Wine & Winemaking Books - Page 7

The Foods and Wines of Spain

Penelope Casas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Essential Reference on Spanish Cuisine and Wines 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 14 people found this review helpful.

`The Foods and Wines of Spain' by culinary journalist Penelope Casas was the only comprehensive coverage of Spanish cuisine when it was published at the urging of Craig Claiborne in 1979 and it is probably still the only book in English which aims at covering the entire range of Spanish cuisine. As such, it stands among some of the other notable American books on national cuisines such as Diane Kochilas `The Glorious Foods of Greece', Jean Anderson's smaller book on `The Food of Portugal', Marcella Hazan's `Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking' and the granddaddy of them all, Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. Casas shares in this tradition by being published by Child's publisher, Knopf, and having the same distinguished cookbook editor, Judith Jones. Since I have never seen an unattractive book published by Alfred E. Knopf, I am certain this book benefits from this association.

Casas organizes her book by types of dishes, using the usual hodgepodge of type meaning when served and type meaning principle ingredient. The fourteen chapters on ingredients / servings are:

`Tapas', slightly misleading, as classic tapas dishes such as the famous `tortilla Espanola' appears under egg dishes. If your primary interest is in Tapas, get Casas recent book devoted entirely to this subject.
`Embutidos, Pasteles Y Empanadas', or sausages pates, and pies is one of the most convincing arguments that this book covers the whole range of Spanish cooking, as it includes doable recipes for making many classic Spanish Charcuterie such as chorizo. It also contains several very nice empanada recipes that show off one of many differences between Spanish and Mexican cooking. In Mexico, judging by a recipe by Rick Bayless, `empanadas' are just a bit larger than raviolis. In Spain, `empanadas' are much more like calzones.
`Ensaladas' Salads, including a claim that it was the Spanish and not the French who invented Mayonnaise.
`Verduras Y Legumbres' Vegetables, showing the importance of potatoes in Spanish cooking. This is historically obvious, as the Spanish brought potatoes along with all the other New World produce back to Europe.
`Sopas Y Potajes' Soups and Meals in a Pot, very similar to the northern Italian love of ministre.
`Huevos Y Tortillas' Eggs and Egg dishes. Evidence that there are many great Spanish frittatas.
`Arroces' Rice dishes, including several types of Paella. `Please use Spanish Rice'
`Mariscos' Shellfish, with as much love of mussels as the French, it seems.
`Pescados' Fish, including several bacalo (dried, salted cod) recipes and fish steaks.
`Aves Y Caza', Poultry and Game, with the usual European love of rabbit, partridge, and other wild things.
`Carnes' Almost a copy of the Italian cuisine with pork, lamb, and veal. Maybe a bit more lamb than Italia.
`Panes, Bollos Y Masas', Breads and Pastries. While I am sure this is not a complete survey of Spanish bread baking, I am just a little surprised that there is no mention of baking with wild yeasts so popular in French and Italian baking. On the other hand, there is the distinction, as in France, between bakeries that specialize in bread and shops that specialize in pastries. While almonds run through all of Spanish cuisine, it is in baking where it comes together with egg whites and puff pastry to form an especially strong affinity with Austrian baking traditions. I am not sure whether this is because these two countries shared interaction with Moorish culture or whether the countries shared the same royal house, the Hapsburgs, for many generations, or a combination of both, but it is little discoveries like this which make culinary anthropology really fascinating.
`Postres' Desserts, sharing the Italian interest in sweetened fruits above most other dishes, plus marzipan and many other almond preparations.
`Bebidas' Sangria, almonds, coffee, citrus, and almonds.

