Soils for Fine Wines

Book Description

In recent years, viticulture has seen phenomenal growth, particularly in such countries as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Chile, and South Africa. The surge in production of quality wines in these countries has been built largely on the practice of good enology and investment in high technology in the winery, enabling vintners to produce consistently good, even fine wines. Yet less attention has been paid to the influence of vineyard conditions on wines and their distinctiveness-an influence that is embodied in the French concept of terroir. An essential component of terroir is soil and the interaction between it, local climate, vineyard practices, and grape variety on the quality of grapes and distinctiveness of their flavor. This book considers that component, providing basic information on soil properties and behavior in the context of site selection for new vineyards and on the demands placed on soils for grape growth and production of wines. Soils for Fine Wines will be of interest to professors and upper-level students in enology, viticulture, soils and agronomy as well as wine enthusiasts and professionals in the wine industry.

Customer Reviews:

Soils For Fine Wines.......2004-11-26

A great book on beginning growing. To get the full understanding about what Mr white is talking about the book Science in Agriculture I feel, should be read first. Great section,along with the pros and cons, of different types of irrigation. Seems to lean a little heavy on the soils of California. For the person not growing grapes but enjoys good wine it is an excellant sorce of how the wine gets its flavor. The principles presented will aid anyone growing almost anything.

A long-needed book.......2004-09-14

In "Soils for Fine Wines" Robert White sets to provide information needed for better understanding of how soils and their properties relate to management and wine-grape production. This book is a long-needed one indeed; most other viticultural books are discussing soil as an environmental factor only in passing.

The book begins by explaining how the soil is formed and how it relates to the environment; how it changes with time and how it should be managed sustainably. Then it goes into a deeper analysis of the soil's makeup and structure, with a particular emphasis on understanding the vine root habitat. This is very important if a viticulturist is to understand effect of soil management practices on vine growth and production. Then the book details the supply of nutrients, explaining how these move into plant roots and what affects their availability. The reader is also given a brief introduction into precision viticulture and organic viticulture. The next section discusses soil, water and vine interrelationship, understanding of which is paramount for good irrigation management. The book contains information on various aspects of soil quality (physical, chemical and biological). The book then deals with soil as an important attribute for site selection and vineyard establishment. The final chapter discusses soil as it relates to the quality of the final product - wine. Here the author gives a well-balanced overview of the current state of knowledge of what is known as 'terroir' and he takes the reader on a journey around the wine-producing world by providing regional examples of how the soil and wine attributes seem to be related.

The book is well-written and easy to follow, although some might find it a bit technical at times. However, good explanation of technical terms is provided throughout and the book also has a number of illustrations and photographs that are helpful for easier understanding of the text.

I can recommend this book to students and professionals in viticulture and wine science. It is a long-awaited text dedicated specifically to vineyard soils and the way they affect grapevines and management strategies. This book will also be of great interest to anyone who wishes to better understand the link between environmental conditions and wine.

A must for anyone who grows winegrapes.......2004-06-06

.
If you are a grape grower of any consequence, you know that good wine depends on good grapes, that good grapes depend on good vines and that good vines depend on roots that are DEEP and STRONG. Thus, the medium in which roots grow is of crucial importance. Viticulturists can be misled by reading that vines grow in all sorts of soils all over the world. That is certainly true but that simple dictum does not mean that any soil will do, as "any" soil will certainly not do.

Robert White's book is VERY useful in helping understand what goes on below ground. If you just flip through it, it will strike you as too technical and thus daunting. However, if you will read each of the headings, (e.g., 5.1, 5.2) but not the sub-headings (e.g. 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3) and then read his "Summary Points", you will be richly rewarded. If there points about which you want to know more or understand better, go back and delve into the sub-headings and be enlightened to your hearts content. I'm glad I own this book!

