University of California Press

Postmodern Winemaking: Rethinking the Modern Science of an Ancient Craft

In Postmodern Winemaking, Clark Smith shares the extensive knowledge he has accumulated in engaging, humorous, and erudite essays that convey a new vision of the winemaker’s craft–one that credits the crucial roles played by both science and art in the winemaking process. Smith, a leading innovator in red wine production techniques, explains how traditional enological education has led …

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French Wine: A History

For centuries, wine has been associated with France more than with any other country. France remains one of the world’s leading wine producers by volume and enjoys unrivaled cultural recognition for its wine. If any wine regions are global household names, they are French regions such as Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. Within the wine world, products from French …

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Native Wine Grapes of Italy

Mountainous terrain, volcanic soils, innumerable microclimates, and an ancient culture of winemaking influenced by Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans make Italy the most diverse country in the world of wine. This diversity is reflected in the fact that Italy grows the largest number of native wine grapes known, amounting to more than a quarter of the world’s …

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Brunello di Montalcino: Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy’s Greatest Wines

For fans of Italian wine, few names command the level of respect accorded to Brunello di Montalcino. With their earthy, wild-cherry sensations and full structure yet smooth textures, top Brunellos have the body and finesse of the most prestigious world-class bottlings from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Piedmont.Expert wine writer Kerin O’Keefe has a deep personal knowledge of Tuscany and …

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Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide

As the global wine industry reinvents itself for twenty first–century palates, Washington is poised to become as important and influential as California on the world stage. National and international attention has brought interest in the state’s wines to an all-time high. Yet, in just the past few years, a tidal wave of change has rolled over the state’s …

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The Finest Wines of Burgundy: A Guide to the Best Producers of the Côte D’Or and Their Wines (The World’s Finest Wines)

Burgundy has a far stronger hold over the imagination and passions of wine lovers than the relatively modest number of bottles it produces. Over the centuries, hundreds of plots of vineyard land were demarcated, farmed, and individually named. The monks who did this work noticed that each vineyard had a slightly different character, and that this difference was …

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The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy: A Regional and Village Guide to the Best Wines and Their Producers (The World’s Finest Wines)

The wines of Tuscany were famous long before Leonardo da Vinci described them as “bottled sunshine,” and they are at the forefront of the remarkable renaissance of Italian wine over the past 30 years. In this groundbreaking new book, Nicolas Belfrage shares his insider’s knowledge acquired as a specialist wine trader and writer. Mindful of the region’s fascinating …

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Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine

Following on the success of her books on Brunello di Montalcino, renowned author and wine critic Kerin O’Keefe takes readers on a historic and in-depth journey to Piedmont to discover Barolo and Barbaresco, two of Italy’s most fascinating and storied wines. In this groundbreaking new book, O’Keefe gives a comprehensive overview of the stunning side-by-side growing areas …

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Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide

During the thirty-five years wine critic and writer Paul Gregutt has lived in the state of Washington, its wine industry has ballooned from a mere half dozen wineries to nearly five hundred. Washington Wines and Wineries offers a comprehensive, critical, and accessible account of the nation’s second largest wine-producing region. Gregutt, who has covered Washington wine in books, …

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The Finest Wines of Champagne: A Guide to the Best Cuvées, Houses, and Growers (The World’s Finest Wines)

Champagne is synonymous with celebration and success—but have its festive associations detracted from its status as a fine wine in its own right? Drawing on his intimate knowledge of a classic but rapidly changing region, Michael Edwards takes a radically different approach in this unrivaled, terroir-based guide to the world’s best sparkling wines. Ninety in-depth profiles of the …

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