Reflections of a Vintner

Reflections of a Vintner
Author: Tor Kenward
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2022-04-26
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 164700716X

A compendium for wine lovers: a prominent vintner shares a lifetime of great wines, famous friends, deep knowledge, and insider insights Reflections of a Vintner recounts the lessons learned, relationships forged, and observations made from an insider’s nearly fifty-year journey through the burgeoning wine industry in Napa Valley. From the mid-seventies, when there were less than fifty wineries, to the present, with over eight hundred, Tor Kenward shares his recollections as the region became a world-class wine destination. Following the calendar year, each chapter opens with the challenges and opportunities a winemaker faces that month—in the vineyard, winery, tasting room, and out on the road. In addition to the wine knowledge Kenward imparts, the vintner shares stories of his friendships with legends of the modern American food and wine scene, including Julia Child, André Tchelistcheff, Andy Beckstoffer, and Robert Mondavi, among others. Kenward’s hard work as a vintner was recently acknowledged and celebrated. In the October 2021 Judgment of Napa, held forty-five years after the historic Judgement of Paris, TOR Cabernet was judged to be #1, outscoring legendary Bordeaux châteaux, Napa Valley, and international peers by leading critics and sommeliers. TOR wines, coveted by connoisseurs worldwide, received seven perfect 100-point ratings from leading critics for their 2018 Napa Valley wines. An iconic winemaker, Kenward has written, taught, and lectured on wine most of his adult life. What he is most often asked about are not facts or numbers about his wines, but the stories behind them. These are stories of inspiration and wisdom that shaped his journey. With Kenward’s impressive connection to Napa Valley and his legacy of creating inimitable wines, Reflections of a Vintner offers entertaining insights into an often intimidating and complex but highly enjoyable world.

The Winemaker’s Dance

The Winemaker’s Dance
Author: Jonathan Swinchatt
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2004-09-14
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0520929209

There is a saying among winemakers that "great wine begins with dirt." Beginning from this intriguing premise, The Winemaker's Dance embarks on an eye-opening exploration of "terroir" in one of the greatest places on earth to grow wine—California's Napa Valley. Jonathan Swinchatt and David G. Howell weave a tale that begins millions of years ago with the clash of continental plates that created the Napa Valley and go on to show how this small region, with its myriad microclimates, complex geologic history, and dedicated winemakers, came to produce world-class wines. A fascinating look at the art and science of winemaking and the only comprehensive book that covers Napa's geology, history, and environment, The Winemaker's Dance will help wine enthusiasts better understand wine talk and wine writing and, most importantly, wine itself. The Winemaker's Dance is animated by the voices of Napa's winemakers talking about their craft. The book also contains two driving tours through the valley that highlight the landscapes and wineries discussed. An array of unique illustrations—including shaded relief maps overlaid with color aerial photographs—provide a new and illuminating look at the region: its bedrock, sediments, soils, sun, wind, and rain. The expansive narrative considers how these elements influence wines from particular vineyards and how specific winemaking practices can bring out or mask aspects of terroir. It concludes with a discussion of the state of the winemaking industry today. Unraveling the complex relationship between the people, the earth, and the vines of Napa Valley, The Winemaker's Dance brings the elusive concept of terroir to a broad audience, adding a vibrant dimension to the experience of the valley's wines. It also provides insights that enhance our understanding of wines and winegrowing regions the world over.

Great Wine Terroirs

Great Wine Terroirs
Author: Jacques Fanet
Publisher: Taylor & Francis US
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2004
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 9780520238589

An exploration of the geology, soil, and climate that underlie the world's major wine regions, with an emphasis on France and Europe.

A Vineyard in Napa

A Vineyard in Napa
Author: Doug Shafer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2012-11-12
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0520272366

At the age of 47, when he a successful publishing executive and living with his wife and four children in an affluent Chicago suburb, John Shafer made the surprise announcement that he had purchased a vineyard in the Napa Valley. In 1973, he moved his family to California and, with no knowledge of winemaking, began the journey that would lead him, thirty years later, to own and operate what distinguished wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. called “one of the world’s greatest wineries.” This book, narrated by Shafer’s son Doug, is a personal account of how his father turned his midlife dream into a remarkable success story. Set against the backdrop of Napa Valley’s transformation from a rural backwater in the 1970s through its emergence today as one of the top wine regions in the world, the book begins with the winery’s shaky start and takes the reader through the father and son’s ongoing battles against killer bugs, cellar disasters, local politics, changing consumer tastes, and the volatility of nature itself. Doug Shafer tells the story of his own education, as well as Shafer Vineyards’ innovative efforts to be environmentally sustainable, its role in spearheading the designation of a Stags Leap American Viticultural Area, and how the wine industry has changed in the contemporary era of custom-crushing and hobbyist winery investors.

