5 comments about Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink.

1. It is said that to really appreciate wine, one must understand its context. When some talk of "context", they often focus on what is in the bottle, such as a wine's varietal makeup, the vineyard from which its fruit was sourced, and/or the vintage which serves to describe the growing season. Even still, there are some who extend context further to include the historical and cultural influences shaping a wine, specifically those factors that have served to guide viticulturists and enologists in a singular fashion within a particular region.
   
   Tyler Colman has now broadened this notion of context with Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink, a book that should appeal to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of wine.
   
   If you have ever wondered why certain wines show up on some store shelves but not others, or why specific wines appear on certain restaurant menus while others do not, then you should read Wine Politics. The book not only explains how politics influence the distribution of wine here in the U.S., but also reveals how these same forces direct each bottle's production and eventual consumption. The best description of this book is offered by the author in Chapter 1::
   
   "In this book I follow the travels that a bottle of wine takes from the vineyard to the dining-room table. Along the way it may encounter flying winemakers, humble vignerons, dull regulators, passionate activists, and powerful critics. I tell the neglected backstory of wine, which, as with Hollywood movies, can often be more interesting than the finished product."
   
   Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, approaches this topic by following the wine histories of France and the U.S., with a focus on winemaking in each country's respective, and most venerable, region, Bordeaux and Napa. This comparative treatment offers the reader a variety of useful insights and revelations throughout the book. Tyler extends his geographic coverage to include other regions of the world, including mentions of specific politics, policies, and practices in the Pacific Northwest.
   
   I enjoyed the second half of the book the most, which includes chapters such as, "Who Controls Your Palate?", and, "Greens, Gripes, and Grapes". What Michael Pollan did in such great detail for food in "The Omnivore's Dilemma", Tyler Colman has now provided for wine, albeit at a cursory level, in these two chapters. For it is in chapters five and six that Tyler exposes the downside of the industrialization of wine, while contrasting this approach with the upside of "natural" winemaking practices.
   
   After reading Tyler's book, I now have a deeper understanding of the public policies that influence the wines I am able to buy and ultimately enjoy at my table. As a result, I am a much more informed consumer, citizen, and most importantly, voter. I highly recommend Wine Politics as required reading for anyone seeking to enlarge their understanding of wine.
   
   If Wine Politics is any indication of the path Tyler Colman is on with future books, then I am confident he will continue to increase my appreciation for wine in the years ahead.



2. On my list of "summer readings", there was Wine Politics. How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters and critics Influence the Wines We Drink by Tyler Colman. Quite a program! And a surprising one! I knew DrVino blog and enjoy reading it. I never commented - being a little shy but always liked the spirited and hot posts and debates. I knew Dr Vino was an academic and a fellow teacher as well as a fellow doctor since he holds a Ph.D.
   
   Because of all those similitudes I read with a lot of interest his opus and especially enjoyed the picture of the author with the Paris Notre-Dame cathedral in the background! Tyler Colman is an expert on French and American wines, laws and marketing strategies. His constant parallel between the two worlds is very enlightening and brings a few surprises. French-born I usually rant about the French administration, its stupid regulations and how the system slows down (and even prohibits) any kind of initiatives. Guess what? America is not any better: the pages on how the environmentalists prevented the development of many vineyards is absolutely amazing. And don't even mention the war between "Baptists and Bootleggers" - a fascinating chapter - or the Prohibition days.
   
   In this book, everybody will learn something: marketers, wine lovers, winemakers, corporations and consumers. After reading the book, you'll know how the bottle you bought ended up on the shelf of a supermarket or a very exclusive wine store, why the wine you heard one of your friends say wonders about is not available in your area and why this wine you know is plonk is all over the stores.
   
   Please make sure you read this book - especially if you're French or American. Knowing very well your side of the story, you'll be amazed by what is really behind the scenes in your country or the other one. Having a foot in both, my heart went back and forth as well as my compassion for the two industries and the consumer. But I refuse to be pessimistic and I agree 100% with Tyler when he writes: "Any producer who can sell wines for $500 a bottle, or a company such as LVMH that can sell almost 600,000 cases of wine for an average of $44 a bottle, certainly has something to teach wine marketers in other parts of the world. But William Deutsch, who sold 7 millions cases of Yellow Tail at $6 a bottle in 2005, also has lessons to teach the French. This global exchange of learning helps make winemakers more efficient as well as helping artisanal winemakers make their products more distinctive."
   
