Coming Wine Books Peculiar and Interesting
I like to look to see what new wine and drink related books are coming out just to see what's interesting and peculiar. Here are a few titles, all interesting, some peculiar, but not all seemingly worthy of purchase.
Bourbon: 50 Rousing Recipes for a Classic American Spirit (Jan 2010)
There's no description at Amazon as to what this book will contain. But I'm pretty sure the title delivers all info we could possible want. This is rated a "BUY".
The Best Wines In the Supermarkets (2010)
Really? We need this? Hmmm! Ok. I'm not a book publisher or an editor, so what would I know. But it does strike me that this book might alternatively be named, "How I learned to Love Gallo and Constellation". This book is rated "DON'T BUY"
Into The Earth: The Wine Cave Renaissance (Nov 2009)
It does seem there has been a Renaissance in cave digging, at least in California. They are expensive. Why do them? I suspect this book will answer the question. This book is rated "BUY".
When Wine Tastes Best: A Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers (Nov 2009)
Come on, shouldn't this book really be entitled: "Astrology for Wine Lovers". This Book is rated "DON'T BUY"
Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vintology (Oct 2009)
Are you kidding? Ever read the Bonny Doon Newsletter. Plus, it has a forward by Hugh Johnson. This Book is rated "A BIG BUY"
Whiskey & Philosophy: A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas (Oct 2009)
Epistemology, Aesthetics, Metaphysics, and Whiskey? Oh yea! I think so. This book is rated a "BUY"
Best wine in supermarkets…was hoping we could move away from that…evidently not so much
I’m kind of dismayed by the blind hate of the book on Grocery Store wines. The more Americans we have drinking wine the better, right? There are some very interesting selections in a number of Georgia grocey stores- I’m sorry if your markets are different. Also, why is metaphysical Bourbon okay and Biodynamic wine not? The Doon book has me drooling…
WINE AND CHEESE
“The forthright and at the same time subtle flavour of cheese stimulates the taste buds and readies them for wine. Wine in turn permits cheese to attain unimaginable heights of flavour. These two fruits of the earth were made for one another.” Pierre Androuet.
A great wine deserves to be accompanied by a well matured cheese; a badly made wine needs it.
Several years ago I had the good fortune to become a resident of France, a country that is an undisputed champion of cheese. I knew nothing about French cheese except for the fact there seem to be more cheeses that one could count and all delicious. It was about this time the internet began creeping into our lives. The mouse on the cheese seemed the perfect idea. My French partner and I created http://www.fromages.com. We were determined to share France’s Aladdin’s cave of cheeses with the world. Today with a click of the mouse our cheeses are delivered to your door step in twenty four hours, slightly longer for the Far East.
On my journey into this fascinating world I picked up a few cheese books all beautifully presented with glorious coloured photographs and technical descriptions of the particular cheese under review. In fairness many endeavoured to inform the reader of the cheeses taste, place of birth and occasionally a little anecdote, but none to my mind gave the reader the romantic and bucolic nature of these gourmet delights. It was G K Chesterton that guided me to finding a different approach: “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”
I am still very much a novice on the subject of French cheeses but clearly their place in French history deserves an attempt at describing them in poetic terms. With great humility I picked up Chesterton’s glove and selected 30 of the best loved, crafted two odes to cheese and three allegorical stories. I completed a book entitled Tasting to Eternity with a few recipes, wine pairings and technical information about the cheeses. It was a stimulating task and most satisfying. People tell me the book has a definite mouth watering quality and one gets a real sense of the cheeses’ taste.
David Nutt
http://www.tastingtoeternity.com