Wine All-in-One for Dummies

Introduction 1About this Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2Foolish Assumptions 2How This Book Is Organized 3Book I Understanding Wine 3Book II France: A Wine Superstar 3Book III Italy: Small but Mighty 3Book IV California and Elsewhere in North America 4Book V Australia and New Zealand: Powerhouses of the Southern Hemisphere 4Book VI And More Wine Regions! 4Icons Used in This Book 4Where to Go from Here 5Book I Understanding Wine 7Chapter 1 From Vine to Bottle: The Hows and Wines 9Surveying the Landscape: Wine Categories 9Sorting wine by color 10Categorizing by alcohol content and more 14How Wine Happens 16Discovering differences among grape varieties 17Viticulture 101: Understanding what affects grape growth and development 19Examining vinification: The making of wine 20Visiting Wineries for a Firsthand Look 23Chapter 2 Getting Familiar with Wine Tastes and Names 25Savoring the Nuances in Taste among Grape Varieties 25A primer on white grape varieties 26A Primer on red grape varieties 30How Wines Get Their Names 34Naming by grape 34Naming by place 35Naming in other, less common ways 37Chapter 3 Buying Wine 41Surveying Your Options of Wine Retailers, Large and Small 42Supermarkets, superstores, and so on 42Wine specialty shops 43Choosing a Fabulous Wine Merchant 44Evaluating selection and expertise 45Considering customer service 45Judging wine storage conditions 46Shopping for the Perfect Bottle: Decoding Labels 47First things first: Distinguishing between front and back 48The mandatory content 48Some optional label lingo52Getting Help from the Wine Merchant 54Chapter 4 Getting the Cork Out (And All That Comes After): Serving Wine 57Opening the Bottle 57Clearing the way to the cork 58Removing the cork from a typical bottle of vino 58Releasing the bubbly: Leave the corkscrew behind! 62To Aerate or Not to Aerate (Or, Does Wine Really Breathe?) 64Considering the need for aeration 64Removing sediment before aerating (if applicable) 65Aerating wine for the right amount of time 66Getting Temperature Right 66Believe It or Not, Glasses Do Matter 68Size 68Shape 69Glass thickness 71Washing your wine glasses 71After the Party's Over: Storing Leftover Wine 72Chapter 5 For Slurps and Gurgles: Tasting and Describing Wine 73Knowing What to Do Before You Sip 73Starting with the eyes 74Savoring the scent 75Bringing the Tongue into the Act 76Feeling the basic taste sensations 77Working nose and mouth: The flavor dimension 79Answering the Quality Question: What's a Good Wine? 80Evaluating the major characteristics 81Decoding the critics' numerical systems and developing your own 83Keeping Track of Tastings 85Taking notes when you taste 85Finding your own descriptive style 86Chapter 6 Pairing Food and Wine 87How Wine and Food Work Together 87Tannic wines 89Sweet wines 89Acidic wines 90High-alcohol wines 90Pairing for Complement or Contrast 90Some Tried-and-True Pairings 92Chapter 7 Ordering Wine When You're Dining Out 93How Restaurants Sell Wine 94The story behind house wine 94Premium pours 95The (anything but) standard wine list 96Special, or reserve, wine lists 96Conquering the Wine List 96Paying attention to your first impression: A primer on presentation 97Knowing what information you'll likely encounter 98Surveying the list with an eye toward organization 99Ordering the bottle you want 100Asking for help selecting a wine 102Handling the Wine Presentation Ritual 102Chapter 8 The Urge to Own: Collecting Wine 105Creating a Wine-Collecting Strategy 105Planning for a balanced inventory 106Selecting good wines for collecting 106Getting the Wines You Want 108Buying wines at auctions 109Buying wine via catalog or Internet 110Creating a Home for Your Wines 114A wine cellar, most likely a do-it-yourself project 115A portable wine cave, if space is limited 117Keeping Track of Your Inventory 118Book II France: A Wine Superstar 119Chapter 1 French Wine Today 121Natural Talents: Climate and Soil 121Climate ups and downs 123The dirt on France's old dirt 124Time's role in France's wine 125French Wine-Think: Understanding Terroir 125The Variety of French Wine 126The colors of France 127Dry, sweet, and bubbly 127Collectable to highly affordable 127Regional characters 128The grapes of France 129France's Wine Laws: The Opposite of Laissez-Faire 131Privileged versus ordinary locales 131Small is beautiful 133Understanding a French Wine Label 133Degrees of pedigree within the AOC ranks 134The French wine label 136Chapter 2 Exploring Bordeaux's Range 137Understanding What Makes Bordeaux a Wine Lover's Heaven 137Seeing (predominantly) red throughout Bordeaux 139Recognizing red Bordeaux as a blend of grape varieties 139The High-Rent Districts for Red Bordeaux 140The Left Bank style 141The Right Bank style 142Classified Information: Ranking Red Bordeaux 143The 1855 Classification 143The Graves/Pessac-Léognan classification 144The St.