   Enjoy life, good wines and good food!



3. Wine Politics is a book that tells us how wine is made. It is not about pruning, grape selection, fermentation methods or blending. It does take a tangent that is often set aside by most wine drinkers. The author explains and exemplifies, in a manner that makes it very clear that adjacent decisions to wine making are sometimes more influential on the styles of wines that we drink than the actual transformation of fruit into wine. It tells you about the conditions on which farmers and winemakers have to conform to practice their craft. Its approach is sober and it does not rely on a fatalistic or demagogic rhetoric as it portrays the matter of winemaking and its history in a holistic manner. It pictures the cause and effect of political, economical and marketing decisions on the wines we drink.
   
   Tyler Colman's purpose is to enlighten the consumer about the political forces that all producers have to be subjected by, even those seen as celebrities. As he says: it "illuminates how distributors, mobsters, environmentalists, regulators, and critics all have a hand in producing, selling and delivering the glass of wine we will drink tonight". In doing it so, it also helps to demystify the common dogmatic approach to wine, as choices in wine making, more often than not, are a fruit of impositions of political and marketing realities.
   
   This book takes on the USA and French markets as examples and set them "side by side, studying the different paths taken by winemakers ... to produce the quality wines we enjoy today."
   
   In France he draws a picture of the early rise of Bordeaux and fall of La Rochelle due to marriage ties between Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II in 1152, the influence of négociants and the early creation of brands with the classification scheme of 1855, the tragedy brought by the phylloxera aphid in the mid 19th century and rebirth of an industry with new plantings and the renaissance of old Midi (Southwest of France) with advent of the railroads and the consequent crisis of oversupply and falling prices, the fraudulent production of wine and the creation of the restrictive Appellacion System to protect those known areas.
   
   In the USA depicts the importance of the Californian Gold Rush with the arrival of immigrants and their thirst for wine, the formation of large conglomerates which valued quantity other than quality and the temperance movement to ban alcoholic consumption. He exposes the loopholes of the 18th Amendment (The Prohibition), the rise of home winemaking and the consequent image problem after the Repeal, the rise of the new American viticulture after the Paris Tasting of 1976 and the bureaucratic growth of a viticultural area after its success.
   
   It is a book about the "booms and bursts" of the wine business. It is a historical account that helps us understand the mechanisms that trigger changes and trends that are often are not understood by the unsuspecting consumer. It is a must read book for everyone interested in the trade and the history behind this beverage that some are so passionate about.



4. Starting this book and reading it cover to cover would get a wine novice up to speed and conversant across subject matter that is frequently difficult to penetrate. In addition, the author's writing is incredibly insightful, lucid and accessible.
   
   My Top 10 List of things that are interesting about Wine Politics -
   
   10) The author paraphrases the all time famous opening line to a book --Dickens' from a Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Doing so in HIS opening line is a wonderful, slightly funny, insider homage to Dickens and other writers.
   
   9) On page 23, the author attributes the first successful commercial wine operation to John James Dufour in Vevay, Indiana. This is a fact I believe to be true, but other historians do not acknowledge it in the same context. Indiana is the home of the first successful viticulture in the U.S.
   
   8) On page 34, the author notes that FDR and his administration sought to revive the domestic wine industry, post Prohibition, establishing an experimental winery in Beltsville, Maryland and Mississippi. An interesting factoid.
   
   7) On page 76, the author notes that Napa Valley become the second AVA in 1981. Augusta, Missouri beat them to the punch for the first designated AVA. Another interesting factoid.
   
   6) Chapter 4 should be required reading for every wine lover for the in-depth, but easy to understand explanation of the dynamics of big and small wineries and how that wine gets to our table
   
   5) On page 110, aside from the extracted wines that are largely attributed to Robert Parker (which gets good coverage here, as well), the author summarizes the balance of the wine industry that is polarizing for many enthusiasts in one fell swoop, in regards to large corporations like Constellation and E& J Gallo, he says, "All of these corporations regard wine as a brand."
   
   4) On page 114, the author notes that the first genetically modified yeast strain for wine, ML01, is available in the U.S. An interesting fact that I did not know that is even more interesting given our current fascination with food origins and natural winemaking
   
   3) On page 118, the author paraphrases and quotes noted macro-economist John Maynard Keynes, a noted 20th century thinker and translates that to wine reviews with the following mention, " ... to try to predict the winner of a lineup of one hundred contestants in a beauty contest, the best tactic is to `favor an average definition of beauty rather than a personal one.'"
   