Almost all main course protein dishes include a suggestion pairing the dish with an appropriate Spanish wine. This includes the egg dishes, but not other tapas dishes. The last chapter deals in great depth with the wines of Spain, including the famous Andalusian sherries. Two of the more interesting facts here is the statement that the Italian Marsala is really a form of sherry and that a bottle of sherry may contain wine from grapes harvested over many years. So much for the James Bond quote about giving the vintage of the `underlying wine fortified to create the sherry'. Not only does this chapter give lots of details about regional wine centers; it gives extensive tables of high quality vintage wine and sherry labels and the author's opinion on their quality. Since this book was published in 1979 and not revised since 1982, there may be some question on whether this information on wineries is still valuable. I will venture a guess that it is probably as good as anything else you may find, since the lists are long and most vintners endure, especially since the fortunes of Spanish businesses have improved greatly since the restoration of the Spanish republic after the death of Franco.

Like the recipes in Casas later book on Tapas, I find all the recipes in this volume to be very good, almost as extensive as my favorites from Julia Child and Marcella Hazan. This is a real foodie book, as the discussion of regionality and authenticity of the recipes is a great pleasure to read, even if you never make any of the recipes. It is also great background for understanding the cuisine of Ferran Adria, the great modern Spanish chef working just outside Barcelona. This book also humbled my conceit at criticizing Daniel Boulud's recipe for baby eels. While they may be hard to come by, apparently the Spanish really love them.

Even if you are not a foodie, this is a great source of recipes for eggs, rice, sweet peppers, almonds, lamb, and fish. It is also a great resource if you are not familiar with Spanish wines.

Editorial Review:

400 superb recipes--a delicious gathering of the traditional cooking of Spain with new ways of using exotic seasonings and unusual combinations, plus a comprehensive survey of Spain's excellent wines and sherries.

The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)

Andrew Jefford

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

PUTS ASIDE ANY STUFFY NOTION OF FRENCH WINE 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

A great read and reference as to what is going on in French Wine today. Covers all the regions and introduces the reader to the regional personalities and the best producers. You gotta add this one to your wine library.

Know the Modern World of French Wine 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

You might buy this book because it's a beautiful coffee table book - the beautiful pictures and the layout...Or you might buy it because it's great for reference material.

If you love wine, simply buy it for that reason alone. It is very up-to-date, the author, no stranger to French wine, a true professional, uncovers the latest trends and troubles in the various wine regions of France. He talks with growers and vintners, producers and negociants - providing perspective from all angles.

Beyond reading the latest issue of Decanter or Wine Spectator, this is perhaps the most informative and concise manner of learning about the "now" of French wine. Like other Mitchell Beazley publications, the focus here is on the great presentation and the high level of scholarship/research/journalism. This book will nourish your curiosity.

Editorial Review:

This award-winning guide to France’s fourteen famed wine regions is now updated to reflect the rapidly evolving French wine industry. Extensive coverage of wines and producers from the grand chateaux of Bordeaux to local village vintners makes the information detailed enough for those in the wine trade, yet accessible to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of French wine and the personalities who make them. Fifteen exquisitely detailed regional maps and 150 photos reveal the renowned vineyards of Burgundy, the Rhone Valley, and Champagne, and also introduce lesser-known, yet equally intriguing producers scattered across Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon, the Jura, and other regions.

The Complete Bordeaux: The Wines*The Chateaux*The People (Mitchell Beazley Wine Library)

Stephen Brook

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

AN EXCEPTIONAL VOLUME 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

The Complete Bordeaux: The Wines*The Chateaux*The People (Mitchell Beazley Wine Library)

Whilst Stephen Brook is not the best known author in the world of fine wine, his recent book is certainly likely to put him irrevocably on the best seller list in this field. Whether read by the novice or professional, the reader cannot help but be informed as never before on the fascination of wine as it is in Bordeaux. Massive, previously unknown detail contains a veritable mine of invaluable information on properties, production methods, vintages and personalities. The seven hundred pages are crammed with interest from beginning to end. The only downside is that the type size is too small for those inclined to short-sightedness. Buy, buy, buy!!

Editorial Review:

This high-level yet readable analysis of one of the world’s most respected wine regions has been expanded; the first edition dealt only with the left bank, and this new edition adds coverage of the south bank of the river Bordeaux. It is an all-embracing, comprehensive volume by an award-winning wine writer. Brook, whose books have received such prestigious awards as the Prix du Champagne Lanson, Glenfiddich, and Veuve Clicquot prizes, provides insider information about how the great Médoc, Graves, and other world-famous Bordeaux wines are produced, from the red Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignons to the sweet Sauterne whites. Detailed maps and photos cover the most famous châteaux and communes, as well as smaller specialists and newcomers worth watching.

