How would you pair French wine with braised abalone? A year after Hong Kong scrapped a 40 percent tax on wine, sales are booming, and the territory is positioning itself as the wine capital of Asia.

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Drink This: Wine Made Simple (Hardcover) by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl

Product 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.

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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.

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It’s to be expected of course. When you have the reputation as one of the best wineries in all of Australia you’re going to have people wanting your wine. So Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda (http://www.giaconda.com.au/) sells his wines a little differently. If you want a Giaconda, like the Warner Vineyard Shiraz from 2008, then you need to put your (considerable) money where your mouth is, and pay for it in advance. You’ll get your hands on it next year if you order now! If you’re more interested in something for right now, we check out a great low priced Shiraz from Seppelt, and a regular quaffer for both Danny and Brad: the Pewsey Vale Eden Valley (http://www.pewseyvale.com/) Riesling.

http://wineweek.com.au/

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Andrea Robinson’s 2010 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone (Andrea Immer Robinson’s Wine Buying Guide for Everyone) (Paperback) by Andrea Robinson (Author)
Product Description
Wine guides are designed to ease our anxiety at the wine shop, but with their complicated scoring methods and elaborate tasting notes, some can make buying a great bottle an even more daunting task. Enter acknowledged wine expert Andrea Robinson, whose excellent taste has made her a go-to resource for every lover of wine. In the latest edition of her best-selling guide, Andrea introduces wine buyers to over 800 bottles, offering user-friendly tasting reviews and scores as well as tips on food pairings. With an eye for value, this guide includes only those wines that offer excellent quality for the price, and Andrea’s down to earth approach to wine ensures that this book will be a boon to connoisseurs and novice wine-lovers alike.

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Val de Vie (http://www.valdevie.co.za/) produces the most comprehensive range of Rhone varietals in South Africa, and in this film Michael tastes their GVC, a blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Clairette Blanche, an outstanding wine to enjoy chilled on a hot summers day.

http://www.winefilms.co.za/

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Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25 (Paperback) by Robert M. Parker

Product Description

Yes, you can buy world-class wine on a budget. With Parker’s Wine Bargains, America’s most infl uential wine critic offers a guide to the world’s best wines priced at $25 or less.

Robert M. Parker, Jr., earned his international reputation and unprecedented influence as a dedicated consumer advocate — if a wine isn’t worth the money, he says so, regardless of the wine’s pedigree. In Parker’s Wine Bargains, for the first time he and his Wine Advocate team offer budget-minded wine buyers a handy guide to low-priced wines for both everyday drinking and special occasions.

Organized by country, the book lists more than 1,500 quality wine producers, as well as abbreviated tasting notes for more than 3,000 of the best value wines. Chapters include an overview of each country’s wine-producing regions, highlight up-and-coming or underappreciated regions, and detail when wines can be consumed. Also featuring a vintage guide and lists such as “the best of the best,” Parker’s Wine Bargains is an accessible guide from the expert the New York Times deems “the critic who matters most.”

About the Author
Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been the author and publisher of The Wine Advocate for over twenty-five years. He has won countless awards, including two of France’s highest presidential honors: in 1993, President Francois Mitterrand pronounced him a Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Merite. In 1999, President Jacques Chirac signed a decree appointing Parker a Chevalier dans L’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur, and in 2005, elevated his title to Officier. He is the author of many books about wine, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Wines of the Rhône Valley, and Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Patricia, his daughter, Maia, and numerous basset hounds and English bulldogs.

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No corkscrew? No problem. CNN’s Jeanne Moos learns how to use a shoe and a phone book to uncork a wine bottle.

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

Product Description
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 best small growers as well as the greatest houses are organized geographically–from the finest producers of the great city of Reims, wine towns of Epernay and Aÿ, and the leading villages of the Marne, and to the rising stars of the Aube (Côte des Bar) and beyond. Edwards also discusses the culture of Champagne, reviews trends in viticulture and winemaking, and investigates controversial solutions to the current crisis of success in a region that cannot satisfy global demand for its wines. Additional sections explore the gastronomic traditions of the area, give advice on pairing Champagne with food, survey the vintages of the past 20 years, list the wines with the best price-to-quality ratio, and more, making this extensively illustrated work a true connoisseur’s guide to the most glamorous and perhaps the most enigmatic of French wines.

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The south of England could soon rival France as a wine-growing region, as experts warn against climate change.

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Living with Wine: Passionate Collectors, Sophisticated Cellars, and Other Rooms for Entertaining, Enjoying, and Imbibing (Hardcover) by Samantha Nestor & Alice Feirin.