Great Winemakers of California

Great Winemakers of California
Author: Robert Benson
Publisher: Robert Benson
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1977
Genre: Cooking
ISBN:

Publisher description -- Like the bouquet arising from a fine wine, the winemaker's personality permeates each conversation in this sparkling collection. Robert Benson has captured the essence of 28 California winemakers as they discuss the myths and methodology of making great wines. Join Benson over a bottle of wine and plate of cheese as he listens to the secrets of producing wines which are today rivalling--even excelling--those of France and Germany.

The Spirituality of Wine

The Spirituality of Wine
Author: Gisela H. Kreglinger
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2016
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0802867898

Wine serves an important role both in Scripture and in the Christian church, but its significance has received relatively little theological attention in modern times. This book fills that gap. Viewing wine as a gift of God's created bounty and as a special symbol used pervasively throughout Scripture, Kreglinger canvasses the history of wine in the church, particularly its use in the Lord's Supper, discusses the fascinating process of winemaking, and considers both the health benefits of wine and the dangers of alcohol abuse. Offering a vision of the Christian life that sees God in all things - including the work of a vintner and the enjoyment of a well crafted glass of wine.

Scouting the Divine

Scouting the Divine
Author: Margaret Feinberg
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2009-10-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310564026

Join beloved Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg as you learn how to move from simply reading Scripture to entering stories that can be touched, tasted, smelled, and savored. The Bible is full of clever plots and compelling stories, laced with historic insights and literary beauty. But despite its richness and depth, many of us struggle to close the gap between the ancient world and our own. What does it mean to know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd when the only place you've encountered sheep is at a petting zoo? How can you understand the promise of a land overflowing with honey when you buy yours in a bear-shaped bottle? Can you truly grasp the urgency of Jesus' invitation to abide in the vine when you shop for grapes at a local grocery store? In Scouting the Divine, Margaret invites you to accompany her on the adventure of a lifetime across the nation to herd sheep in Oregon, harvest fields with a Nebraska farmer, prune vines in California, and explore hives with a veteran beekeeper in Colorado. Along the way, you'll explore how ancient livelihoods illuminate meaningful truths that apply to life today. With Margaret's trademark humor and vulnerability, you'll: Learn the secret of how to live like you have a shepherd Unlock the sweetest promises of God Discover the gift of divine timing Scouting the Divine will revolutionize the way you understand the Bible--and leave you wonderstruck by the magnificence of God.

Wine and Place

Wine and Place
Author: Tim Patterson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2018-01-02
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0520968220

The concept of terroir is one of the most celebrated and controversial subjects in wine today. Most will agree that well-made wine has the capacity to express “somewhereness,” a set of consistent aromatics, flavors, or textures that amount to a signature expression of place. But for every advocate there is a skeptic, and for every writer singing praises related to terroir there is a study or a detractor seeking to debunk terroir as myth. Wine and Place examines terroir using a multitude of voices and points of view—from winemakers to wine critics, from science to literature—seeking not to prove its veracity but to explore its pros, cons, and other aspects. This comprehensive anthology lets readers come to their own conclusions about terroir.

The Pearl of the Côte

The Pearl of the Côte
Author: Allen D. Meadows
Publisher:
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2010
Genre: Côte-d'Or (France)
ISBN: 9780615356631

Renowned Burgundy authority Allen Meadows, aka the Burghound, guides the reader on a fascinating and richly detailed journey through the most legendary wines in Burgundy - specifically those of Vosne-Romanée, historically referred to as The Pearl of the Côte. Pearl is packed with useful information on the history of the underlying terroir of each of Vosne's grands and premiers crus with original maps, art work and stunning photography. Specific grower listings and the reference standard producers for all of the major appellations, as well as collecting tips are included. For those who wish to become an expert on the wines of Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echèzeaux, there is simply no better way than to pour a glass of your favorite Vosne while enjoying the most complete exposition on Vosne ever written.

Bottle Grove

Bottle Grove
Author: Daniel Handler
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-08-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1632864282

A razor-sharp tale of two couples, two marriages, a bar, and a San Francisco start-up from a best-selling, award-winning novelist. This is a story about two marriages. Or is it? It begins with a wedding, held in the small San Francisco forest of Bottle Grove--bestowed by a wealthy patron for the public good, back when people did such things. Here is a cross section of lives, a stretch of urban green where ritzy guests, lustful teenagers, drunken revelers, and forest creatures all wait for the sun to go down. The girl in the corner slugging vodka from a cough-syrup bottle is Padgett--she's keeping something secreted in the woods. The couple at the altar are the Nickels--the bride is emphatic about changing her name, as there is plenty about her old life she is ready to forget. Set in San Francisco as the tech-boom is exploding, Bottle Grove is a sexy, skewering dark comedy about two unions--one forged of love and the other of greed--and about the forces that can drive couples together, into dependence, and then into sinister, even supernatural realms. Add one ominous shape-shifter to the mix, and you get a delightful and strange spectacle: a story of scheming and yearning and foibles and love and what we end up doing for it--and everyone has a secret. Looming over it all is the income disparity between San Francisco's tech community and . . . everyone else.