Fine Book for Fine Readers.......2004-04-24

A unique book, as fine as wine itself. No other book explains the detailed and vital nature and mechanisms of soils as they apply to grape production and wine-making. It tries to unravel the enigma of the `terroir'. This will surely help the viticulturist and the winemaker to make the most of their land and we consumers will be the grateful beneficiaries. I think I could strongly recommend it to the specialist and interested reader.

Soils for Fine Wines.......2003-10-30

As a postgraduate student in the field of viticulture and wine i found this book covered the subject matter with great detail , clarity and scientific explanations. This book is a must have for your library collection and indeed for the aspiring viticulturist - it is a gold mine of information on the subject of soils.

Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception (Food Science and Technology)

Average customer rating:

As good as a book around
Comprehensive scientific overview

Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception (Food Science and Technology)
Ronald S. Jackson
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 012379062X

Book Description

The second edition of Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception updates the reader with current processes and methods of wine science, including an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of various new grape cultivar clones, wine yeast strains, and malolactic bacteria. It also addresses current research in wine consumption as related to health. The many added beautiful color photographs, graphs, and charts help to make the sophisticated techniques described easily understandable. This book is an essential part of a any library.

Key Features
* Univerally appealing to non-technologists and technologists alike
* Includes section on Wine and Health which covers the effects of wine consumption on cardiovascular diseases, headaches, and age-related macular degeneration
* Covers sophisticated techniques in a clear, easily understood manner
* Presents a balance between the objective science of wine chemistry and the subjective study of wine appreciation
* Provides updated information involving advantages/disadvantages of various grape cultivar clones, wine yeast strains, and malolactic bacteria
* Chapter on recent historical findings regarding the origin of wine and wine making processes

Customer Reviews:

As good as a book around.......1999-12-08

This book covers many principals of viticulture and enology, and does very, very well.

A great companion to either an enologist or viticulturist seeking new points of view, or a great record of principals all in one book

Fantastic...

Comprehensive scientific overview.......1999-11-15

Jackson provides a well-written overview of viticulture and oenology, with academic rigour and a bias towards more recent research. This book was very useful in my studies through the Cape Wine Academy, and I expect it to continue being a useful reference. Make sure to pick up the second edition, it contains significantly more material than the first.

Especially valuable is the clear exposition of complex biological or biochemical processes, which allows excess detail to be ignored while still maintaining readability (rather more useful than trying to fill in the scientific gaps in consumer-oriented books). Meticulously referenced, and good value for the serious student of wine, even at the steep academic-textbook price.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding resource for anyone in Wine marketing
Successful Wine Marketing

Successful Wine Marketing
James Lapsley , and Kirby Moulton
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

ASIN: 083421962X

Book Description

Successful Wine Marketing explains the principles, logistics, and strategies of wine marketing and sales, helping any winery or distributor understand the market, find a niche, and develop a successful plan. Full of descriptions, tips, and real world examples from both wine and business experts, this book distills the lessons and practical knowledge that come out of the highly regarded University of California at Davis short course, given each summer in conjunction with the Office international de la vigne et du vin (OIV). From the basics of understanding the wine consumer, the marketplace, and trends; to developing strategies through category management, design, and positioning; to understanding the legal environment and distribution chain, 'Successful Wine Marketing' is the first publication to provide sound, practical information on both wine and business. Completely up to date, with information on Internet marketing, small winery strategies, and so much more, 'Successful Wine Marketing' is a necessary and valuable resource for small and large wineries, wine consultants and distributors, enology departments and associations, trade associations and agents, short courses and professional development courses, graduate and undergraduate wine marketing courses, and some wine retail outlets.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding resource for anyone in Wine marketing.......2002-06-09

As a beginner in the wine business I found the examples in the book to be fantastic. The ideas and concepts used by very successful companies is of value to newcomers like myself and I am sure to old hands at the wine game. It has helped our business to no end.

Successful Wine Marketing.......2001-11-01

this book I guess is quite handy for people who wants to entry wine business. It covers a lot of marketing concepts and lots examples.

