It includes sections on viniculture and viticulture, Old World and New World wines, beer and other fermented beverages, and all varieties of spirits. Review questions, key terms, a pronunciation guide, maps, and even sample wine labels provide invaluable test prep information for acing the major sommelier certification exams. For each type of beverage, author Michael Gibson covers the essential history, manufacturing information, varieties available, and tasting and pairing information. He also includes sections on service, storage, and wine list preparation for a full understanding of every aspect of beverage service. - An ideal test prep resource for anyone studying for certification by The Court of Master Sommeliers, The Society of Wine Educators, or The International Sommelier Guild - An excellent introduction to wine and beverages for bartenders, beverage enthusiasts, and students - Based on education materials developed by the author for his culinary and hospitality students at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale With concise, accessible information from an expert sommelier, this is the most complete guide available to all the wines, beers, and spirits of the world.

    As wine director for the Mina Group, Parr presides over the lists at some of the country’s top restaurants. In Secrets of the Sommeliers, Parr and journalist Jordan Mackay present a fascinating portrait of the world’s top wine professionals and their trade. The authors interviewed the elite of the sommelier community, and their colleagues’ insights, recommendations, and entertaining stories are woven throughout, along with Parr’s own takes on his profession and favorite winemakers and wines. Along the way, the authors give an immersion course in tasting and serving wine; share strategies for securing hard-to-find bottles at a good price and identifying value sweetspots among the many regions; and teach readers how to make inspired food pairings.Winner - 2011 James Beard Cookbook Award - Beverage Category

    In his usual accessible and appealing style, Clarke appraises the world's greatest grapes and the wines they make, looking at the history, the places, the people, the various wine types, and the diversity of flavors to enjoy.Oz Clarke: Grapes & Wine won the prestigious Lanson Wine Book of the Year award, and this updated edition is once again the most helpful, thorough, and readable look at the subject. GRAPES & WINES offers:- Vivid descriptions of more than 300 varieties in an A-Z format- Extended features on the top grapes (such Cabernet Sauvignon)- Hundreds of recommended products- Insights from modern windemakers- European appellation decoder—a guide to the grapes behind the wines- Beautiful botanical illustrations plus more than 550 photos, maps, artworks, wine labels, and maturity charts

    Avoiding the traditional and confusingly vague wine language of “bouquet” and “nose,” and instead discussing wine in commonsense terms, the book launched Andrea’s career as a wine authority without pretense.Now, thoroughly revised, Great Wine Made Simple lives up to its title by making selecting and enjoying wine truly simple. With Andrea Immer Robinson as your guide, you will never again have to fear pricey bottles that don’t deliver, snobby wine waiters, foreign terminology, or encyclopedic restaurant wine lists. You’ll be able to buy or order wine with confidence--and get just the wine you want--by learning how the “Big Six” basic styles (which comprise 80 percent of today’s top selling wines) taste and how to read any wine label. Ten new flavor maps show what tastes you can expect from climates around the world.Andrea Immer Robinson genuinely knows more about wine than most wine lovers could ever hope to learn. But she doesn’t believe that you have to join a stuffy, exclusive wine-tasting set, or study a lot, to become a savvy wine buyer. Unlike other wine guides, Great Wine Made Simple makes it easy to master the ins and outs of choosing a wine that you and your guests will love—on any budget.In her down-to-earth style, Andrea guides you through follow-along-at-home wine tastings that are easy, fun, and affordable, and even suggests a milk tasting for understanding variations in wine-body style. Building on this foundation, she covers the rest of the wine landscape with her inimitable style, candor, and humor, from classic regions to new tastes, plus a bevy of practical issues like wine gear and proper storage. A refreshing blend of in-depth knowledge and accessibility, Great Wine Made Simple is a welcome resource for those who are intrigued by wine but don’t know where to start.From the Hardcover edition.

    Sotheby's Wine is the exclusive US retailer of Inside Burgundy. Inside Burgundy is a serious book for serious wine lovers. Offering unrivalled insights on the vineyards, the wine and the people, the 656-page book covers 1,000 specific vineyards from grand crus to obscure plots. It is written by an expert who combines three decades of intimate on-the-ground knowledge of Burgundy with the healthy skepticism of an international wine merchant. Jasper Morris is a Master of Wine and a wine expert at Berry Bros. and Rudd in London, the world`s greatest wine merchant founded in 1698, he has lived, breathed, bought and sold Burgundy since 1981. He has a home there, he makes his living there. He has built up over 30 years the kind of exact, on-the-ground knowledge that only someone based in the region can acquire. Alongside his treatment of the vineyards, Jasper brings out the role of the vignerons and today's influence on them, and thus their wines. We learn the histories, their philosophies, their relationships (so many cousins, so many marriages, so many tangled inheritances - as Jasper says, the book really demands the subtitle 'The Sex Life of Burgundy'). The wine maps surpass anything previously published in English. They have been produced to match Jasper's work in breadth of coverage and depth of detail. Wine lovers crave information and judgment: Inside Burgundy offers unrivalled insights into just why this small slice of France yields the world's most treasured wines.

