The Food Lover's Guide to Wine - Hardcover

Page, Karen; Dornenburg, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316045136 ISBN 13: 9780316045131

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2011

Synopsis

2011 Gourmand Wine Book Award winner - USA

A wine book unlike any other, THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE offers a fresh perspective via the single aspect of wine most compelling to food lovers: flavor.

At the heart of this indispensable reference, formatted like the authors' two previous bestsellers The Flavor Bible and What to Drink with What You Eat, is an encyclopedic A-to-Z guide profiling hundreds of different wines by their essential characteristics-from body and intensity to distinguishing flavors, from suggested serving temperatures and ideal food pairings to recommended producers (including many iconic examples). The book provides illuminating insights from dozens of America's best sommeliers via informative sidebars, charts and boxes, which complement the book's gorgeous four-color photography. Another groundbreaking work from two of the ultimate culinary insiders, this instant classic is the perfect gift book.

About this title

From the Author:

January 2012

"Like the authors' previous food and wine book WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE should become a standard reference for both wine beginners and avid connoisseurs, packed as it is with so much useful advice and insider tips."
--David Lincoln Ross, The Daily Beast (1/6/12)

Dear Reader,

We are grateful to be kicking off 2012 on such a high note:  Our latest labor of love THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE was recently named "The #1 Wine Book of the Year" as chosen by 195 year-end "Best Of" lists (including those of the Chicago Tribune, LA Weekly, Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Vancouver Sun, and Wall Street Journal) compiled by the website Eat Your Books. 

THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE even made several lists of the year's very best food books, including those of Beth Fish Reads, CFUN Radio, Foodista, Good Housekeeping, the Huffington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the San Francisco Chronicle.  And it's also been singled out for praise from leading wine authorities such as master sommelier Doug Frost, award-winning author Mark Oldman, and Marguerite Thomas of Wine Review Online, who deemed it "an essential addition to every wine lover's library."

THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE picks up where our book WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT left off in exploring the relationship between food and wine, delving more deeply into the notion of wine as a "sauce" that "accents and enhances flavor in food," as Chez Panisse's Alice Waters and Paul Bertolli put it so beautifully.

There's never been a better time to master wine -- or to enjoy its delicious pleasures.  Wine's role in a healthy lifestyle has been advocated by experts ranging from bestselling author Michael Pollan (who wrote in IN DEFENSE OF FOOD that "The fact is that people who drink moderately and regularly live longer and suffer considerably less heart disease than teetotalers") to the official U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (which acknowledge the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption).

And there's never been a better book written expressly to help food lovers master wine.  THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE introduces you to dozens of America's best sommeliers (from such top restaurants as Blue Hill, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, the French Laundry, the Inn at Little Washington, Le Bernardin, Manresa, Per Se and Spago), sharing their insider perspectives on and insights into the world of wine.  As Ted Loos of Epicurious wrote when recommending the book as one to read in 2012, "You're borne along in a conversation with real people, rather than being sat down and lectured." 

THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE is your invaluable daily reference for looking up more than 250 wines to discover how they're pronounced, where they're produced, what grapes they're based on, their flavor profiles, serving tips, food pairings, notable producers, and more.  And because wine is a never-ending journey, you're bound to discover new resources for learning more, including recommended books, magazines, websites, and organizations.

While we're thrilled by the reviews THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE has received from critics, we are equally thrilled by the comments we've read from readers:  "It is just the type of book my husband and I have been looking for"..."It's the best wine book I've seen that is specifically geared to foodies...I love that it offers layers of information so I can I get more out of it as my wine knowledge increases." Our friend and fellow author Rose Levy Beranbaum, who deemed it "extraordinary," attests, "I love the chart on page 270 of 'Holy Grail Food and Wine Pairings,' which should be laminated and hung in every kitchen."

If you loved THE FLAVOR BIBLE and/or WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT and you enjoy wine, we know that you will also love this book -- which we wrote expressly for you.

With delicious wishes,
Karen and Andrew

From the Inside Flap:

Praised by Publishers Weekly as the "incisive, hip writing team" behind some of the culinary world's best-loved books, internationally acclaimed authors Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg bring their hallmark style to the mission of opening the world of wine to food lovers. 

After seventeen consecutive years of growth, the United States has just become the number-one consumer of wine.  However, the single largest segment of American wine drinkers categorize themselves as "overwhelmed" by the vast array of choices offered in wine stores, on supermarket shelves, and on restaurant wine lists.  In writing The Food Lover's Guide to Wine, the authors set out to simplify the subject, using the fresh perspective that if you love food, you know flavor -- and you can master wine.

This groundbreaking guide celebrates wine as an all-American beverage that's a key part of our country's history and culture, and provides an encyclopedic A-to-Z reference, profiling more than 250 wines by grape, region, weight, intensity, flavors, food pairings, notable producers, and more.  Laced throughout are sidebars on finding wines you'll love based on the foods you love, plus insider tips like "Ten Secrets for Getting More Pleasure from Wine" and "150 Wines Under $15."

In The Food Lover's Guide to Wine, you'll be guided by dozens of one-time aspiring chefs, urban planners and rock stars who, through twists of fate, followed their passion for wine and became some of America's best sommeliers at such restaurants as Blue Hill, CityZen, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, the French Laundry, the Inn at Little Washington, Le Bernardin, Manresa, No. 9 Park, Per Se, and Spago.  They share in these pages their insider recommendations, including go-to wines for tough food-pairing challenges as well as favorite wine regions that yield the best values.

This endlessly fascinating, highly entertaining, and beautifully illustrated four-color reference is the ideal companion to the authors' James Beard and IACP award-winning books The Flavor Bible and What to Drink with What You Eat -- and an extraordinary landmark guide that will usher in a new era of wine mastery and enjoyment for all.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0316045136
• ISBN 13: 9780316045131
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352