The Backyard Vintner: An Enthusiast's Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Wine at Home (Backyard)

Average customer rating:

Growing grapes made easy
Touches on the important points
For general information only.
great book

The Backyard Vintner: An Enthusiast's Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Wine at Home (Backyard)
Jim Law
Manufacturer: Quarry Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592531989

Book Description

Anyone who ever wanted to have homemade wine and never thought they had the space or ability to make it will love this book. The Backyard Vintner is a handy guide to at-home wine making that teaches readers the tips and tricks of the trade. It is perfect for those who want to bring the feeling of wine country right into their own backyard.

The Backyard Vintner teaches readers how to start and maintain a vineyard, providing vital information on topics such as planting, trellising, and proper pruning techniques for grapes; which grape varieties will grow best in every climate or region; and the wines that can be made from each variety. Basic recipes for wines, and advice on topics such as bottling, storing, and serving wines, are also provided.

Customer Reviews:

Growing grapes made easy.......2007-07-28

This book provides usefull and pertinent information all the way from the grape planting process to the wine making process. He walks you through every step carefully, but does not suggest a robotic structure for making wine, he leaves open oppertunies to show your own creativity.

Touches on the important points.......2007-07-26

I've purchased several "how to" wine books and this one is good, but not great. I would not rely on it as my only reference. Rather, it makes a very good companion for "From Vines to Wines."

For general information only........2007-07-11

The Backyard Vinter presented only general information about wine making, not specific enought for an individual wanting to learn how to make wine.

great book.......2006-02-17

Very comprehensive and thorough. Good reading and runs one through the basics and beyond. All good.

Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits

Average customer rating:

Get up to speed on spirits in 600 pages
Grossman's sets a standard

Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits
Harold J. Grossman
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684177722

Book Description

Turn to Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits for quick answers to your questions about any alcoholic beverage and for insights into the history and origins of liquor. Whether you're looking for technical advice or interesting conversation pieces, this resource is sure to meet all of your needs.

Customer Reviews:

Get up to speed on spirits in 600 pages.......2000-09-09

There may be more recent books focused on wine or beer, but this is the most comprehensive guide to alcoholic beverages in general. Tired of listening to a couple of colleagues discussing a subject that I knew nothing about, I read this fascinating book, and soon turned the tables: until I showed them evidence, they simply would not believe that Amaretto was made made from apricot pits rather than almonds! Many other products, like Spanish sherry, have interesting details and histories that I had never suspected. About the organization, roughly one-third is devoted to wines (a chapter per country), one-third to other alcoholic beverages, and one-third to technical advice and appendices on menu-planning, storage, vintages, etc. A highly enjoyable and informative book, very nicely balanced.

Grossman's sets a standard.......2000-01-09

Meant principally as a textbook, _Grossman's_ is nevertheless imminently readable for fun. If you feel awkward in some social situations because you can't comment intelligently on fine drink, this is a good place to start. You'll come away from the book with a working knowledge of:

* world wine regions

* legal definitions of various liquor types

* liquor, beer and wine production

* principles of marketing and purchasing

* beverage service

* proper glassware

* liquor trivia

Certainly, this book lacks a contemporary voice. With an original copyright date of 1940, some of the text has remained unaltered for 60 years. It misses trends in recent American beer production, and doesn't give very complete information about emerging wine producers, such as post-Apartheid South Africa. But at its heart, this is a thoroughly objective textbook which has been written and continuously edited specifically to be brand-neutral. This makes it the pre-eminent textbook for use in a general survey course on liquor service, or an invaluable resource for anyone trying to gain a healthy appreciation for alcohol.

Average customer rating:

Bordeaux Bible

Indispensable Guide

comprehensive

Merci tres beaucoup, Monsieur Parker.

All You Need: Comprehensive and Focused

Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines
Robert M. Parker
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide 6th Edition : The Complete, Easy-to-Use Reference on Recent Vintages, Prices, and Ratings for More Than 8,000 Wines from All the Major Wine Regions

The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective

Côte D'Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy

The Emperor of Wine : The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste

Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy

ASIN: 0743229460

Book Description

Wine drinkers around the world refer to Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux simply as "The Bible."