   2) On page 136, the author distills Biodynamics down to one succinct, understandable sentence: "Biodynamics takes a holistic approach to establishing a self-regulating ecosystem, with few or no external inputs and nothing going to waste."
   
   1) The footnotes run 16 pages. The bibliography runs 6 pages. Rarely do you see this level of research and detail. Impressive.
   
   Wine Politics is a fantastic book - a book that every wine lover should read and a book that, undoubtedly, will make its way onto college wine program curriculum and reading lists. If you are interested in learning the dynamics and back-story of how and why wine gets to our table in the manner that it does, in a way that is understandable and concisely explained, I cannot think of a better book to help guide you down the path to greater understanding.



5. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys wine. It is a concise and precise explanation of how and why different drinks from different places end up at our tables. The most valuable insight one takes away from this informative book is that we can and should trust our own palates and preferences, and not concern ourselves with the mythology of wine, which as it turns out, is often self aggrandizing if not outright fraudulent. Distinguishing among categories of wine we learn the mass produced "factory" wines from Australia and elsewhere pretty much guarantee that one bottle will look, smell and taste like the next 5,000 bottles of that varietal, just as we learn that the "farmer" produced wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Oregon and parts of California can vary significantly not only from year to year but from bottle to bottle. Finally we learn of the undue influence some critics have on what is grown and we learn that clever vintners are designing their wines to appeal to these critics regardless of how they really think wine should be made. With backstories about the politics of wine in France and the United States and with charts and tables showing us the massive control
   a very limited number of companies, mostly privately held, control just about everything we get on average store shelves the book teaches one important lesson. Drink what you like, search out obscure wineries, explore on your own, and trust your own judgment.

5 comments about The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook.

1. The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook book looks cute and promising enough, but the bread flour recommended in the book for pizza dough does not have high enough gluten. Without using high-gluten flour (OR making it with vital wheat gluten), resulting crust is too soft and soggy, not crispy at all. Some people like it like this, but can't make the specified 9" pizzas without the dough coming apart and then having to patch it; it's just not elastic enough. The dough is actually not a dough, but more like a very sticky batter which sticks to the bottom of the KitchenAid stand mixer and therefore doesn't get much mixing because of this and because there's so little of it. Very sticky to handle and, again, there's just not enough batter-dough made from the recipe to make what they claim, so be ready to do some recipe calculations.
   
   The instructions for making the dough are poorly written, resulting in vagueness, misunderstandings, and lots of rereading to try to figure out what they want you to do.
   
   I'll stick with THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL, which gives me *real* incredible pizza.
   
   THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL: MAKE PIZZA LIKE THE PROS...USED TO!



2. I just spent 3 hours (plus mixing up the dough last night) making Thai Chicken Pizza from this book. The flavor of this is amazing, just like the restaurant, great great great. But the crust was so crunchy and hard my family could hardly eat it. I followed directions to the letter - even tossing the dough! (Directions for this part were very good, I felt like quite a pro) The book was readable and fun, the authors likeable and helpful. But my, that crust. That was nothing like the restaurant and was universally disliked by all members of my family.
   Next time time I'll stick with my usual crust - which is a lot easier - and just use this book for toppings. But you can bet I'll make this pizza again for company (different crust of course).



3. This cookbook is great. I love the pizzas. The book arrived fast and as described by the shipper.



4. After I figured out how to make honey wheat bread from scratch, the possibilies were endless! Great pizza!



5. The pizzas look good, but each one requires putting the pizza stone in the oven for 1 hour on 500 degrees. At the cost of present electricity and fuel, I don't think I will try it.

5 comments about Chez Panisse Café Cookbook.

1. I have a lot of respect for Alice Waters. She plays a positive, constructive role in promoting excellent,healthy food in this country. I wish, however, she had take more care over the quality of the product that has her name on it, The Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook. Obscure ingredients intrigue me and, because I live in northern California, I'm likely to find a lot of them. What annoys me is sloppy editing that can lead to their wastage. Too many of the recipes are unclear. My complaint has nothing to do with my experience as a cook. The flours in the pizza dough recipe could have been described more clearly. Where was the editor? Why didn't Ms Waters' read her galleys closely? I want to point out one more recipe to show how the small things matter. In the recipe that calls for bottarga (dried tuna or spelt roe that comes in small quantities, costs a fortune and can only be found at an Italian supermarket in Sacramento, as far as I know), saffron and lemon over spaghetti, the directions are to shave the bottarga over the spaghetti. Now that I've made bottarga with spaghetti and lemon (but not the saffron) several times, there is no way that shaving the bottarga (at $40 for a couple of ounces!) helps melt it over the spaghetti. Why wasn't grating called for? It's a minor detail, but when expensive ingredients are involved, I'd like to have confidence in the cookbook writer when I try it.