-Emilion classification 145Trying Red Bordeaux on a Budget 146Cru Bourgeois wines of the Médoc and Haut-Médoc 147Petits ch&ahat;teaux and generics 149Other Bordeaux districts 150Drinking Red Bordeaux, the Right Way 153Exploring the Range of White Bordeaux 154Two white grapes - and neither is Chardonnay 155Top producers of white Bordeaux 155Drinking white Bordeaux 156Sauternes and Barsac: Appealing to Your Sweet Tooth 157Delving into the Sauternes wine district 158Looking at the grape varieties that go into sweet Bordeaux wines 158Breaking down Sauternes and Barsacs by quality and price 159Recommending bargain dessert wines 160Enjoying sweet Bordeaux 161Chapter 3 Burgundy, Queen of France 163The Where, Why, and What of Burgundy 163A bit about Burgundy: Soil, grapes, and production scale 164A complex quartet: Burgundy's districts 166The name game: Burgundy's AOC system 166Burgundy Royalty: C&ohat;te d'Or 168C&ohat;te d'Or wines in the market 171C&ohat;te d'Or producters to buy 172The C&ohat;te Chalonnaise: Affordable Burgundies 174C&ohat;te Chalonnaise appellations 175C&ohat;te Chalonnaise producers to look for 176Chablis, from Chablis, France - A Distant Part of Burgundy 177Chablis appellations 178Good Chablis producers 180Recommended Chablis vintages 181Everyday Whites: The M&ahat;con 181M&ahat;con's appellations and wines 181M&ahat;con producers to buy 183Chapter 4 Beaujolais, the fun Red 185What Makes Beaujolais 185The Beaujolais terroir 186The Gamay grape 186The winemaking technique 187From Frivolous to Firm: An Overview of Beaujolais Wines 187Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages 188Beaujolais Nouveau 188Cru Beaujolais 189A Look at Beaujolais Producers and Prices 190Chapter 5 Robust Rh&ohat;ne Reds and Unique Whites 193Exploring the Rh&ohat;ne Valley: Two Regions in One 193The continental North 194The Mediterranean-like South 195Narrowing the Lens on the Northern Rh&ohat;ne 197Wide-ranging reds 198Uncommon whites 202Spotlighting the Southern Rh&ohat;ne 205Ch&ahat;teauneuf-du-Pape 206Ch&ahat;teauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 207C&ohat;tes du Rh&ohat;ne 208C&ohat;tes du Rh&ohat;ne-Villages 209Gigondas 210Vacqueyras 210Lirac and Tavel 211Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise and Rasteau 212Chapter 6 Champagne: The World's Greatest Sparkling Wine 213The Skinny on This Supreme Bubbly 213Zeroing in on the Champagne Region 214Chalking success up to Champagne's climate and soil 216Recognizing the grape varieties used in Champagne 217Mapping the four grape-growing districts 217Surveying Champagne Styles 219Translating years and quality into Champagnespeak 220Highlighting the nontraditional Champagnes 223Categorizing Champagne from dry to sweet 225Selecting a Bottle of Bubbly: Knowing Producers and Their Styles 226Matching the houses and their styles 227Figuring out the styles of the best grower-producer Champagnes 228Chapter 7 Other Wine Regions of France 231Alsace: Location, Location, Location 231Surveying the grapes of Alsace 233Examining the region's range of wines 234Appreciating Alsace's wine gems 236Highlighting top Alsace producers 238Touring the Loire Valley and Its Unique Wines 240The Upper Loire: Sauvignon Blanc's spiritual home 241The Central Loire: A duo of diverse districts 244The Western Loire: Makers of Muscadet 251Discovering Wines from the South of France 252Languedoc-Roussillon: The mother wine region of France 252Provence: The beautiful home to eight AOC zones 256Book III Italy: Small but Mighty 259Chapter 1 The Big Picture of Italian Wine 261Diverse Conditions, Diverse Wines 261Getting the lay of the wine land 263Describing modern Italian wine styles 264Exploring the reds, the whites, and beyond 265Italy's