America’s love of wine has spurred a collecting and entertaining phenomenon.

Some of America’s most passionate oenophiles have re-invented the wine cellar as an inviting and beautiful part of the home.

True collectors love to share their passion, and this book offers a tour of their distinctive cellars. Created with the help of some of the best designers in the field, these rooms blend luxurious design aesthetics with ingenious storage solutions. The thirty stunning spaces featured include a traditional wood cellar finished with rich paneling and ornate lighting; a cathedral-like space that showcases ironwork inspired by the French Quarter of New Orleans (and has a secret entry from a library inside the house); an inviting living room lined with temperature-controlled wood alcoves behind insulated glass; and an Old World terra-cotta cellar–within a sprawling entertainment center that includes a wet bar, a billiards table, and a tasting room.

Living with Wine reveals the details that make the cellars a welcoming place to return–from the materials, artwork, lighting, and cutting-edge preservation technology to the way the space harmonizes with the rest of the house. From the Bay Area to Boston, Napa to New York, homeowners such as Nancy and John Lasseter, the founder of Pixar Studios; American Idol host and TV and radio personality Ryan Seacrest; and entrepreneur Rick Ryan share insights into what they collect, why they started collecting, and how they designed their spaces to fit their passion.

This elegant volume shows what it means to love and collect wine.

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (Press Release) The Champagne Bureau, the U.S. representative of the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) (http://www.champagne.fr/), is proud to announce that two visionary U.S. wine producers, Schramsberg Vineyards (http://www.schramsberg.com/) and Beringer Vineyards (http://www.beringer.com/), have been awarded the first annual Truth-in-Labeling Award of Excellence.

The Truth-in-Labeling Award of Excellence is given to leaders in the wine world who demonstrate a commitment to the integrity of wine place and origin. In the case of these two producers, their commitment to truth-in-labeling has included significant labeling changes that ended the use of terms associated with other wine growing areas, and proudly supports the grape locations where their wines come from.

“Wine labels that truthfully depict the wine’s appellation or place of origin ensure that consumers receive clear information and are a further sign of the winemaker’s pride in the location from where the wine comes,” said Champagne Bureau Director Sam Heitner. “Schramsberg and Beringer’s consistent leadership in proudly proclaiming the origin of their grapes, educating consumers about the importance of truth-in-labeling and making business decisions based on these beliefs makes them perfect recipients of this award. We look forward to highlighting numerous other examples of similar leadership throughout the U.S. wine community in years to come.”

In the last year, these two wineries took their commitment to truth-in-labeling a step further. In July, Beringer and Schramsberg formally requested that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) delete a total of thirteen old Certificate of Label Approvals (COLA) from the government’s database. Despite not having been used in years, the COLAs had still been registered to these companies and included the term “Champagne.” Such a step was necessary since unlike trademarks COLAs never expire and can even be sold or transferred, a disregard for the spirit of the trade agreements.

Both wineries are located in Napa Valley, an original signatory of the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin. The Declaration was the beginning of a multi-year effort to educate policymakers and consumers around the world about the importance of wine place names. Today, the Coalition has grown to 13 members including Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Oregon, Washington State, Champagne, Port and Sherry among others.

Wine is uniquely tied to its place of origin. The land, air, water, soil and weather where grapes are grown are what make each wine unique. Consequently, it is vital that wine labels reflect the geographic area where they were produced in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and protect the integrity of great wine-growing regions like Napa Valley, Walla Walla Valley, or Champagne.

Yet today, a loophole in U.S. law allows some domestic winemakers to use the place names of 16 internationally recognized wine regions on wines that are not produced in those regions, potentially misleading consumers who have a right to know from where their wine actually comes.

Consumers are asked to join these wine regions, groups like the National Consumers League, producers like Schramsberg and Beringer, Members of Congress, and all those who support fair and accurate wine labeling by signing a petition at http://www.protectplace.com/. For more information, please contact Shira Levy 202-777-3516 or slevy@clsdc.com.