   So, go back to Jean-George, Marcella, Lynn and even Jamie. Leave this one behind. Alice's food is best experienced in her restaurant.




2. I had made many things out of the book, and all have turned out delicious. The success of the dishes depends completely on having the highest quality, freshest ingredients available. If you can't get a hold of any pancetta or prosciutto, you're going to be really limited in what you can prepare from this book. The cookbook is definitely for a serious home cook, who's interested in spending time in the kitchen, making homemade sausages, experimenting with homemade pancetta, etc. If that's you, you will love it!



3. My foodie friends in Berkeley jokingly refer to Alice's books as "food porn". I have actually cooked a couple of the recipes and, while they are correct, they are exhausting. In Berkeley, CA, where the author's restaurant is thriving, it is easy to get the interesting and seasonal ingredients that are described in the book. However, the complexity of preparation of the recipes makes the book less acessible to most readers and home cooks.

   The illustrations are lovely, as are the narratives. It is fun to just read the book and fantasize about being a hemp-clad, kinder version of Martha Stewart. However, it is not the most practical cookbook to stick in the cookbook holder when putting the family's meal together.

   The real lesson behind this book is that foods that are in season taste better, are less expensive, and are fun to eat. Changing the menu as the seasons change keeps the experience of dining and cooking interesting and entertaining. Also, buying seasonal food is better for the environment than flying foods out of season from another hemisphere.

   Take that wisdom, go to your store and get seasonal fruits and vegetables and use an easier and more accessible cookbook like, "The Joy of Cooking". But do keep this one on the coffeetable for those days you want to fantasize about being a world class hippie chef.




4. This book is, at the very least, a feast for the eyes due to the hauntingly Art Nouveau woodcut illustrations by David Lance Goines. This, together with Alice Water's substantial reputation sets the bar of expectations very high for this book.

   Waters has established a niche for herself in the culinary world, which is not unlike that of Martha Stewart. She is the flag bearer for a culinary style which endorses using fresh local produce for both their health benefits and the economic benefits to small, artisinal farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, followed by a loving handling of these ingredients in the kitchen in order to draw out their best properties. Her similarity to Miss Martha is that both are vocal in their support of their lifestyle choices, yet they are not necessarily the most gifted craftsmen in their chosen fields. Both enhance their own standing by hosting true stars in the culinary world. Martha does it on her TV show with Mario and Eric and Jean-George and Daniel and a long line of other justly famous chefs. Alice does it in her kitchen where she has launched the careers of Jeremiah Tower and Paul Bertolli.

   Ms. Waters' efforts may not have been as lucrative as Miss Martha's, but Alice has succeeded in establishing a leader's reputation in her field with no blemishes other than a few for possibly hogging a bit more credit than may be her due for the success of Chez Panisse and the creation of `California Cuisine'.

   This book seems to answer one question puzzling me about California Cuisine. I have always wondered whether it was Miss Alice or Wolfgang Puck who first installed a pizza oven and started selling pizza in a distinctly un-Italian venue in California. Alice herein claims that Wolfgang got the idea from a visit to Chez Panisse. If Alice had any regrets about the glamorous Austrian's stealing her thunder, she can get satisfaction in having referred her incompetent German oven bricklayer to Wolfgang.

   As I indicate in my title to this review, the book contains much more than you would expect to find in a conventional cookbook. It's content is much richer than Alice's book on vegetables, for example, in that it opens with a little history of the Chez Panisse Café and its style of service, clientele, and suppliers. The level of detail about the ingredients even matches the more specialized Vegetables book. After a while, it starts to read less and less like a cookbook and more and more like a culinary travelogue, the most famous of which is Patience Gray's `Honey from a Weed'. The travelogue aspect adds value for the reader, but it is not enough to carry the book to a full five star rating.