    Chardonnay, Riesling, and Merlot are classic pairing choices, but less conventional grape varieties like Albariño, Grenache, Grüner Veltliner, Malbec, and Tempranillo are becoming increasingly popular, coveted by those with curious palates and a taste for good value. In Daring Pairings, the adventurous companion to the acclaimed Perfect Pairings, Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein shows how anyone can bring these emerging, exciting varieties to the table. He ventures into wine's new frontiers, exploring the flavors and pairing potential of thirty-six distinctive grapes from around the world, including Argentina, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France. In his entertaining and approachable style, Goldstein offers advice on crafting unforgettable wine and food pairings, suggests wines for everyday and special occasions, and recommends producers and importers. Thirty-six star chefs present recipes specially tailored to Goldstein's wine selections, and full-color photographs display these dishes in delectable splendor. This authoritative, down-to-earth guide reveals that pairing food and wine is no great mystery—anyone willing to explore or experiment can create bold and memorable combinations.With recipes and commentary from:Nate Appleman, Dan Barber, Ben Barker, Paul Bartolotta,Michelle Bernstein, Floyd Cardoz, Robert Del Grande, Tom Douglas, Suzanne Goin, Joyce Goldstein, Christopher Gross, Fergus Henderson, Gerald Hirigoyen, Philippe Jeanty, Douglas Keane, Hubert Keller, Loretta Keller, David Kinch, Evan Kleiman, Mourad Lahlou, Michael Leviton, Emily Luchetti, Laurent Manrique, Lachlan M. Patterson, Cindy Pawlcyn, Anne S. Quatrano, Michael Romano, Susan Spicer, Frank Stitt, Craig Stoll, Ethan Stowell, Charlie Trotter, Larry Tse, Richard Vellante, Vikram Vij, Kate Zuckerman

    Five years ago, while working at his family's California winery, she'd begun developing the method to simulate wine made from grapes gathered after a freeze. Now, when the winery desperately needs it, the only person who might be able to duplicate Glenna's process, Kurt's tyrannical Uncle Otto, lies paralyzed....

    This is the third Terroir Guide they have collaborated on and perhaps the most detailed and personal of any so far. Burgundy is one of France’s great food and wine regions. Many of the world’s most sought-after wines are produced there; so, too, are some of the most underrated, underpriced white wines in France. Each of Burgundy’s five wine districts is thoroughly explored in this guide, with recommendations on which wines to buy and which wineries to visit. Wine terminology is explained in a way that anyone can understand. On the food side, Burgundy still has a surprising number of luxurious restaurants, as well as dozens of country auberges visitors dream of discovering. Downie leads you to just such places, as well as to specialty food shops where you can taste the region’s terroir firsthand. Burgundy’s lush scenery distills the essence of French terroir, and each of its subregions has a distinctive character where the architecture and art reflect this storied diversity.

    For anyone who ever wished that they had more options to go with their Chardonnay or Merlot than just a cube of cheese, this book presents 100 cosmopolitan, yet accessible recipes that put typical finger foods to shame.From food writer and recipe developer Jill Silverman Hough, this book is packed with enticing appetizer options like Green Apple Caesar Salad and Peppercorn-Crusted Tuna. Organized by common wine varietals and illustrated with 40 lush color photos, 100 Perfect Pairings makes it a snap to match the perfect appetizer with your favorite wine.Includes 100 sophisticated and satisfying recipes without fancy jargon or hard-to-find ingredientsPackaged in a small format that makes it perfect for gifts and for taking with you when you shop for food and wineOffers pairings for perennial favorites like Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as lesser-known varietals like Voignier and GewurtztraminerWhether pairing with a white, a rose, or a red, 100 enticing recipes offer exciting alternatives to the run-of-the-mill cheese plate.

    Author of the classic book Making Sense of Wine, Kramer has written about the subject for 32 years-and his full-page column in Wine Spectator has appeared in every issue for the last 14 years. The time is ripe for a retrospective, and here it is, covering topics from terroir to glassware to the various grapes and regions and personalities. Most of the essays are drawn from his work in Wine Spectator and The New York Sun, along with excerpts from his books.The material remains fresh, vibrant, and compulsively readable.

    You consider yourself fairly open minded about wine. You're familiar with the big five -- Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay -- and are getting comfortable with more obscure grape varieties: the occasional Albarino, Petite Sirah, or Viognier. But just when you thought you had the situation under control, your waiter suggests a Lagrein, your local liquor store is pushing Xynomavro, and your friends now swear by Pineau d'Aunis. What to do? The popular wine reference, De long's Wine Grape Varietal Table has been improved and expanded. Just as with the first edition, the world of wine grapes is organized in a clear, concise and easy to use reference similar to a periodic table. The table contains 184 red and white grape varieties organized by both body (vertically) and acidity (horizontally). The Wine Indexes, which help to answer the bacchanalian question "what grape are you drinking?", now include all wine regions worldwide. To fit all the additional information in, the table is now 24 x 36 inches (printed on 110 lb. acid-free archival paper), and the indexes now comprise an 88 page perfect-bound book. The table and index book are packaged in an attractive and sturdy gift box. It makes a great gift for novice or expert lovers of wine and is the first in the De Long's Wine Info Series, a concise set of wine information guides.