Curious Grape Varieties 265Unveiling the native talents 265Checking out the immigrants and migrants 266Meeting Italy's Major Grapes 267Reds aplenty 267Overachieving whites 268Grasping an Italian Wine Label 270The name game 270Putting faith in the DOC 272More label lingo 273Chapter 2 Perusing Piedmont's Wines 275Drinking In the Majesty of Piedmont 275The wines of Piedmont 276The grapes of Piedmont 277Sampling the Wines of the Alba Area 278Barolo 278Barbaresco 281Barbera, Dolcetto, and Nebbiolo of Alba 284Roero and Roero Arneis 286Five other Alba DOCs 287Exploring the Wines of Southeastern Piedmont 290Asti DOCG 290Barbera d'Asti 291Other varietal wines 292Gavi DOCG 294Other wines of Piedmont's southeast 295Getting to Know Northern Piedmont's Various Offerings 296Carema and Caluso 296Vercelli and Novara hills wines 298Other Piedmont Wines 300Chapter 3 Finding Sparking Wines and More in North-Central Italy 303Lombardy Has It all 303The Valtellina: Nebbiolo's most austere face 305Oltrepó Pavese: Sparkling wines and more 306Franciacorta: Sparklers with style 307Lake Garda: Fresh lake wines 309Emilia-Romagna: One Region, Two Identities 310Emilia's beloved Lambrusco wines 311The hillside wines of Emilia 312The wines of Romagna 315Chapter 4 Northeastern Italy: Where Whites Rule 317Trention-Alto Adige: One Region, Two Cultures 317Introducing the wines of Trentino 319Getting to know the wines of Alto Adige 322The Veneto: Verona to Venice 324Tasting Verona's major wines 326Sampling the wines of the Central Hills 330Exploring the wine offerings on all sides of Venice 332Friuli-Venezia Giulia: The Great White Way 334The wines of Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli 336The wines of Isonzo and Carso 338Other Friuli DOC wines 339Chapter 5 Tuscany: Checking Out Chianti and Other Tuscan Reds 341Taking In the Big Picture of Tuscany 341Exploring the Land of Chianti 344The range of Chianti wines 344Chianti Classico 345Chianti 347Pomino, San Gimignano, and other Chianti neighbors 348Monumental Montalcino 350Brunello di Montalcino 352Rosso di Montalcino 353Sant' Antimo 353The "Noble Wine" of Montepulciano 354Tuscany's "Hot" Coast 356Bolgheri 356Val di Cornia 357Grosseto 357Super-Tuscan Wines - The Winds of Change 358Chapter 6 Getting Acquainted with Central Italy's Wines 361Umbria: The Inland Region 361Orvieto 363Torgiano 364Sagrantino di Montefalco 365Recommended Umbrian wineries 366Marche on the Adriatic 366Tasting Verdicchio 366Sampling Rosso Cònero and Rosso Piceno 367Suggesting some Marche wine Producers 369Mountainous abruzzo 369Montepulicano d'Abruzzo 370Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 371Controguerra 372Abruzzo wine producers worth supporting 372Latium: Rome's Region 372The hills south of Rome 373The hillsides and coastal regions of northern Latium 375Latium's southern coast 377The Ciociaria hills of southeastern Latium 377Latium's top wine producers 378Chapter 7 Southern Italy: "The Land of Wine" 379Campania: Revival Begins 379Meeting the wines of Avellino 381Checking out wines of the coastal hills and islands around Naples 383Sampling in southern Campania's two DOC zones 385Scoping out the most established zones of Campania's northern hills 385Listing the Campania producers to know 387Puglia: Italy's Wine Barrel 387The Salento Peninsula 388The Trulli district 391Central Puglia 392The Northern plains 393Recommended Puglia producers 394Mountainous Basilicata 394Rugged Calabria 395Chapter 8 Sicily and Sardinia: Focusing on Quality 397Sicily Leaves the Past Behind 397Marsala, far from "just cooking wine" 399Sicilian dry (through sometimes sweet) wines 400Sweet DOCs in Sicily 403A Sicilian wine shopping list 404Sardinia Stands Alone 405Sardinia's regionwide DOC wines 407The copious wines of Cagliari, Sardinia's capital 408Other Sardinian wines 408Sardinian producers to watch for 410Book IV California and Elsewhere in North America 411Chapter 1 Introducing California Wines 413Covering the Bases in Wine Production 413The color and type spectrums 413The wallet spectrum 414The packaging spectrum 414Leading the Market in Popularity 415Golden Resources in the Golden State 416California climate 416Soil matters 418The human factor 419Chapter 2 California's Major Wine Regions: An Overview 421Location Matters 421Napa Valley: Wine Country's Hollywood 