Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy At one time, Italian wines conjured images of cheap Chianti in straw-wrapped bottles. More recently, expensive “Super Tuscans” have been the rage. But between these extremes lay a bounty of delicious, moderately priced wines that belong in every wine drinker’s repertoire.

Vino Italiano is the only comprehensive and authoritative American guide to the wines of Italy. It surveys the country’s wine-producing regions; identifies key wine styles, producers, and vintages; and offers delicious regional recipes. Extensive reference materials—on Italy’s 300 growing zones, 361 authorized grape varieties, and 200 of the top producers— provide essential information for restaurateurs and wine merchants, as well as for wine enthusiasts.

Beautifully illustrated as well as informative, Vino Italiano is the perfect invitation to the Italian wine experience.

From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Review: The definitive book about italian wine
I had the hard-cover version of this book and insisted so many friends and colleagues read it I managed to lose it and had to buy another copy! Great descriptions, recipes and candid details about Italian wines– especially wines that one can actually have a chance to purchase without a plane ticket to Italy.
Customer Review: Wine Writing At Its Best
The writers situate fascinating personal and societal anecdotes within the context of Italian history and culture, broadening the story of wine beyond the science of viticulture. The authors obviously have a deep grasp and appreciation of Italian wines, and convey their knowledge eloquently, yet without a hint of pretentiousness. A very enjoyable read.

Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine Interest in wine has steadily increased in recent years, with people far more sophisticated about wine than they used to be, and with more and more books being written about it, not to mention the success of films like Sideways. And, inevitably, those who take a serious interest in wine find themselves asking questions about it that are at heart philosophical. Questions of Taste is the first book to tackle these questions, illuminating the philosophical issues surrounding our love of wine. Featuring lucid essays by top philosophers, a linguist, a biochemist, and a winemaker and wine critic, this book applies their critical and analytical skills to answer–or at least understand–many thorny questions. Does the experience of wine lie in the glass or in our minds? Does the elaborate language we use to describe wine–alluding to the flavors of cheese or fruit, or to a wines suppleness or brawniness–really mean anything at all? Can two people taste one wine in the same way? Does a wine expert enjoy wine more than a novice? How much should we care about what experts say about wine? These questions and others are not just the concern of the wine lover, but go to the heart of how we think about the world around us–and are the province of the philosopher. With a foreword by leading wine authority Jancis Robinson (editor of the Oxford Companion to Wine), this volume will be of interest to anyone who thinks seriously about the experience of enjoying wine, as well as those interested in seeing philosophy applied to the world of the everyday.
Customer Review: Great book!
A very witty and interesting philosophical guide to wine. It’s great to see prominent philosophers not just writing about the usual abstractions but considering the serious puzzles that confront wine-lovers: how can we have a shared vocabulary for describing how wine tastes? Is there really such a thing as expertise in wine-tasting? It even has a chapter on intoxication - most writers seem to miss that aspect of wine-drinking! Definitely the most orginal book on wine I’ve read. I recommend it especially to people interested in the “wine wars” (Robert Parker vs. the Europeans). It helped me think about the underlying issues (though I didn’t change sides afterwards!).
Customer Review: Highly Recommended!
A friend had recommended this book to me and, although I enjoy wine and lite philosophy, I have to admit that I was at first daunted by the title. But after another friend, a sommelier, told me that I had to read it, I finally bought it–and loved it! I didn’t expect that I, a non-philosopher (though a wine lover), would be able to keep pace but I’m glad to report that I was wrong.

You’ll find within this book’s pages the best possible presentation of what many may deem a highly subjective topic. What’s great about this particular collection of essays is the obvious thought that the editors put into their selections, and how these pieces frame and address the issue. This collection masterfully guides the reader through tricky territory, not in an attempt to find out who’s ultimately “right,” but to help readers better understand the questions we really ought to be asking. They also address the conditions, both physiological and psychological, that predispose us to these “questions of taste” in the first place. For example, what is meant when we talk about a “fine wine” and why does this phrase carry so much authority? Is taste in us, or is it in the wine? Do experts actually taste things that others can’t?

The one thing I want to stress about this book is that, despite the heavy questions it takes on, this is a totally accessible read. Best of all, the quality of writing and thought is not sacrificed in the process. I’d feel more than comfortable recommending this to both the serious and the amateur oenophile. I think that the only people who can walk away from this book without having learned something valuable and new are the editors…

Buy one for yourself, and ten more for your thinker/drinker friends–they’ll thank you for it!