First published in 1985, this landmark consumer guide launched one of the most illustrious careers in wine criticism. Robert Parker's mission, in his newsletter The Wine Advocate and his many bestselling books, has always been to give wine drinkers honest, informed advice about which wines are worth their money, and which wines aren't.

The fourth edition of Bordeaux presents a complete guide to vintages between 1961 and 2001. This latest volume brings readers up-to-date on the abundance of new producers in France's most important wine region and for the first time includes more than 700 wine labels. Parker has retasted and reevaluated many of Bordeaux's finest wines -- and adjusted their ratings accordingly -- so readers of his previous editions will discover herein a wealth of new material.

Parker begins with an overview of each year, which includes insight into growing conditions and yields, notes on anticipated maturity, general price ranges, and lists of best wines. The heart of the book is the chapter "Evaluating the Wines of Bordeaux," in which he meticulously reviews wine producers of every appellation. Organized geographically, the chateaux are listed in alphabetical order, and entries include contact information, vineyard size, details about the wine-making style, and a general evaluation of the chateau's wines. Best of all, each entry includes extensive tasting notes on important vintages, all of them featuring Parker's celebrated rating system -- in which every wine is assessed on a scale ranging from 50 to 100. In later chapters, he also offers essential information about the elements of a great Bordeaux wine, practical travel information about the region, a glossary of wine terms, and more.

An invaluable guide for consumers, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux provides all the information amateurs and connoisseurs alike could possibly need in their search for that perfect bottle.

Customer Reviews:

Bordeaux Bible.......2006-07-14

Anyone that enjoys good bordeaux need this book.
Excellent reference book.
A must have for bidders, wine collectors and wine buyers.
Extensive information of the best and not so good vintages and chateau's wines.
Love french wine from bordeaux you will love the book.
User friendly
Easy to read and search.
Excellent historical record of chateau's evolution.

Indispensable Guide.......2005-09-30

Recently I toured wineries in Bordeaux. Robert Parker's book is the indispensable guide to wineries in that region. He discusses each estate in detail and is quite frank in his reviews. He also recommended some hotels and restaurants, which proved to be excellent recommendations.

comprehensive.......2005-09-01

What a book!! Everything you wanted to know about Bordeaux and more. A comprehnesive and stunning, detailed account of the major chateaux in Bordeaux (there are hundreds of them!!)

Detailed tasting notes, going back many vintages. it is an excellent reference guide on the wines in this area.

You just have to think "the lucky so and so"; getting to taste the great wines and the great vintages of this region. To be honest you have to marvel about how he manages to do it.

This is an excellent guide; this edition has included pictures of the labels with each Chateau that is reviewed. One might hope that a future edition would have them in colour rather than B&W. A minor carp!!

Merci tres beaucoup, Monsieur Parker........2005-08-25

An extraordinary insight into the vineyards of Bordeau
this book also is extremely useful while I continue to
purchase and consume my favorite "les vins de Medoc.
The book is both an exceptional reference tool and
an historic review of France's finest Chateaux.
"Le livre est tres magnifique!" Monsieur Parker,
"je vous remarcie"! En anglais, "I thank you"!

All You Need: Comprehensive and Focused.......2005-03-25

Parker's insight is penetrating, but he manages to maintain an epic perspective. Parker's passion for wine vertibly sparkles from every page. His views can be idiosyncratic and he is not afraid to critisized grand crus which no longer merit the title. But only a scholar with Parker's passion could amass this comprehensive resource. This book is full of history, reviews, vintage analysis and ratings of all the chateaux, whether grand cru classe or cru bourgeois. If you are casually interested in wine or not ready to start spending big money, then this will be too much information. Let's face it: Good Bordeaux is expensive, and the shear volume of Parker's resources will overwhelm the uncommitted. But if you are willing to invest the time and money, you could not start at a better place than Robert Parker's Bordeaux.

