The Wine Savant A Guide To The New Wine Culture

Presents a guide to wine that is overflowing with practical advice on thinking about wine, becoming a shrewd wine buyer, and enjoying the wine you drink.

“Entertaining and edifying. . . . [Steinberger] deftly shows how any and all of us can be savvier about wine.”—Bill Ward, Minneapolis Star Tribune Today’s dynamic wine culture calls for a different kind of wine book. The Wine Savant is just that: punchy, polemical, and brimming with insights to educate and entertain beginning wine drinkers and seasoned oenophiles alike. Never has the wine world had so much to offer, and never have smart decisions about value, quality, grape, and season been so difficult to make. In The Wine Savant, Michael Steinberger tramps through the world of contemporary wine—from three-buck Chuck and bucket-list Bordeaux to bottle speculators and biodynamic wineries—to give the inside scoop on the key concerns facing the new generation of wine lovers: • Why is California suddenly cool again? • What’s really the difference between a 95-point wine and a 94-point wine? • Why is Burgundy ascendant and Bordeaux suddenly so passé? • What’s a biodynamic wine, what’s a natural wine, and should you care? • Do food and wine pairings still matter? Featuring expert buying guides—including the New Kings of California and the World’s Great $25-and-Under Bottles—and tips on tough-to-pair cuisines like Indian and Japanese, The Wine Savant is the perfect guide to today’s often-bewildering realm of choice: ferociously opinionated and committed body and soul to enjoying every glass.

The Search for Good Wine is a highly entertaining and informative book on all aspects of wine and its consumption by nationally-syndicated wine columnist John Hailman, author of the critically-acclaimed Thomas Jefferson on Wine (2006). Hailman explores the wine-drinking experiences and tastes of famous wine-lovers from jolly Ben Franklin and the surprisingly enthusiastic George Washington to Julius Caesar, Sherlock Holmes, and Ernest Hemingway among numerous other famous figures. Hailman also recounts in fascinating detail the exotic life of the founder of the California wine industry, Hungarian Agoston Haraszthy, who introduced Zinfandel to the U.S. Hailman gives calm and reliable guidance on how to deal with snobby wine waiters and how to choose the best wine books and travel guides. He simplifies the ABCs of wine-grape types from the delicate pinot noirs of Oregon to the robust malbecs of Argentina and from the vibrant new whites of Spain to the great reds (old and new) of Italy. The entire book is dedicated to finding values in wine. As Hailman says, “Everyone always wants to know one basic thing: How can you get the best possible wine for the lowest possible price?” His new book is highly practical and effective in answering that eternal question and many more about wine. A judge at the top international wine competitions for over thirty years, Hailman examines those experiences and the value of “blind” tastings. He gives insightful tips on how to select a good wine store, how to decipher wine labels and wine lists, and even how to extract unruly champagne corks without crippling yourself or others. Hailman simplifies wine jargon and effectively demystifies the culture of wine fascination, restoring the consumption of wine to the natural pleasure it really should be.

Overstreet does not offer ratings, instead he provides guidelines for starting a wine collection and organizing a wine tasting at home or in a restaurant.

The first definitive guide to contemporary French wines and producers, from a two-time James Beard Award winner This comprehensive and authoritative resource takes readers on a tour through every wine region of France, featuring some 800 producers and more than 7,000 wines, plus evocative photography and maps, as well as the incisive narrative and compelling storytelling that has earned Jon Bonné accolades and legions of fans in the wine world. Built upon eight years of research, The New French Wine is a one-of-a-kind exploration of the world’s most popular wine region. First, examine the land through a thoroughly reported narrative overview of each region—the soil and geography, the distinctive traditions and contemporary changes. Then turn to a comprehensive reference guide to the producers and their wines, similarly detailed by region. From Burgundy to Bordeaux and everywhere in between, this is sure to be the resource on modern French wine for decades to come.

Who will have the last word on wine, if not Jamie Goode? Over the last decade, Goode has embarked on almost nonstop travel through the world’s vineyards in an effort to understand the beautifully diverse and complicated world of wine. His hard-nosed pursuit of the most interesting stories to tell about wine has led us here, to The Goode Guide to Wine. This book—a sort of manifesto—distills many of the observations, lessons, and opinions that have made Jamie Goode a renowned voice within the wine world. In a series of short, pithy, and often rather blunt chapters, he celebrates what is exciting and interesting about wine, asks how we could do things better, and points out some of the absurdities of wine culture. Jamie Goode has a distinct philosophy when it comes to wine, and he knows you may disagree; if you do, that means it’s working. The Goode Guide to Wine is a book designed to provoke and inspire in equal measure, encouraging the reader to be critical and to see the world of wine through fresh eyes.

The first definitive guide to more than 400 contemporary French wines and producers in a deluxe two-book package, from a two-time James Beard Award winner This comprehensive and authoritative resource features more than 400 profiles of French wines, evocative photography, maps, and a region-by-region guide, plus the incisive narrative and compelling storytelling that has earned Jon Bonné accolades and legions of fans in the wine world. Packaged in a deluxe slip case and built upon years of research, The New French Wine is a one-of-a-kind book set exploring the world's most popular wine region. First examine the land through a narrative overview of the soil, growing conditions, and products particular to each area. Then turn to the second book, which is a reference guide to the producers, divided by region. From Burgundy to Bordeaux and everywhere in between, this is sure to be the resource on what modern French wine has come to mean for decades to come.

This collection of essays by leading scholars explores the cultural, social and historical issues which inform the production and consumption of wine. It covers the latest ethnography, theoretical and ethnohistorical research on wine throughout the globe.--