101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks

Kim Haasarud

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

Awesome! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Summery good fun! This is packed with wonderful recipes and colorful photos. A must have for those interested in mixology.

mmmm sangria 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased the cookbook 101 Sangrias for a friends birthday, and mmmmmm..... I may need to get my own copy. A few of the recipes were a little exotic, but those are fun to try sometimes to. This will be the perfect gift for a friend who likes to work behind the bar.

Editorial Review:

"Welcome to the wonderful world of sangrias and punches, names that conjure up good times with great friends. Go get some wine, hit the local produce market, grab a few spirits and ice, and have at it. Enjoy!"
--From 101 Sangrias & Pitcher Drinks

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2008: 31st Edition (Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book)

Hugh Johnson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Thank God for Pockets 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Wow, what a great little wine guide. Has saved my pallet many times over the past couple of months by steering me towards much better wines. Fun, easy and quick to use. I use it at the wine shop, the grocery store and online. An easy way to meet people in the wine aisle! You may leave the store with more than a bottle of wine and a wedge of cheese!! Cheers!!!

Editorial Review:

Hugh Johnson has won a legion of fans with his keen ability to make the sometimes complex topic of wine wonderfully lucid—and every year, his popular pocket guide is a bestseller. That makes it number one in the market. Here, he has completely revised and updated this classic, offering more current news than ever on over 6,000 wines, growers, and regions, along with up-to-the-minute vintage information, recommended wines (including budget options), and star ratings. With this book in hand, wine lovers won’t need anything else to help them select anything from a bottle for an everyday dinner to a prestige vintage for investment. A new section showcases Johnson’s special, personal choices, and there are plenty of quick-reference maps, charts, and fact boxes for a little extra guidance.

Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 (Food & Wine Cocktails)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As a scene-scoping, style-setting, modern magazine, Food & Wine always keeps tabs on the trendiest nightlife. These 150 cocktails are the ones making a sensation in the hippest eateries and bars throughout the nation, the drinks bartenders get asked for again and again. And mix-masters won’t find better recipes for traditional favorites. Each chapter focuses on a particular spirit type, and every page highlights one or two special cocktails, along with a description of the establishment that provided the recipe and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. A “Cocktail Clinic” offers tips on stocking the bar with essential glassware and tools, as well as a list of the country’s best resources for bar staples, and an index in the back has the names, addresses and phone numbers of the top clubs showcased. That adds up to a comprehensive nightlife guide to major cities nationwide. Plus, there’s lots of exciting new material, including a whole chapter on the finest, most classic cocktails; a directory of the best liquor stores in the country, so readers can source all the ingredients for these amazing drinks; an expanded spirits lexicon; and even more delicious bar food recipes!

 

Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France

Kermit Lynch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting, But No Longer Timely 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was written in 1988, and therein lies a problem. In general, the book is a charming personal memory of a wine merchant's buying trip in France. It shines most when the book discusses the people who grow wine, or at least in 1988, grew wine. At that time, the wine industry was undergoing basic changes, in the way vines were grown, tended, stored, bottled and shipped. Perhaps a person with extensive knowledge of wine would find the book an interesting snapshot of wine growing/making, but people with less knowledge of wine will not know how, or if, change continued. One of the reasons I bought the book was to provide a non-textbook source of information about wine for a friend who knows little about wine. This book assumes too much of its reader to be useful as a basic instructional tool for such a person.

Editorial Review:

Kermit Lynch’s recounting of his experiences on the wine route and in the wine cellars of France takes the reader through the Loire, Bordeaux, the Languedoc, Provence, Northern and Southern Rhone, and the Cote d’Or.