Average customer rating:

If you don't know wine grapes, you will!
Brilliant, of course!
Great view of the grapes

Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes
Jancis Robinson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198600984

Book Description

Hailed by the Wine Advocate as "perhaps the most gifted of all wine writers writing today," Jancis Robinson has been voted the Wine Writer's Wine Writer by her peers, dubbed "the undisputed mistress of the kingdom of wines" by France's Madame Figaro, and won the 1995 Wine Literary Award of the
Wine Appreciation Guild. Holding the prestigious rank of Master of Wine, Robinson lectures and judges all over the world, and recently hosted a ten-part PBS series Jancis Robinson's Wine Course. She also edited The Oxford Companion to Wine, which won every major wine book award in 1995--including
the Julia Child Cookbook Award (Wine, Beer, or Spirits) and The James Beard Book Award--and which has been praised by Frank Prial in The New York Times as "easily the most complete compendium of wine knowledge assembled in modern times," and by Anthony Dias Blue as "one of the definitive reference
books on the subject."
Now, in Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes, Robinson provides wine aficionados with a handy, on-the-spot guide to the most central aspect of wine making--the grapes themselves. Here are over 850 grapes, ranging from such widely acclaimed vines as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot
Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc, to economically important if less distinguished vines such as Airen, Grenache, Muller-Thurgau, Trebbiano, Syrah, and Rkatsiteli. Robinson offers a fact-filled introduction--discussing everything from rootstocks and wine blends, to vine pests and disease--and
glossary of technical terms (from botrytis and carbonic maceration, to fanleaf and foxy, to skin, sugars, tannins, and yield). She then examines the world's grape varieties in alphabetical order, describing the basic characteristics of the wine produced by the grape (dry, sweet, high or low acidity,
the bouquet), its likely quality, the regions that produce the best wine, and, if a blended wine, the blends that yield the best results. (As an added guide to the wine a grape might produce, the Guide includes an easy-to-use visual aid: a horizontal bar with a band which shows the range of quality,
from ordinary to superb.) Robinson also shares much fascinating wine history, her deep insight into the wine industry, and more important, her own judgment on a wine. And Robinson does not hedge in judging a wine: discussing Carignan, France's most planted red wine, she comments "Its wine is high in
everything--acidity, tannins, color, bitterness--but flavor and charm. This gives it the double inconvenience of being unsuitable for early consumption yet unworthy of maturation." And for Trebbiano, the most planted white grape in Italy (and with Ugni Blanc, which is the name of the grape in
France, the second most planted white grape in the world), Robinson notes "the word Trebbiano in a wine name almost invariably signals something light, white, crisp, and uninspiring."
Perhaps most important, this portable book can be used in the store as a buying guide. With Robinson's Guide, simply find the grape variety on the label--or, if not listed, turn to Robinson's unique Grapes Behind the Names appendix in the back--look up the entry on that grape, and you will
discover everything you need to know to make an informed decision to buy or pass. With Jancis Robinson by your side, you can evaluate a bottle of wine on the spot, no matter where, when, or by whom it has been produced.

Customer Reviews:

If you don't know wine grapes, you will!.......2004-02-10

Everything you ever wanted to know, and everything you needed to know about grapes!

Brilliant, of course!.......1999-09-22

What can you say about the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of wine grapes written by the world's foremost expert on the subject, when that person also happens to be a clear and charming writer as well? If you want to know about grapes, find out from the woman who has offered her entire cellar to the person who can outstrip her knowledge on the subject. Wonderful!

