Drink This


Book Description

Ever been baffled by a wine list, stood perplexed before endless racks of bottles at the liquor store, or ordered an overpriced bottle out of fear of the scathing judgment of a restaurant sommelier? Before she became a James Beard Award—winning food and wine writer, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl experienced all these things. Now she presents a handy guide that will show you how to stop being overwhelmed and intimidated, how to discover, respect, and enjoy your own personal taste, and how to be whatever kind of wine person you want to be, from budding connoisseur to someone who simply gets wine you like every time you buy a bottle. Refreshingly simple, irreverent, and witty, Drink This explains all the insider stuff that wine critics assume you know. It will teach you how to taste and savor wine, alone, with a friend, or with a group. And perhaps most important, this book gives you the tools to learn the only thing that really matters about wine: namely, figuring out what you like. Grumdahl draws on her own experience and savvy and interviews some of the world’s most renowned critics, winemakers, and chefs, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., Paul Draper, and Thomas Keller, who share their wisdom about everything from pairing food and wine to the inside scoop on what wine scores and reviews really mean. Readers will learn how to master tasting techniques and understand the winemaking process from soil to cellar. Drink This also reveals how to get your money’s worth out of wine without spending all you’ve got. At last there’s a reason for wary wine lovers to raise a glass in celebration. Savor the insider’s viewpoint and straight talk of Drink This, and watch your intimidation of wine transform into well-grounded, unshakeable confidence.




The Wild Vine


Book Description

A rich romp through untold American history featuring fabulous characters, The Wild Vine is the tale of a little-known American grape that rocked the fine-wine world of the nineteenth century and is poised to do so again today. Author Todd Kliman sets out on an epic quest to unravel the mystery behind Norton, a grape used to make a Missouri wine that claimed a prestigious gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. At a time when the vineyards of France were being ravaged by phylloxera, this grape seemed to promise a bright future for a truly American brand of wine-making, earthy and wild. And then Norton all but vanished. What happened? The narrative begins more than a hundred years before California wines were thought to have put America on the map as a wine-making nation and weaves together the lives of a fascinating cast of renegades. We encounter the suicidal Dr. Daniel Norton, tinkering in his experimental garden in 1820s Richmond, Virginia. Half on purpose and half by chance, he creates a hybrid grape that can withstand the harsh New World climate and produce good, drinkable wine, thus succeeding where so many others had failed so fantastically before, from the Jamestown colonists to Thomas Jefferson himself. Thanks to an influential Long Island, New York, seed catalog, the grape moves west, where it is picked up in Missouri by German immigrants who craft the historic 1873 bottling. Prohibition sees these vineyards burned to the ground by government order, but bootleggers keep the grape alive in hidden backwoods plots. Generations later, retired Air Force pilot Dennis Horton, who grew up playing in the abandoned wine caves of the very winery that produced the 1873 Norton, brings cuttings of the grape back home to Virginia. Here, dot-com-millionaire-turned-vintner Jenni McCloud, on an improbable journey of her own, becomes Norton’s ultimate champion, deciding, against all odds, to stake her entire reputation on the outsider grape. Brilliant and provocative, The Wild Vine shares with readers a great American secret, resuscitating the Norton grape and its elusive, inky drink and forever changing the way we look at wine, America, and long-cherished notions of identity and reinvention.




Food and Wine Pairing


Book Description

Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience provides a series of discussion and exercises ranging from identifying basic wine characteristics, including visual, aroma, taste (acid, sweetness, oak, tannin, body, etc.), palate mapping (acid, sweet, sour, bitter, and tannin), basic food characteristics and anchors of each (sweet, sour, bitter, saltiness, fattiness, body, etc). It presents how these characteristics contrast and complement each other. By helping culinary professionals develop the skills necessary to identifying the key elements in food or wine that will directly impact its matching based on contrast or similarities, they will then be able to predict excellent food and wine pairings.




Wine Folly


Book Description

"A hip, new guide to wine for the new generation of wine drinkers, from the sommelier creators of the award-wining site WineFolly.com"--Provided by publisher.