   The culinary aspects of the book, the recipes, give a loving treatment of their ingredients, making every effort to respect the attributes of each foodstuff. The book does not, however, spell out every little detail of every technique. It does not, a la Alton Brown for example, give you careful steps for dealing with beets. It's mission is not to teach prepping, it is to communicate a knowledge and appreciation for all of the different types of beets available to you, once you have established your connections with local farmers. I have not found any extremely difficult recipes in this book, but an amateur with a fair level of skill will enjoy the book much more than it will by a rank newbie.

   Just as with Patience Gray's book, not having a source of nettles for my pasta will not detract from my pleasure in reading about how nettles are prepared. I am truly amazed at the extent to which foraging for `weeds' continues to this day in some European societies. But back to Alice.

   I give this book good marks for giving the name of every recipe, not just chapter titles, in the table of contents. This little feature always enhances the value of a cookbook. This value is further enhanced by listing recipes by major ingredient rather than by course. This fits the style of the earlier book on Vegetables and makes finding an appropriate recipe even easier. This organization is taken to it's logical conclusion in that even pantry recipes commonly put into a separate chapter are slotted by ingredient so that chicken stock is in the chapter on chicken and so on.

   The recipes cover the most simple salads to some of the most unusual products such as boudin blanc, a French white sausage of chicken and pork. The range of recipes is simply a result of Alice's staying on message. These are all the recipes made at the Chez Panisse Café, and only recipes made at the Chez Panisse Café.

   While several recipes may be beyond the skills, time constraints, budget, or ingredient availability of many readers, the book succeeds in providing great value. As a source of salad recipes alone, the book is first rate. Salads are one of Alice Waters' most passionate subjects. While my title to this review holds back any claim that this is a classic like `Honey from a Weed', it is the equal to the very similar, recent book `The Vineyard Garden' to which I gave five stars. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who shares Alice Waters' ideals. I would recommend it to anyone else interested in food and cookbooks.




5. Alice Walters is well known for her "philosophy" of cooking, as exemplified in her restaurant "Chez Panisse." She emphasizes top quality ingredients and fresh foods. For example, she developed a network of local producers of vegetables to provide the best quality and freshest raw materials for her restaurant's menu items. She speaks of how (page 3) "central the quality of produce is to our cooking. Because the food we cook is simple and straightforward, every ingredient must be the best of its kind." Since most of the growers that she has worked with sell at local farmers' markets, she suggests that readers of this cookbook use local farmers' markets as a source of vegetables--not your average supermarket.
   
   The cookbook illustrates her ideas pretty well. There are simple recipes; there are others that (despite her words above) aren't. The very first recipe, on page 7, is a simple garden lettuce salad. And she notes that (page 6) "a restaurant is only as good as its simplest green salad." On page 55 is another salad recipe, one of only two recipes that have been continuously on her menu since the day her place opened--Baked goat cheese with garden lettuces.
   
   There are nice hints for cooking, such as her description on page 44 about how to make a perfect hard-cooked egg.
   
   Other recipes that strike me as interesting--Crostata de perrella (the other item that has been on the menu since Day One), a calzone; Yellowfin Tuna with coriander and fennel seed; Salted Atlantic cod baked with tomatoes; Roast pork loin with rosemary and fennel; Red-wine braised bacon; Grilled chicken breasts au poivre. And so on.
   
   This represents, first, a good cookbook, with quite a few interesting recipes. It also represents a view of how to get the best quality out of one's cooking. For both reasons, this is a good buy for those interested in acquiring worthwhile cookbooks.

1 comments about The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy: A Regional and Village Guide to the Best Wines and Their Producers (The World's Finest Wines).

1. This book is very useful for wine lovers who already know the basics about Tuscany wines and region and wish to know something else. Colours and images make a very special presentation, as well as the family touch when showing the different generations of wine producers.

5 comments about The Tra Vigne Cookbook: Seasons in the California Wine Country.

1. I collect cookbooks. I like this book because the recipes are original and the ingredients aren't too esoteric. I don't like the coffee table size, it's too hard to browse through. I recommend if you are an experienced cook and always searching for new, interesting recipes.



2. We bought this on Amazon after eating in Napa, and are very pleased with the recipes. The recipes are not overly intimidating for a casual weekday meal. In contrast, the Mustards' Grill cookbook gives a number of more advanced recipes, with complex ingredients. This cookbook avoids the need for ingredients from a high, high end grocery store. We were so pleased with this cookbook we checked out another from the same chef (casual cooking), and ended up purchasing this book as well. If you have fresh ingredients available, this is a nice cookbook for a dinner party or a weekday meal. Overall, very pleased with this cookbook.