422Mapping Napa Valley 423Discovering Napa's key wines 425Sonoma County: Hardly an Also-ran! 428An idyllic wine region 429Sonoma's signatures: Pinot Noir and Zinfandel 430Sonoma's wines: Something for everyone 430More Key Wine Regions 431Up the North Coast to Mendocino and Lake Counties 432Down the Central Coast 434Southern California 439Inward and upward 440Chapter 3 Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sparkling Wines 443Chardonnay: The Wine that California Made Famous 444The taste of California Chardonnay 444For richer or for value 445Where Chardonnay Grows in California 445Cool, coastal, classic regions 447Warm regions for everyday Chardonnays 447Recommending Top Chardonnay Producers 448Sauvignon Blanc: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride 450Three styles of California Sauvignon Blanc 450Taste trumps price 452Regions for Sauvignon Blanc 452Napa originals 453Sonoma takes on Sauvignon 454Top Sauvignon Blancs from other regions 455Names to Trust in Sauvignon Blanc 455Presenting California's Sparkling Wines 457Characterizing California bubbly 458Looking at the French-and California-owned brands 458Recommending some of California's sparkling wines 459Chapter 4 California's Standout Red Wines 461Hailing the California Cab, a World-Class Red 462Tasting California Cabernet 462Making a California original from a Bordeaux grape 463Listing favorite Cabernets 464Noting other California Cabernets 470Merlot, Sometimes a Contender 471Merlot's up, down, and Sideways reputation 471The taste of California Merlot 472Regions that excel with Merlot 473The Secret's in the Bordeaux Blend 475Combining strengths 476Selecting key brands of Bordeaux-style blends 477Zinfandel: Big, Bold, and Berry 479Surveying the spectrum of Zin styles 479Venturing into Zinfandel country 480Recommending California's best Zins 481California Pinot Noir: From Obscurity to Overnight Fame 484The general style 485Local styles 486California's Pinot Noir regions 487Chapter 5 Major Wine Regions in the Rest of North America 495Ocean-Influenced Oregon 496A tale of two Pinots 496Who's who in Willamette Valley 497Two other Oregon wine regions 498The United States' Second-Largest Wine Producer: Washington State 498The grapes that thrive and the wines they make 499Washington's wine regions 500Top Washington wine producers 501New York, America's Unsung Wine Hero 503Revealing the key wine regions of the Empire State 503Listing the best of New York's wineries 504Oh, Canada 504Ontario: Well-positioned for icewine 506British Columbia: White wine is tops 506Book V Australia and New Zealand: Powerhouses of the Southern Hemisphere 507Chapter 1 Australian and New Zealand Wines: A Success Story 509Getting Acclimated in Australia and New Zealand 510Meeting Growing Demand with Diverse Wines 510Zoning Out: Australia's Wine Regions 511Breaking Up New Zealand 512Decoding Australian and New Zealand Wine Labels 513Chapter 2 New South Wales: Home to Established Wineries and Upstarts 515Getting to Know the Hunter Valley and its Wines 515Taking stock of the Hunter's top grape varieties 516Sampling the best the Lower Hunter offers 517Heading for Broke (Fordwich) wines 518Discovering the wines of the Upper Hunter 518Exploring the Wine Bounty of Mudgee 519Noting Mudgee's stylistic reds and shining whites 520Checking out Mudgee's top wineries 521Shining the Spotlight on New South Wales's Lesser-Known Wine Regions 521Discovering more than oranges in Orange 522Feeling the heat in Cowra 522Growing grapes for others in Tumbarumba 523Hightailing it to the Hilltops 524Uncorking in Canberra 525Chapter 3 Taking In the Diverse Range of Wines from Victoria and Tasmania 527The Yarra Valley: First in the Region 527Reviewing Yarra's typical wine styles 528Listing top picks from Coldstream 529Presenting choice wines from Yarra Glen 530Victoria's Wine-Diverse Heartland: The Central Zone 531Sipping the wines of Central Victoria 531Introducing Goulburn Valley and its standout producers 533Tasting the best of Bendigo 534Hunting down quality in Heathcote 534Producing a variety of varietals in the Central Victorian Mountain District 535Traveling to Pyrenees in Victoria's Wild, Wild West 535Navigating Your Way through Northeast Victoria 536Celebrating Northeast Victoria's specialties 537Rutherglen, land of full-bodied reds