    Camuto set out to explore Sicily’s emerging wine scene. What he discovered during more than a year of traveling the region, however, was far more than a fascinating wine frontier.   Chronicling his journey through Palermo to Marsala, and across the rugged interior of Sicily to the heights of Mount Etna, Camuto captures the personalities and flavors and the traditions and natural riches that have made Italy’s largest and oldest wine region the world traveler’s newest discovery. In the island’s vastly different wines he finds an expression of humanity and nature—and the space where the two merge into something more.  Here, amid the wild landscapes, lavish markets, dramatic religious rituals, deliciously contrasting flavors, and astonishing natural warmth of its people, Camuto portrays Sicily at a shining moment in history. He takes readers into the anti-Mafia movement growing in the former mob vineyards around infamous Corleone; tells the stories of some of the island’s most prominent landowning families; and introduces us to film and music celebrities and other foreigners drawn to Sicily’s vineyards. His book takes wine as a powerful metaphor for the independent identity of this mythic land, which has thrown off its legacies of violence, corruption, and poverty to emerge, finally free, with its great soul intact. Watch the Palmento book trailer on YouTube.

    An everyday guide of what NOT to do in the World of Wine

    From there it tackles the increasing problems resulting from high alcohol wines as well as volatile acidity found in high pH wines common in some warm grape-growing regions. It also deals with the vegetal qualities of cool viticultural regions usually caused by methoxypyrazines and the occasional lady beetle. Every microbial infection found in today’s wineries is fully described and arrayed in full color slides. Dense as the material may seem, the book is written in a manner that the layperson, or even the quality control professional who forgot that he ever took organic chemistry, can understand.

    But none of them actually make you go drink the stuff. It's kind of like reading a hundred books on how to ride a bike, without ever mounting up on the pedals.Aha! This book aims to quench that real thirst of wine knowledge by actually getting you out there and drinking, albeit with the training wheels on for starters. Drink This Now! is a book for those actually wanting to start drinking the Bacchus beverage immediately while they learn some stuff along the way. I'll be honest: you don't need any damn book to drink and enjoy wine, but many find wine's complexities and details a little daunting which is why they are hesitant to confidently jump in with both feet. I want to help with that, get you drinking now, and get you walking the walk and talking the talk of wine which actually increases your enjoyment immensely.Using actual wine lessons written for and tested out in my college classes Drink This Now! was written with the wine-curious beginner in mind. First-time imbibers, college students, and even seasoned drinkers who would like to know a little more detail about this fantastic fluid are the target audience. Let's get drinking!

    Second only to California in production, the Pacific Northwest is the largest wine region in North America, home to more than 1,000 wineries. What was once a young wine-growing area with a reputation for eccentricity is today recognized as a dynamic region producing world-class wines, with a focus on ecologically sound practices.This definitive volume profiles the wines, the people who make them, and the wine countries of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Idaho. The journey begins with the region's climates and geology, which create a fascinating tapestry of wine-growing areas. Next, the book focuses on the unique qualities of each wine region, with profiles of more than 160 representative wineries to visit. Included are legacy wineries that helped to build the region’s reputation, prestige wineries with a national presence, under-the-radar artisan wineries that embody the pioneering spirit of the Northwest, and promising new wineries. Each profile lists the winery's signature, premium, value, and estate wines.Beautifully illustrated with photographs and helpful maps, this in-depth guide is a milestone in the North American literature on wine. It will enable wine lovers everywhere to plan their touring, select their wines, and explore and discover the riches of the Northwest's wine country.

    Learn about the wineries that boosted production to make Michigan a leading wine producer through the 1960s, when the changing marketplace caused a slump in production and sales.Since then, new grape varietals have spurred resurgence in the industry, garnering Michigan worldwide attention for its locally influenced wines. Discover Michigan's vibrant wine history, which is vital to the second most agriculturally diverse state and top tourism region becoming a premier agritourism destination.

    The wine buying guide includes best buys and supermarket selections.

    In his signature style that Bon Appétit calls "wine speak without the geek," Oldman uses insightful prose, hilarious anecdotes, and ingenious graphics to reveal the secret wines that everyone wishes they were drinking. Not only does he provide the inside scoop on each wine type's taste, cost, pronunciation, and food affinities, but he details the exclusive picks of more than 130 wine-passionate "Bravehearts," including Tom Colicchio, Guy Fieri, and Jodie Foster. Entertaining like no other, this is a guide for everyone who wants to drink like an insider without breaking the bank.