Great view of the grapes.......1997-02-12

Successor to Robinson's large-format "Vines, Grapes and Wines," this delightful little book sorts out the world of wine not geographically, as encyclopedias usually do, but on the basis of grapes. Chock full of information about grapes from the commonplace (Chardonnay) to the bizarre (Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso), this pocket-size book is a must for the wine-trivia lover or the serious wine fancier

Côte D'Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy

Average customer rating:

Coates Review
The best of its kind
If you're only going to have one Burgundy book...
Excellent single-volume work on Burgundy
If you are serious about Burgundy

Côte D'Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy
Clive Coates M. W.
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520212517

Book Description

The heart of Burgundy, the Côte D'Or, produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines that are unrivaled in their quality, intensity, and ability to age in the bottle. On this "golden slope" in eastern France, with its unique terrains and climats, grow the vines for some of the world's finest wines, among them such heralded names as Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet, and Aloxe-Corton. Clive Coates, Master of Wine, has spent much of the last fifteen years in the Côte D'Or, and this book is the splendid result of his assiduous exploring, tasting, and assessing of the region's wines.
With his unique access to each clos and domaine, and to individual negociants and vignerons, Coates may know more about the Côte D'Or and its wines than any other living writer. In Part One, he describes the Côte D'Or's famous villages, introduces every manor grower and his wines, and evaluates each grand and premier cru, recommending the best sources in every climat. Part Two profiles the top sixty domaines, with notes on a vertical tasting of one of their wines. Part Three consists of vintage assessments on the best red and white years since 1945 and includes thousands of detailed tasting notes.
Côte D'Or is a work of love and passion, praise and criticism, understanding and scholarship. Above all, it is a celebration of one of the world's great wine regions, the people who live there, and their fabled wines. It is an essential addition to every wine library and an inviting read for any wine lover.

Customer Reviews:

Coates Review.......2007-04-10

Overall, the text is easy to read and it is educational. However, the individual wines reviewed are not even close to being up to date. Because this was written years ago, it doesn't cover many of the new up and coming wines and vintners.

The best of its kind.......2006-11-10

Burgundy is one of the most difficult-to-grasp wine regions in the world. Many studies have been done on the soil, climate, wind direction, sun exposure, rainfall, etc., yet nobody really knows, yet, why one acre of Burgundy produces a certain kind of wine and the acre right next to it something different. Clive Coates book comes as close as humanly possible to explain it. He begins his sections with a "History" of the region, then continues with "Location", "Vineyard", and then defines and describes the wines made from the Grand Crus and the Premier Crus, recommending sources and also providing the size of each vineyard. Also, he covers vintages.

It's amazing how Coates takes such a difficult region and maps it out so succinctly for us. Far better effort than Parker's "Burgundy".

If you're only going to have one Burgundy book..........2000-12-24

...this is it. Along with Remington Norman's Great Domaines of Burgundy, this is a must have reference book if you're serious about Burgundy. Coates understands Burgundy and covers it in considerable depth. No, you won't find tasting notes on every wine you look for, but you'll find quite a few. I find myself going back to this book regularly both for specific references and to refresh my knowledge.

Excellent single-volume work on Burgundy.......2000-12-21

This book is an excellent reference work for the serious amateur of Burgundy. The focus is very much on the top estates and domains of the Côte d'Or (Côte de Nuits & Côte de Beaune, as opposed to the Maconnais, Beaujolais, or Chablis -- all technically part of Burgundy in the French appellation system); while well organized and refreshingly jargon-free, debutants looking to ease themselves in to the most complicated wine region in the world might want to look elsewhere.

After living in Burgundy for six months, visiting almost 100 domains, and looking at just about every reviewer's notes, I trust Coates above anyone when it comes to Burgundy. He is a believer in terroir, and cares deeply about balance and finesse; those whose tastes track Parker's, who care most about extract, color, and power are probably looking at the wrong book. (They're looking in the wrong region, too -- and at the wrong varietal for that matter.)

This book is an absolutely essential part of every oenophile's library. Why only 4 stars? The reviews are somewhat out of date -- a problem for anyone with a relatively new wine drinking/collecting habit (latest vintage reviewed is 1996, I believe, and that one only briefly). Also, the tasting notes are not as comprehensive as one might wish -- Coates sometimes limits himself to notes from a single vertical tasting in a given vigneron's cellar.

If you are serious about Burgundy.......2000-10-23

Clive Coates has written a scholarly yet lively and entertaining book. A confusing array of locations, producers and other vital information for the serious collector or the serious appreciator of Burgundy wines is clarified and successfully elucidated. Coates tackles the subject with finesse and a refreshingly unbiased viewpoint. A masterwork.