Source: The Champagne Bureau

CONTACT: Shira Levy, +1-202-777-3516, slevy(~AT~)clsdc.com, for The Champagne
Bureau

Web Site: http://www.protectplace.com/

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I Am Drinking Stars! A History of Champagne (Hardcover)
~ Gerhard Steidl (Editor)

Product Description
Dom Pierre Perignon tells the story of the world’s most luxurious champagne, tracing its circuitous history across four centuries, arranged in three chapters–one each for the seventeenth, eighteenth and twentieth centuries. Beautifully produced, in keeping with its subject, this page-turning luxury object unravels the myth of Dom Perignon champagne, beginning with its namesake–the pioneering Benedictine Monk Dom Pierre Perignon–who set out to create the best wine in the world. Offering glimpses of the champagne-infused hedonism of Louis XV’s court at Versailles, Marilyn Monroe’s glamorous affiliation with the beverage and Karl Lagerfeld’s recent advertising campaign for the brand, this volume incorporates a spectrum of artifacts, including texts, drawings, paintings, photographs and film stills from artists and writers such as Francois Boucher, Denis Diderot and Jonathan Swift.

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Essential Winetasting

Essential Winetasting: The Complete Practical Winetasting Course by Michael Schuster

Product Description
This authoritative and inspirational wine tasting course received rave reviews when it was originally published, winning all three major wine awards in its first year of publication. Now, Michael Schuster, one of the world’s finest wine teachers, has updated it with new vintages, to make this step by-step wine tasting course even more useful.

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The Heart of Bordeaux

The Heart of Bordeaux: The Greatest Wines from Graves Chateaux by James Lawther, Alain Benoit, Hugh Johnson, and Michel Bettane.

Product Description
This beautiful and informative book reveals both the history and the distinctive characteristics of the 16 wines that comprise the Crus Classés (classified growths) of Bordeaux’s Graves region. Named for the area’s gravelly soil, Graves is known for its fine reds (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon) and whites (Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon).
With individual chapters on each of the châteaux, including Haut-Brion, Bouscaut, Olivier, Pape Clément, Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier, and 10 others, the book describes in detail the history of the estate and its wine production. Gorgeous photographs of the vineyards, the residences, and the surrounding countryside are accompanied by archival material that gives a sense of the great history of this area. As an added bonus, The Heart of Bordeaux features recipes created by some of the world’s great chefs—Daniel Boulud, Pierre Gagnaire, and Eric Ripert among them—to complement one of the fine wines of Graves’ classified growths.

About the Author
James Lawther, a former wine merchant, obtained the prestigious Master of Wine diploma in 1993. Now based in Bordeaux, he is an independent consultant, lecturer, and writer, notably for the British magazine Decanter.
Hugh Johnson has been one of the world’s best-known wine experts for more than 40 years. He is the author of numerous bestsellers in the wine world, including his 2006 autobiography, A Life Uncorked.

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Home Winemaking

Home Winemaking Step by Step: A Guide to Fermenting Wine Grapes by Jon Iverson

Product Description

Written expressly for beginning and advanced amateurs, this guide explores home winemaking in practical terms, focusing on the latest fermentation techniques of both red and white wine grapes. This new edition is more user-friendly than ever, containing an expanded offering of tips and advice to help winemakers obtain the best possible yield as well as descriptions of new yeasts, chemicals, and additives available. Detailed information on equipment, supplies, and how to arrange a source for good grapes as well as mistakes to avoid makes getting started easy. Advanced winemakers will appreciate full explanations of sophisticated topics—such as malolactic fermentation, sparkling wines, concentrate kits, and blending—and listings of websites for supplementary information.

About the Author
Jon Iverson is a wine fermentation expert with 30 years of experience and the author of The Babyboomer’s Guide to Estate and Medicaid Planning. He lives in Medford, Oregon.

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Oz Clarke Pocket Wine Book

Oz Clarke Pocket Wine Book, 2010: 7500 Wines, 4000 Producers, Vintage Charts, Wine and Food by Oz Clarke

Product Description
You can’t hold all the wine information you need in your head, but with this handy guide you can be sure it is available whenever you want it. Indispensable as ever, Oz Clarke’s now classic “Pocket Wine Book” is thoroughly and meticulously updated each year. The Book has more information, more recommendations, more facts, more figures, passion and opinion than any other comparable guide to wine. For optimum browsing, the guide includes a handy country by country index as well as a full producer index helping you find over 4000 of the world’s top wine producers. ‘…a comprehensive, witty and portable reference’ - “Harpers”. ‘The witty Oz Clarke is also a terrific taster’ - Robert Parker. ‘Clarke is something of a phenomenon in the wine world’ - “The New York Times”.

About the Author
A former leading West End actor, Oz Clarke is one of the world’s leading wine experts, whose formidable reputation is based on his extensive wine knowledge and accessible, no-nonsense approach. Known for his phenomenal palate, irreverent style, accurate predictions and enthusiasm for life in general, Oz is Britain’s most popular wine writer and the author of a collection of bestselling books about wine. He also broadcasts extensively on television and radio.