and fortified wines 538King Valley, from the plains to the hills 539Alpine Valley, going up and cooling down 539Heating Up: The Northwest Region 540Sampling the best from the northwest 540Looking out over the Murray-Darling region's landscape of vines 541Down by the Sea: The Mornington Peninsula 542Traveling down into Dromana 542Rising up on Main Ridge 543Centering on Red Hill South and Merricks 543Meandering around Moorooduc 544Macedon: Bubbling Up to Meet You 544Tasmania: Wines of a Cool Climate 545North coast novelties 546East coast charmers 546Hobart's finest 546Chapter 4 The Wine Regions of South and South West Australia 549McLaren Vale: Reaping the Benefits of a Mediterranean Climate 549Coriole wines to cellar and drink now 551Top-notch Primo vino 551Unique names from d'Arenberg 552The best from town-based wineries 552Well-priced wines from the Vale 553Shiraz to stash from Clarendon 553Big, Bold, and Brassy: The Barossa Valley 553Charles Melton Wines 555Elderton Wines 555Leo Buring Wines 555Orlando-Wyndham 556Penfolds Wines 556Peter Lehmann Wines 557Richmond Grove 557Rockford Wines 558St Hallett 558Saltram Wines 558Seppeltsfield Winery 559Turkey Flat Vineyards 559Wolf Blass Wines 559Yalumba Winery 560Small, Subdued, and Sassy Eden Valley 560Henschke Wines 561Irvine 562Mountadam Vineyards 562Tin Shed Wines 562Classy Clare Valley 563Annie's Lane 564Grosset Wines 564Knappstein Wines 564Leasingham Wines 564Taylors Wines 565Tasting along the Limestone Coast 565Picking the best grape varieties 566Spending some time in Coonawarra 567South West Australia: Beaches, Forests, and Sunshine 568Cooling winds and varied soils in Margaret River and Geographe 568Vigor in the Blackwood Valley 569Cooling altitudes and rich soils in Pemberton and Manjimup 569The grapes that Margaret River and her neighbors do best 570Recommended producers of the South West zone 570Chapter 5 New Zealand's Islands and Their Wines 573Discovering Diversity on New Zealand's North Island 573Finding good Chardonnay and Merlot in and around Auckland 574Proudly producing white wines in Gisborne 576Delving into Hawke's Bay, east of the ranges 577Checking out the rugged Wairarapa Region and its Pinot Noir 578Liquid Distinction from New Zealand's Cool South Island 580Finding much to admire in Marlborough 581Cooling off in Canterbury 582Heading south to Otago 583Book VI And More Wine Regions! 585Chapter 1 Intriguing Wines from Old Spain 587Rioja Rules the Roost 587Ribera del Duero: Drawing New Eyes and Palates to Spain 589Mountainous Priorato and Its Rich Reds 590Five Other Spanish Regions to Watch 591Penedés 591Rías Baixas 592Navarra 592Toro 593Rueda 593Sherry: A Misunderstood Wine 594Entering the Jerez triangle 594Exploring the duality of Sherry: Fino and oloroso 594Aging communally 595Turning two into a dozen (at least) 596Storing and serving Sherry 598Recommending specific Sherries 598Presenting Montilla: A Sherry look-alike 600Chapter 2 Portugal: Port Wine and Beyond 601Port: The Glory of Portugal 601Home, home on the Douro 602A Port style for every persuasion 602Suggestions for storing and serving Port 604Recommended Port producers 605Portugal's "Green" White: Vinho Verde 606Noteworthy Portuguese Red Wines 606Madeira: A Long-Lived Island Wine 607Seeing how Madeira's made 608Enjoying the timeless taste of Madeira 609Presenting the varieties that make Madeira 610Chapter 3 Finding Little-Known Treasures in Greece 611Glimpsing the Grapes of Greece 611Introducing Greece's Wine Regions and the Wines They Yield 613Understanding the Naming Regulations of Greek Wines 614Chapter 4 A Sampling of Wines from Germany, Austria, and Hungary 615Germany: Europe's Individualist 615Riesling and its cohorts 616Germany's wine laws in a nutshell 616The wine regions of Deutschland 619Austria's Exciting Whites (And Reds) 622Hungary: A Promising Wine-Producing Nation 623Chapter 5 From South America to South Africa: Rounding Out the Top Wine Nations 625Chile Discovers Itself 626Checking out Chile's wine Regions 626Taking a closer look at Chilean taste and style 628Argentina, a Major League Player 629Meeting Mendoza and San Juan - and the grapes they favor 629Naming Argentine producers worth knowing 630Embarking on a South African Wine Safari 631South Africa's principal wine regions 631Steen, Pinotage, and company 632Index 635