Wine For Dummies


Book Description

The #1 wine book—now updated! The art of winemaking may be a time-honored tradition dating back thousands of years, but today, wine is trendier and hotter than ever. Now, wine experts and authors Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan have revised their popular Wine For Dummies to deliver an updated, down-to-earth look at what's in, what's out, and what's new in wine. Wine enthusiasts and novices, raise your glasses! The #1 wine book has been updated! If you're a connoisseur, Wine For Dummies will get you up to speed on what's in and help you take your hobby to the next level. If you're new to the world of wine, it will clue you in on what you've been missing and show you how to get started. It begins with the basic types of wine, how wines are made, and more. Then it gets down to specifics, like navigating restaurant wine lists, deciphering wine labels, dislodging stubborn corks, and so much more. Includes updated information on wine regions throughout the world, including the changes that have taken place in Chile, Argentina, parts of Eastern Europe, the Mt. Etna region in Sicily, among other wine regions in Italy and California's Sonoma Coast Covers what's happening in the "Old World" of wine, including France, Italy, and Spain, and gets you up-to-speed on what's hot (and what's not) in the "New World" of Wine, including the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand Features updated vintage charts and price guidelines Covers wine bloggers and the use of smartphone apps Wine For Dummies is not just a great resource and reference, it's a good read. It's full-bodied, yet light...rich, yet crisp...robust, yet refreshing....




Ultimate Wine Tasting Kit


Book Description

The editors at the distinguished Wine Spectator, America's definitive publication on wine, reveal the secrets to tasting wine like the experts do, utilizing the magazine's well-established 100-point system. This Ultimate Wine Tasting Kit contains everything necessary to conduct more than 25 different tastings, in addition to fundamental information about buying, storing, and serving wine. The comprehensive book-plus kit, designed for holding at-home blind tastings of wine for up to six participants, contains Harvey Steiman's Essentials of Wine, Wine Spectator's Pocket Guide to Wine and Quick Guide to Wine Tasting, bottle bags, tasting checklists, stemware tags, and bottle tags. It's an impressive package, and there's nothing else this complete in bookstores anywhere. With new, more efficient, and buyer-friendly packaging, we are bringing this exceptional kit back into our frontlist and have the opportunity to emphasize the high quality of its combined elements.




Something Borrowed


Book Description

Giffin's smash-hit debut novel--basis for the 2011 film--is for every woman who has ever had a complicated love-hate friendship.




Wine Folly: Magnum Edition


Book Description

JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER The expanded wine guide from the creators of Wine Folly, packed with new information for devotees and newbies alike. Wine Folly became a sensation for its inventive, easy-to-digest approach to learning about wine. Now in a new, expanded hardcover edition, Wine Folly: Magnum Edition is the perfect guide for anyone looking to take his or her wine knowledge to the next level. Wine Folly: Magnum Edition includes: More than 100 grapes and wines color-coded by style so you can easily find new wines you'll love; A wine region explorer with detailed maps of the top wine regions, as well as up-and-coming areas such as Greece and Hungary; Wine labeling and classification 101 for wine countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Austria; An expanded food and wine pairing section; A primer on acidity and tannin--so you can taste wine like a pro; more essential tips to help you cut through the complexity of the wine world and become an expert. Wine Folly: Magnum Edition is the must-have book for the millions of fans of Wine Folly and for any budding oenophile who wants to boost his or her wine knowledge in a practical and fun way. It's the ultimate gift for any wine lover.




Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook


Book Description

Boost your energy, manage stress, build muscle, lose fat, and improve your performance. The best-selling nutrition guide is now better than ever! Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook will help you make the right choices in cafes, convenience stores, drive-throughs, and your own kitchen. Whether you’re preparing for competition or simply eating for an active lifestyle, let this leading sports nutritionist show you how to get maximum benefit from the foods you choose and the meals you make. You’ll learn what to eat before and during exercise and events, how to refuel for optimal recovery, and how to put into use Clark’s family-friendly recipes and meal plans. You’ll find the latest research and recommendations on supplements, energy drinks, organic foods, fluid intake, popular diets, carbohydrate and protein intake, training, competition, fat reduction, and muscle gain. Whether you’re seeking advice on getting energized for exercise or improving your health and performance, Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook has the answers you can trust.




The Shack


Book Description

The powerful story found in The Shack written by Wm. Paul Young stole the hearts of millions and rocketed to fame by word-of-mouth, making it a phenomenon in publishing history. Now, The Shack: Reflections for Every Day of the Year provides an opportunity for you to go back to the shack with Papa, Sarayu, and Jesus. This 365 day devotional selects meaningful quotes from The Shack and adds prayers writer by W. Paul Young to inspire, encourage, and uplift you every day of the year.