Wine & War: The French, the Nazis & the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

Average customer rating:

Outstanding book!
Fiction can't hold a candle to reality ...
One of the best wine books ever
Interesting but Disorganized and Lightweight
Delightful and Well Crafted

Wine & War: The French, the Nazis & the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
Donald Kladstrup , and Petie Kladstrup
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0767904478
Release Date: 2001-05-15

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Liberty, equality, and fraternity are all well and good, a champion of French culture once remarked. But, he continued, what made France truly superior to its neighbors was the French passion for wine, which "contributed to the French race by giving it wit, gaiety, and good taste, qualities which set it profoundly apart from people who drink a lot of beer."

The commentator may have had a point; after all, write Don and Petie Kladstrup, it was a well-known fact that Adolf Hitler did not like wine. Still, their leader's teetotalism notwithstanding, the Germans showed no distaste for French wine when they invaded France in 1940. Indeed, among the first acts of the occupying army was to seize great stores of wine, sending tens of thousands of barrels to the Third Reich and ordering the conversion of thousands of hectares of vineyards into war production.

Some French vintners, the Kladstrups write in this enjoyable study, went along with orders. Many others, however, including the heads of distinguished houses like Moët et Chandon, engaged in daring and dangerous acts of resistance wherever they could. Some lied about their yields; others built false walls to hide precious vintages; and still others concocted elaborate ruses, such as sprinkling carpet dust into inferior grades of new wine to give it a musty, distinguished flavor. Not every German was fooled, and some partisans of the grape died for their troubles. But some Germans, at considerable risk to themselves, also looked the other way. The Kladstrups fill their pages with memories of the wine war from both sides of the struggle, stories sometimes somber, sometimes amusing, that commemorate those "whose love of the grape and devotion to a way of life helped them survive and triumph over one of the darkest and most difficult chapters in French history." --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In 1940, France fell to the Nazis and almost immediately the German army began a campaign of pillaging one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. Like others in the French Resistance, winemakers mobilized to oppose their occupiers, but the tale of their extraordinary efforts has remained largely unknown—until now. Wine and War tells the alternately thrilling and harrowing story of the French wine producers who undertook ingenious, daring measures to save their cherished crops and bottles as the Germans closed in on them.

By rooting the narrative in the stories of five prominent winemaking families from France's key wine-producing regions of Burgundy, Alsace, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and Champagne, journalists Don and Petie Kladstrup vividly illustrate how men and women risked their lives for a cause that meant saving the heart and soul of France as much as protecting its economy. It was a extraordinary partnership involving everyone from the owners of Paris's famed restaurant La Tour d'Argent who rushed to build a wall to conceal their most precious twenty thousand bottles, to French soldiers who triumphantly reclaimed Hitler's enormous cache of stolen wines at the conclusion of the war.

Wine and War portrays the central role wine has long played in France’s military campaigns—how Napoleon ordered wagon loads of champagne to sustain the morale of his armies and how, during World War I, huge quantites of wine were shipped to soldiers in the trenches of Northern France. By the beginning of World War II, wine represented a living for nearly 20 percent of France's population and the authors chronicle the Nazis' determination to seize control of the French wine industry and its profits. At the same time, Wine and War brings to light the resourcefulness of wine producers who employed spiderwebs to "age" false walls hiding their best wines, who foisted off their worst bottles on the Germans or gleefully misdirected shipments, sending champagne to Homburg instead of Hamburg, and who sabotaged trains transporting wine to Germany. It also recounts the heroics of winemakers who hid Jewish refugees and smuggled members of the Resistance across the Demarcation Line in wine barrels, as well as the villainy of collaborators who worked with Nazi occupiers for their own benefit.