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (The Cook’s Classic Library)

Customer Review: 50 years of enjoying Elizabeth David
My mother introduced me to the wonders of Elizabeth David 50 years ago! In her English country kitchen, with all the rigors of post-war shortages, she would pore over Elizabeth David’s mediterranean recipes. In those days the basic ingredients available in a small village didn’t extend to much more than carrots and potatoes. But David’s recipes would inspire my mother’s creativity, and we would eat the most amazing dishes, with the ingredients adapted to what could be unearthed in the village shop. Now, so many years later, this compendium of articles brings back vividly that - for me - happy time. It is a book to pick up, dip into, take note of her suggestions, try out the recipes. It transports you to France and back again, it gives sensible advice, brings a mixture of common sense and fantasy to the chaos which is modern living today. And yes, an omelette and a glass of wine (or two, as Elizabeth David so sensibly says) is my favorite meal! Thank you.
Customer Review: In love.

I’ve always been scared to buy ED’s books.
Why? Because most reviewers go out of their way to point out how intelligent she is (true), how ruthless she is in terms of staying authentic, how she fills her books with references to obscure and elite sources. She always seems to be described as less approachable then most food-writers, with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue.
To that I say…

*NONSENSE!*

She’s not an elite-writer, she’s simply a very smart woman with a deep love for food. She doesn’t seem rigid or overly strict with her recipies at all. She just seems like a lovely entertaining expert on all things edible, explaining why things taste better when prepared a certain way, making you ponder the truth in what she writes, and making you realise she’s telling you things you should have already figured out on your own. She’s a teacher, but a very loving one. Elegant without being prissy, experienced and willing to share.
I wish I had bought this book much earlier. It’s filled with wonderful essays, thoughts and descriptions. It made me hungry and happy at the same time! If you like a book with more substance then just a HUGE index of 10.000 recipies -like some cookbooks are- then this is perfect.

He Said Beer, She Said Wine: Impassioned Food Pairings to Debate and Enjoy — From Burgers to Brie and Beyond He Said Beer, She Said Wine is the first fully illustrated book on the market to give in-depth instruction on how to successfully pair both beer and wine with a wide variety of foods. Co-authored by Marnie Old, an esteemed sommelier, and Sam Calagione, a successful brewmaster, He Said Beer, She Said Wine teaches you everything you need to know to get the best out of your beverages, with food or without. Each author divulges the secrets of their respective trades, using clear, easy-to-understand language and, of course, a little good-natured banter to keep things lively. The book is full of fantastic tips and tricks, specific beer and wine recommendations, and interactive elements to help you identify your preferences along the way. So, from cheese to dessert, you’ll always know what drinks to serve for sublime flavor combinations.

Conversation with Sam Calagione & Marnie Old
Authors of He Said Beer, She Said Wine

In your book, it seems like this beer vs. wine battle has been going on between you for quite some time. How did it all begin?

MARNIE: Sam and I first met when we were doing trade tastings. We got to talking and found we didn’t quite see eye-to-eye about which beverage was the best choice to partner with great food. We started playing around with arguing about which was better, and at a certain point decided we needed to take it to the public to settle the question. We began a series of dinners where our guests would enjoy a wine and a beer with the same course and cast a ballot to decide which partnered better. We called these dinners “Beer is from Mars, Wine is from Venus,” and they were tremendously popular.

SAM: I think it’s indicative of how close the worlds of beer and wine really are in the context of food, because every single night the winner was decided by a single course. And in every situation we had beer people voting for wine, and wine people voting for beer. We’re passionate about championing our respective beverage of choice, but one of our main goals is to make beer people more comfortable choosing wines, and wine people more comfortable understanding beer. And, to get both sides more comfortable understanding the breadth of choices within the two worlds.

In He Said Beer, She Said Wine, you give great tips for making beer and wine choices to go with everything from pizza to cr?me brulee. Can you offer some foolproof advice for choosing a bottle at our next meal?

MARNIE: The first tip is that if you’re enjoying it, it’s good. There’s a lot of discomfort, especially with wine, about ordering the “right” thing. That’s really not so important. It’s about doing what you enjoy. I couldn’t tell you whether you prefer key lime pie over chocolate cake, and yet people think that there’s a right choice and a wrong choice with wine. It’s more about what’s happening that day. What’s your mood? Is it summer or winter? Is it a special occasion, or is it a relaxed barbeque in the back yard? It’s better to think about wine as sauce on the side. We’d never put the same sauce on everything we eat, everyday. The same is true with beverages.

