Between Venice and Vienna, with Trieste as its capital, this region has the most varied and sophisticated food in Italy. No other regional kitchen uses more fruit or spices or a greater range of meat and seafood. In La Terra Fortunata, readers will discover gnocchi filled with plums or apricots; tagliolini tossed with poppy seeds and the region’s superlative prosciutto di San Daniele; sea scallops with almond sauce; risotto flavored with a rainbow of spices, including ginger, star anise, and nutmeg; cinnamon-scented veal stew, and, of course, frico, the region's signature dish, a delectable cheese crisp that is positively addictive.Since Friuli-Venezia Giulia produces Italy's top white wines and outstanding reds, with more varieties than any other region in Italy, Fred Plotkin has included the most detailed list of the region's wines and their makers ever compiled.With more than 160 recipes and an indispensable list for wine lovers, La Terra Fortunata will come as a revelation to those who thought there was nothing new under the Italian sun.

    Now he depicts the country that shapes the whiskies, with a calm clarity that doesn't hide his passion for Scotland and its whiskies. Ten chapters take us to each of the great distilleries, detailing the influence of climate and geography. Also included are a directory of distilleries and their malts, and a glossary.Whether studying the ancient varieties of barley in the Orkney Islands, drinking tea with peat cutters while a storm brews over Islay, or relishing the finished product by the shore at sundown, Jackson and photographer Harry Cory Wright bring a personal understanding to the magic of malt. Anyone with even the slightest fancy for Scotland or its water of life will gain from joining their exploration. Their collaboration has produced an original contribution to the literature of whisky and a dazzling composite portrait of Scotland.