Finally, Wine and War reveals that the French were not alone in trying to save their wine. They received help from unexpected quarters: the German weinfuhrers, the very men the Nazis sent to requisition wine, whose close ties to the French wine industry mitigated their actions, and even the collaborationist Vichy regime, which recognized the importance of keeping France's vineyards French, and prevented the Nazis from seizing the Jewish-owned Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild and Lafite-Rothschild.

Based on three years of research and interviews with the survivors who engaged in this epic enterprise, Wine and War illuminates a compelling, little-known chapter of history, and stands as a tribute to extraordinary individuals who waged a battle that, in a very real way, saved the spirit of France.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding book!.......2007-09-18

Got wine?
If you do or don't, you'll love Wine and War. This book is a treasure and very good reading.

Fiction can't hold a candle to reality ..........2007-08-19

Historical accounts, and memoirs of WWII abound ... but this is the first book I've encountered that focused on the events and circumstances regarding the effects of the war on France's premiere vineyards, winemaking families, and fate of vast cellars of wines (millions of bottles) that lay ripe for plunder.

Before now, I'd seen some direct and indirect references to the massive looting of wine documented in various books and movies on the period ... such as the scene in Steven Ambrose's Band of Brothers in which Easy company uncovers a massive cache of looted vintage luxury champagne in Hitler's Berchtesgaden/Eagle's Nest complex - only to discover that most of it tasted inexplicably like swill. This book not only explains WHY, it also explains who stole them and how those bottles came to be there in the first place.

It's a great book - told as a series of interconnected accounts based on interviews conducted by the authors with winemakers and veterans of the underground resistance who lived (and suffered) though it all.

The storytelling is gripping, fast paced, and, at times, takes on some of the amusing qualities of "Hogan's Heroes", as we see desperate (but oh so clever) winemakers and resistance fighters repeatedly put one over on the occupying forces bent on milking them dry and outright looting them blind. We see massive caves of wines, walled up and hidden from the invaders, we see poor vintages re-labeled as great ones and sold/given to oneologically clueless officers tasked with shipping stolen wines back to Germany ... and we see what happened to those who got caught doing so.

Fiction, even at it's best, sometimes can't hold a candle to some of the crazy (and terrible) things that have already happened in real life.

Highly recommended. The mark of a good book is that it totally immerses you, and won't let go ... and it makes you look for ways to find the time to get back into it, when real life tears you away.

One of the best wine books ever.......2007-02-14

I have given away 12 copies of this book to friends who also love wine. After years of reading wine books "Wine and War" is an absolute delight. The reading is fascinating and fun. It is almost like fiction which makes it all the more interesting. We travel in France. On my next trip into wine country I'm going to check out some of the stories, if I can. This is a must read for any Francophile Wine lover.

Interesting but Disorganized and Lightweight.......2007-01-04

There are certainly a number of interesting story lines in this book but it is written in a breezy lightweight style and follows no discernable pattern or outline. Really this is a collection of short stories around a vague central theme of the efforts of "most" Frenchmen to protect their famous wine collections from the Germans. While certainly the stories from Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux are decidedly different, there are many connected themes, such as the conflict between passive resistance and active collaboration, that remain unexplored. Further, the actual brutality at the doorsteps of many of these people is glossed over in favor of repeated stories about doctored wines with grand cru labels. This could have been a much better, richer book.

Delightful and Well Crafted.......2006-09-22

This is a wonderful casual read. I could hardly put it down and was sad to come to the end of such remarkable tales. The authors have made an interesting collection of anecdotes into a fine story full of charm, humor, drama, danger and a dash of treason that reads like a good novel. When I finished I felt as though I had been on vacation and was saying goodbye to old friends too soon.

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
Excellent how-to.

Grape Growing
Robert J. Weaver
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471923249

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2002-10-01

Very disappointed in this book. I found it a shallow and pretentiously technical book.

Excellent how-to........1998-02-20

I got the book from the library and I want it. There is too much good detail to remember. Can you talk them into publishing it on CD Rom? Or, can they at least print some more so I can buy it? It is a narrow subject that probably doesn't have enough readers, but it is good.

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