New Spain: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Spanish Wine (New (Mitchell Beazley))

John Radford

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

For Anyone Interested in Spanish Wine 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I'll be brief: there is no finer in depth book about Spanish wine on the market to date. I cannot recommend the books published by Mitchell Beazley highly enough. I have found them indespensible for my studies towards my Master of Wine.

Pros: beautiful photos, in depth regional info, producer bios.
Cons: you need a 'decent' wine education before tackling this one.

Editorial Review:

This brand-new, second edition of The New Spain is the only up-to-date, illustrated reference to Spanish wines. John Radford takes the reader on a region-by-region tour of Spain’s rapidly changing vineyards and wineries. All aspects of Spanish wines are covered in depth, from soil types and vineyard classification to the most innovative bodegas and newest styles of red, white, and sparkling wines. There are comprehensive producer profiles for each wine region, as well as tips on the best wines available and an easy-to-use glossary of Spanish wine terms. More than 150 color photographs and detailed maps showing the location of all wine regions complete this indispensable book.

Principles of Brewing Science, Second Edition: A Study of Serious Brewing Issues

George Fix

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Excellent technical coverage 4 out of 5 stars.
34 of 34 people found this review helpful.

This is a fairly technical discussion of the subject of brewing chemistry. It's probably more than your typical home-brewer will want to get into, but if you've got some biochem background, or have read Dr. Lee Janson's Brew Chem 101 book and are looking to read on from there, (or you're a very masochistic home-brewer :-)) this would be the next step to take. It does require a greater knowledge of biochemistry and some math (not too surprising, since Dr. Fix had a Ph.D. in math from Harvard). I note the problems with the citations another reviewer here mentioned, who said Dr. Fix refers to his own work and his other book too often, but I didn't mind that too much. Dr. Fix was certainly a competent professional in both math and brewing chemistry, and he did much important work on his own. The important thing is that this book helps to bridge the gap between the professional manuals of industrial microbiology and brewing chemistry and the professional literature. After completing this book, if you want more information, you'll have to go there, such as:

1. Beer and Wine Production: Analysis, Characterization, and Technological Advances (ACS Symposium, No. 536)

2. Biotechnology of Malting and Brewing by James S. Hough

3. Malting and Brewing Science: Hopped Wort and Beer (Volume 2) by D. E. Briggs, et al

4. Brewing Microbiology by Iain Campbell

5. Methods of Analysis of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, by the American Society Of Brewing Chemists

6. Malting and Brewing Science : Volume 1 (#Y0343)
by Dennis Edward Briggs, James S. Hough

7. Brewing Yeast and Fermentation by Chris Boulton, David Quain

Except for the Brewing Microbiology book by Campbell, all of the above are big, expensive professional volumes, but they represent some of the best technical titles out there.

The book also has a nice introduction summarizing some of the important developments of the last 20 years that have made great improvements in beer, such as the use of modern double pre-evacuation bottle filters to cut down on cold-side oxygenation, the awareness of the staling effects of unsaturated long-chain aldehydes, the realization that hot-side aeration could contribute to this, and the importance of malting and non-enzymatic browning also in this process. These were all important developments that led to the modern low-oxygen brewhouse.

So overall, a very fine discussion of all these issues, and I'd actually give the book 4.5 stars if I could.

Editorial Review:

In this indispensable reference, Fix applies the practical language of science to the art of brewing.

Wine

Andre Domine

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Wine

Product Description

This abundantly illustrated book is an atlas, reference work and buying guide to the world of wine. Following a classic organization, readers are introduced to the history of wine, wine production, wine cellars and the enjoyment of wine. The reader is then invited on a journey through all the wine growing countries and regions of the world and will savor browsing through this gorgeous volume while discovering new wines and regions. Expert authors introduce each area, illustrated with detailed maps, including Canada, Japan and China.

Features:

* More than 1,200 full-color illustrations and photographs

* 150 detailed maps of the world s wine growing countries and regions.

* Numerous producer tips that convey highly useful recommendations.

* Updated select producers, tables, maps and photographs.

* New and extensive information on southern and eastern Europe and the new European countries.

* Information on new wine growing countries and areas around the world.