Sam, you mentioned that at the outset you were surprised to discover how much beer and wine actually have in common. How does beer compare to wine?

SAM: The major difference, of course, is that beer is better than wine. But, the simplest comparison would be to say that lagers are more like white wines, in that they’re more mellow and refined, and ales are more like red wines, in that they’re more robust and intense.

Does the rule of drinking white wine with seafood and red wine with red meat still apply?

MARNIE: Something we all have tremendously good instincts for is the idea of putting lighter, more delicate and more subtly flavored beverages with lighter, more delicate food. It’s also the first decision that any sommelier makes in pairing for a particular dinner. To say that as a hard and fast rule white wine should be paired with white meat and red wine with red meats is something that I think needs to be revisited. It’s a sound guideline, based in science and experience; however, it is possible to drink very well pairing white wines with red meats and red wines with fish. That said, there is a fundamental difference in the fermentation process that leads this pattern to be more or less true most of the time. Tannin, a property found in red wine, is something we feel on the palate as a tacky, drying sensation. That can lead to a bit of a challenge when pairing with low-fat dishes and seafood.

What makes cheese such a great beverage partner?

MARNIE: Most wines aren’t designed to impress you on the first sip. They’re designed to be food partners, to have their acidity softened by salt, and to have their intensity and tannin softened by fat. Cheese is dominated flavor-wise by fat and salt, the exact two properties that are needed to balance out wine.

SAM: As Marnie said, many wines weren’t designed to taste good on their first sip. On the other hand, beer is meant to taste great on the first sip, the second sip and the third pint. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s any less food-friendly. And, cheese is a great place to start. The carbonation in beer acts as an exfoliant. It clears the palate between bites, whereas wine without carbonation tends to bounce off the cheese and go down your throat without intermingling. The overlap in the world of cheese and beer is also really obvious. Wonderful beer producers like Chimay in Belgium make their own in-house cheese, and Maytag blue cheese is made by the Maytag family, who own the pioneering microbrewery Anchor in San Francisco.

Are there any foods that are notoriously difficult to pair with beverages?

MARNIE: Artichokes are challenging vegetables for the sommelier to work with. They’re also the darling of every chef from here to Hawaii. There’s a compound in artichokes that confuses taste buds into perceiving all flavor sensations as sweet. After you eat them, everything else tastes saccharine. There’s no question that wines don’t taste true to their real flavors when dealing with artichokes in high quantities. Certain wine styles can handle this better than others, though. Light-bodied, un-oaked white wines like Gr?ner Veltliner from Austria work particularly well.

SAM: I think it’s ironic that wine has all these Achilles heels, like artichokes and asparagus. There’s really no problem with these foods when it comes to beer. I’d pair artichokes with a dark, malt beer like a milk stout or porter. While artichokes don’t tend to work very well with the vegetal components of hoppy beers like pilsners or I.P.A.s, those beers would work well with asparagus.

Customer Review: These pages are making me thirsty!
I’ve just picked up this book and have some first thoughts.

It’s a fun idea. Sam and Marnie obviously know their respective fields of beer and wine, and their banter over the better beverage is often pretty funny, and pretty on the mark as far as the he said, she said, back and forth. There’s also a friendly spirit of competition in the writing, as if they’re both out to win converts to their beloved drink. Both experts seem to truly enjoy the complexities of their beverages, but always with their flavors specifically paired to food; from first course to dessert. This book will take away a lot of guesswork for novices, and, with its added layers of depth, might surprise a few experts. I found the recipes at the end, with the specific wine and beer selections made by Ms. Old and Mr. Calagione, the most enjoyable part of the book. Here I found several interesting wines I want to try (curious about the bone dry Longval blush, for instance), some surprising food and wine pairings I want to try, (like the Toscana Rosso paired with steamed mussels with red sauce), and some new (at least, to me) beers I want to try, like the Russian River or the Dogfish, for instance.

There are also ideas for setting up your own dinner party, with your own voting over which beverage wins “the great debate”, but that’s when I had to stop and go get something to drink! They’re both sorta can’t miss to start with, right? Not all debates can be this fun. Highly recommended.