story you want to retell to your friends when you have a glass of it in front of you. There's Saracco's Moscato d'Asti, for example, which Kramer describes as the closest thing on the commercial market to the genuine old-time Moscato d'Asti--the kind that was filtered through a sock and would often spontaneously explode in producers' cellars. If every chapter had a recommendation as on the mark and interesting as that one, the book would be indispensable, but unfortunately a lot of chapters seem to cry out for more flesh on the bones.

The three introductory essays are the emotional heart of the book in that they reveal Kramer having a real passion for the subject, rather than just a lot of expertise. The first is titled "Bella Figura--The Italian Love of the Beautiful Gesture" and is a warm account of the Italian obsession for the seemingly insignificant flourish designed to project the perfect image. For some producers, their "bella figura" is a fancy label or a heavy bottle; for others it's new oak barrels--"except for those traditionalist producers who, in a kind of jujitsu move, make the absence of small oak barrels their bella figura." Seen that way, suddenly it makes sense how both approaches can seem quintessentially Italian.

Editorial Review:

Matt Kramer, longtime Wine Spectator columnist and author of the classic Making Sense series of wine books, now turns his palate toward Italy. Though Italian wine is the most popular wine among consumers, it remains puzzling to most wine lovers who wouldn’t know a Barolo from a Barbaresco. Though shrouded in mystery, Italian wine has some of the most exciting and affordable varieties being produced today. Kramer is a trusted companion in the wine store, telling his readers the essentials: which wines can’t be missed, and which are safe to skip. Organized like a “Shopper’s Guide,” this unique book offers the lowdown on the most dazzling wines in every price range-their regions, traditions, and which foods to match with them. With Kramer’s trademark wit and intelligence, here is an invaluable tool to finding treasures in the local wine shop.

French Wine (Eyewitness Companions)

Robert F. Joseph

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A most helpful and slim reference book 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I have bought the latest edition (2005) of this title as well as the previous one published in 1999. This is one of the most helpful reference books on the world of French wines that you can find on the bookshelves today. The book is attractive in its size (handy), layout (very easy to locate chapter titles, topic headings, etc.), illustrations (touring maps, appellation maps in nice colours and quick to understand key), succinct text (giving you enough and relevant information). The alphabetical division of the book into the major wine-making regions of France and within each chapter, the alphabetical listing of the different sub-appellations and wines makes it really practical and a most handy and quick reference when you are searching for a particular fact or need useful information on a particular French wine or region. I highly recommend this title if you are looking for a very informative, easy to use (ie. user friendly), helpful, slim, well written book on French wines with incisive and authoritative information and comments. The author's knowledge of his subject is both deep and wide and he conveys this in an accesible manner.

The Best Cellar

Jeff Smith

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Stuff for the Wine Lover Unorganized or Not 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

As most of my friends and family know, I love wine. I most partial to the Cabs, BUT if the mood and food call for it I like a Shiraz too. However, they also know I'm too busy to keep anything in any kind of order. This book is great. Offering insight to collectors and how to keep inventory. I am now proud of collection and more importantly I know what's in it. The Best Cellar is smart, funny, and great for any wine lover from a 'perfectionist' to a 'wannabe'.

Practical but off-putting 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Beyond the valuable practical advice offered in this book, particularly in using Excel to organize a wine collection, and helpful delineation of wine collector "types", I was put off by the obvious focus on über expensive wines and the sexist nature of many of the comments and stories.

Editorial Review:

If it happens in a wine cellar, Jeff Smith has done it. As owner-operator of Carte du Vin, the country's leading wine cellar management company, Smith knows his wine. In THE BEST CELLAR, he lays out step-by-step advice on how to buy and sell, how to maintain your collection, and how to prepare a Carte du Vin wine cellar inventory. A must-have book for wine lovers, his adventures in the wine trade make for an insightful and riotously funny read.

The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective

Robert M. Parker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Over the past twenty-five years, renowned critic Robert M. Parker, Jr., has visited both legendary and fledgling wineries all over the world and has tasted hundreds of thousands of wines. Only a fraction of those wines have earned his highest ratings and are considered by him to be truly legendary. In his latest book, Parker brings together what he calls "the best of the best," taking readers on a personal tour of the wineries that have impressed him most with their dedication to quality, consistency, and excellence.

The World's Greatest Wine Estates pays homage to exceptional wines and the exceptional people who make them. These lavishly illustrated pages showcase 175 of the world's most accomplished -- and most spectacular -- estates. Parker goes be-yond the labels, bottles, and ratings to present the land, the history, and the dedicated artisans practicing their craft. Though they form a wildly diverse group, all of these producers "share an inexhaustible commitment to their vineyards, a passion to produce as fine a wine as is humanly possible, and a vision that the joys of wine are infinite and represent the pinnacle of a civilized society."

Parker begins with an overview of what makes a wine great -- the ability to please both the palate and the intellect, to offer intense aromas and flavors without heaviness, to improve with age, to reflect its place of origin as well as the skill of its producers -- and explains how he came to choose the profound wines he features here. He also offers insider tips for ordinary wine-lovers who want to get their hands on extraordinary bottles.

The heart of the book contains profiles of the greatest estates of Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Each region is illustrated with a full-color map and accompanied by an introduction explaining the general wine history of the country. In his profiles of individual estates, Parker offers essential geographical information such as grape varietals, average age of the vines, and density of plantation; details about the estate's history and techniques and the wines it produces; visiting information for those who want to see the process up close; and tasting notes on the best recent vintages from each winery. Each profile also includes photographs of the vineyards and the people behind the wines, and labels from their best-known vintages.

Complete with a list of up-and-coming wineries ("Future Stars") and a glossary of wine terms, The World's Greatest Wine Estates is a very special reference for amateurs and connoisseurs alike.

One Hundred & One Beautiful Towns in Italy: Food and Wine (101 Towns)

Paolo Lazzarin

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

More than any other country in the world, it is Italy that we turn to for gastronomic inspiration. 101 Beautiful Towns of Italy: Food and Wine takes readers along on a one-of-a-kind tour through the tantalizing tastes of Italy's varied landscape to explore hilltop and seaside towns, where the flavors of Italy scent the air, a good meal is considered the highest form of art, and a fine bottle of wine is never hard to come by. In Alba, savor the refined taste of the white truffle accompanied by a hearty glass of Barolo. Head to Parma for a sampling of prosciutto di Parma, and don't forget to pick up a wheel of parmigiano-reggiano. Travel to the hills of Tuscany, where a glass of red Vino Nobile di Montepulciano accompanies your meal of filetto d'anatra con tartufo (truffled duck breast) and to Campania, home of Naples, the Amalfi coastline, and, of course, pizza, in its many forms, but almost always topped with mozzarella di bufala. Descriptive sidebars key readers in to the best restaurants in town, where to buy the ingredients to prepare the dishes featured (and where to shop for the wine to accompany them) as well as tips on what to see during a visit. A sprinkling of recipes rounds out this information-packed resource. Included is an appendix with in-depth listings to help travelers plan their culinary journeys: what wine cellars to visit, where to dine, and how to navigate a busy market.Whether you're an armchair traveler or an Italophile planning another trip, this volume provides an excellent guide.