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Wine Atlas of Australia

Product Description

From deep, supple Shiraz to golden Riesling and crisp, sun-kissed Chardonnay, the variety of the Australian landscape allows its wineries to produce some of the best wines in the world. In this definitive guide, wine expert James Halliday analyzes every wine region in Australia, detailing the types of grapes grown, the soil, climate, and its winegrowing history. Each sumptuously illustrated section features highlights of the region’s best wineries and winemakers as well as a map highlighting geographic landmarks and the location of the wineries themselves. Lavish and insightful, this is the ultimate guide to the finest spirits the country has to offer.

About the Author

James Halliday is a wine critic who regularly contributes to Gourmet and Epicurean magazines. He is the founder of Coldstream Hills and Brokenwood wineries and is the author of several books, including the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion series.

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Kit Winemaking

Kit Winemaking: The Illustrated Beginner’s Guide to Making Wines from Concentrate (Paperback)

Product Description
Providing day-by-day instructions for novice winemakers, this guide takes the guesswork out of using kits and concentrates for producing high-quality wine at home. Covering everything the hobbyist vintner needs to know about the winemaking process, this informative handbook discusses the different kinds of winemaking kits that are on the market, presents solutions to the most common problems experienced by kit winemakers with tips on how to avoid these pitfalls, and includes a glossary that demystifies winemaking lingo.

About the Author

Daniel Pambianchi is the founder and CEO of Cadenza Wines, which operates Maleta Winery. He is a regular columnist and technical editor for WineMaker magazine, and the author of Techniques in Home Winemaking. He lives in Montreal.

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Spectacular Wineries of New York

: A Captivating Tour of Established, Estate and Boutique Wineries (Spectacular Wineries series) (Hardcover)

Product Description

From high-end, cult wineries—whose interiors have rarely been seen—to smaller, more accessible vineyards, this series surveys the legends and lore of various locales. Large-scale photographic essays are complemented by a narrative chronicling various aspects of the wineries including their architecture, art, cuisine, gardens, and history of the sites and what makes each of them unique. Terrific keepsakes for wine aficionados, these guides are also useful in trip planning and as a reference for those who want to become knowledgeable about wine making particular regions.

Informative and captivating, this comprehensive exploration captures the flavors of the finest wineries in New York and the wines they produce. Covering countless acres of upstate vineyards ranging from the historical roots of Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars and Duck Walk Vineyards North to the promising buds of Ventosa Vineyards, readers will discover the secrets of a region that has been patiently waiting for its chance to bring an array of blends and varietals to the forefront of American viticulture. Nearly 50 locations open their doors and share their vintages, from respectable numbered barrels to high-end cult wines with waiting lists of several years. These accomplished vintners, provide inside knowledge of how each vineyard got to their current position, and what they expect to do next.

About the Author
Panache Partners, LLC, is a publishing company based in Dallas, Texas, that specializes in developing upscale coffee-table books on architecture, golf, interior design, and travel.

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Wine Atlas of New Zealand

Wine Atlas of New Zealand by Micheal Cooper.
Product Description
This visually stunning atlas provides the most comprehensive overview of the wine industry in New Zealand and is the only Wine Atlas devoted entirely to New Zealand wines and wine-making. This second edition of the Wine Atlas of New Zealand builds on the award-winning success of the first edition; the text has been fully updated with many more wineries introduced, there are brand-new colour photographs by John McDermott, as well as new maps throughout. This Atlas looks in detail at the wine industry in New Zealand and contains information on grape varieties, regional variations in climate and soil, and winemaking techniques. Michael Cooper, New Zealand’s premier wine writer, combines his knowledge with a lively writing style to capture the spirit of individual wine-makers and their wineries. Sumptuously illustrated with photography of vineyards and wine-makers, wine label art and regional maps, the Wine Atlas of New Zealand offers invaluable guidance and information to the connoisseur and amateur wine-lover alike.

About the Author
Michael Cooper is New Zealand’s most acclaimed wine writer with a number of books and hundreds of magazine articles to his credit. In 1997, the fifth edition of his book The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand was awarded the Montana Leisure and Lifestyle category award. His book Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wine continues to be an annual bestseller. His highly acclaimed Wine Atlas of New Zealand, published in 2002, won the Montana Medal for Non-fiction at the 2003 New Zealand Book Awards.

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