Steven Kolpan

Now completely revised and updated, this new edition of the essential consumer guide to wine features all the most current information for today's wine landscape. The authors, longtime wine educators at The Culinary Institute of America, have added all the latest and most relevant information to their award-winning book, including new picks for the best regional producers, off-the-beaten-path finds, and bargain bottles. With a practical, anti-snob attitude, the emphasis is always on enjoying wine to the fullest in real-world scenarios and getting the best value for your dollar, whether splurging on a special-occasion bottle or deciding on your own "house" wine. All the basics are covered, including the major wine grapes, flavor profiles, and decoding labels, plus up-to-date information on established and up-and-coming regions, advice on pairing wine with everything from Korean short ribs to all-American burgers, opinions on wine gadgets (yea or nay?), and more. Cheers

In its previous editions, Exploring Wine has been called "a large jewel and a classic," "one of the most intelligent, most easily understood books on the subject of winegrowing," and "a must-have resource for the weekend novice drinker and the everyday tasting professional." This new edition includes even more practical, comprehensive information on wine regions, growing, purchasing, tasting, and pairing. Based on advice from professors and other wine professionals who use the second edition of Exploring Wine, we have included more balanced coverage of the various winegrowing regions, more tasting notes on international wines, a pronunciation guide for foreign words, and more basic, practical information in the business section. The third edition also includes more information on the health effects of wine and responsible drinking, as well as an improved guide to types of glassware and bottles. In addition, the food and wine pairing section will go beyond merely matching menus with wine choices, to show why certain flavors go together and teach students how to identify the best matches. Throughout the book, easy-to-use charts, tables, and maps help to simplify the subject for students and wine enthusiasts, and beautiful color photographs and personal interviews with winegrowers bring the encyclopedic content vividly to life. From the vine to the table, Exploring Wine encompasses all aspects of wines througout the world, and is an essential reference for any student, professional, or wine aficionado.

In A Sense of Place, renowned wine expert and writer Steven Kolpan tells the story of how Francis Ford Coppola brought California's most distinguished and historic vineyard back to life.Gustave Niebaum's Inglenook Estate, started in 1879, was one of the Napa Valley's first established vineyards and the birthplace of its premium wine industry. Generations after Niebaum's death, the vineyard was sold to Heublein, the wine and spirits monolith, who broke up the land and changed the Inglenook brand from a premium, connoisseur wine to a mass-market jug wine.In 1975, Francis Coppola bought the Niebaum residence and the surrounding estate. Along with the original estate's reputation, he also brought back some of its original workers, including Rafael Rodriquez, who, in h is late seventies, now serves as the vineyard manager and historian.Coppola overcame naysayers, red tape, and financial turmoil to reestablish the winery as a defender of quality, producing wine under four different labels, including the revered wine Rubicon.In 1995, Coppola purchased the Inglenook Chateau and its adjacent vineyards, fulfilling his dream of reuniting the original Napa Valley estate.Kolpan's luscious, flavorful narrative is worth enjoying now and keeping for later.