SHERRY AND THE WINES OF SPAIN: With Color Photographs By Kenneth Swain, Percy Hennell, And The Author, And Maps By Audrey Frew

offwhite, tan & gilt decorative cloth hardbound 4to ~ 4º (quarto). large book. dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings or store stamps, no stickers or bookplates, no names, no inking , no underlining, no remainder markings etc ~. first edition. first printing so stated. ~ full color photo illustrated endpapers & frontis. decorative title pg. 224p. +4 full page 3 color maps at rear. 16 full color glossy plates. 2 line drawings. 7 appendices. glossary of spanish words. glossary of french words. bibliography. index. spanish history. gastronomy. food & drink. wine making. vinyards. sherry soleras. vinification. geography. ~The writer of this work, who also wrote The Pocket Book of Wine, speaks with authority on his subject. To fill a gap in its literature, he undertook a strenuous tour of the Spanish wine districts. The result is a fascinating and authentic book. George Rainbird's account of his researches is highly personal, and the ease and charm of his own manner pervades it throughout. We hear of his sensations when confronted by the great naves of butts in the bodegas, which he rightly compares to cathedrals, and of the foods that he found to go best with certain vintages. We learn too how the unusual habits of Spanish railway trains enabled him to taste at leisure the grapes and scenery of the countryside. Leamedly, but always with animation, he discourses on every aspect of the wines, from their "first tumultuous fermentation" to their final caress upon the tongue. In the expressive language of the connoisseur, he regales us with vintages that are "firm to the palate" and "have a good (even a lovely) nose". Having given a short history of Spanish wines as a whole, he deals in turn with Sherry and the wines of Montilla and Moriles, the Rioja, La Mancha and Valdepenas, Malaga, the Levante, and Catalonia. Then, after a brief mention of lesser wines, the sparkling ones included, he reaches the stimulating subject of brandy. The main part of the book ends with a consideration of corks, porrones, and glasses. A remarkable feature is the wealth of information contained in the seven appendices. The first, almost a separate magnum opus, covers a field never before covered in this way, by listing the wines of Spain, with their descriptions and places of origin. The volume has glossaries of Spanish and French words used by wine~lovers, a bibliography, four three~colour maps, and an analytical index. The making of Spanish wines is brought vividly to the eye by 16 plates in full colour.…