3. We like both Michael Chiarello's show on PBS and the wine country. This is a beautiful cookbook that combines both, so it is a perfect addition to our cookbook collection.



4. The recipes in this book are a bit on the "over the top" aspect for me (a home cook). However I'm just in the process of making the "Very Green Broccoli Soup" from the book and this recipe is straight forward. However I enjoy the chef tips and various stories that Michael has in his book. I happened to buy this used from Amazon and it is well worth the price. I would not have been interested in paying full price, though. Note: I do own two other of Michael's cookbooks "Entertaining" and "Casual Cooking" as well as his "Napa Stories" book so you could understand that I enjoy his approach, stories, style, recipes, etc. All three were acquired used, and in my opinion, well worth the the few bucks (<$15 each) I paid for each.



5. I bought this cookbook at Tra Vigne 15 years ago for the Fusilli Michelango recipe which everyone in my family loves. Another incredible, melt-in-your-mouth dish is the Lemon Braised Artichokes with Fettucine. I make this for special occasions for my husband who is crazy about it. Lots of other incredible recipes in this book. I heartily recommend it.

5 comments about Discovering Korean Cuisine: Recipes from the Best Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.

1. I have a Korean cookbook in Korean and purchased this one for my husband since its in English. Let's just say upon reviewing the book, I realized that this cookbook contain simplified or should I say 'water down' version of the authentic recipes. If you have tasted and know a real good Korean food you will be disappointed as I was. Otherwise, you might not know the difference and might be tempted to purchase this book with its pretty pictures and flash title.



2. I have purchased a few of them and give them away as gifts. It's one of the better Korean cook books I have ever found. I love it.



3. I love this book I don't think that they included all of the secrets. But lets face it a restaurant will never tell every thing. The recipes are very good but some are complicated.



4. I grew up on Korean food and recently decided to try to learn to cook more. I've eaten at a ton of Korean restaurants in LA, so I was very excited to buy this book because I think the Korean food in LA in particular is excellent.
   
   I've now tried some of the recipes from the book and the food came out okay, but clearly something was not quite right. I thought it was my cooking, but some korean friends came over and they pointed out fundamental ingredients that were missing from some of the recipes. I am skeptical that the restaurants that contributed these recipes follow what they wrote.



5. This book has taken a permanent place on my cookbook shelf--Korean food is always delicious, and I hope to visit one of the restaurants in the book to see if my dishes compare! My favorite has to be the spicy beef soup (janggukbap, p 86) it's easy to make and tastes absolutely amazing. I've used several of the recipes when guests have come for dinner, and people are always impressed (it's pretty satisfying!) I've also found that you can substitute other ingredients for ones that might be harder to find and it still ends up tasting great. Definitely worth the price

1 comments about Wine All-in-One For Dummies.

1. I am so clueless about wines and only get simple store brands of under $10. I wanted to get in touch with the wine world and this book was a simple help but not much. I didnt care for anything past the third chapter as I am so new. I learned a few tips but not that much.

1 comments about Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages.

1. So says Patrick McGovern, and this book explains how it got that way. McGovern theorizes that organisms great and small, perhaps from the unicellular to non-human primates to humans, are hard wired to crave the products of sugar fermentation, particularly alcohol. This taste for fermented beverages has been a driving force in the evolution of human biology, agriculture, culture and religion, or so it would seem. McGovern documents this evolution through archeological findings from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East -- anywhere and everywhere wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages have been made for many thousands of years,from grain, fruit, honey and whatever other raw material mankind could coax into creating intoxicating food and drink. We are, as McGovern has entitled his very first chapter, "Homo Imbibens."
   
   As the book concludes, summing up the theme, "our species' intimate relationship with fermented beverages over millions of years has, in large measure, made us what we are today."
   
   Being neither an archeologist nor a paleontologist, I found some of the copious detail presented in this book to be tough sledding. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating read and worth the effort.

5 comments about The New American Plate Cookbook: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life.

1. As someone who loves to cook, but doesn't have a ton of cooking skills or time, I found this book to be extremely easy to follow and fast. Most of the time put into these recipes is in washing and cutting produce. Every recipe I've tried has been delicious, with a huge range of flavors for every palate: Sesame Ginger Asparagus, Greek Style Scallops, Stuffed Peppers with Feta and Pine Nuts, Brazilian Style Seafood Stew, Quinoa with toasted pecans, fresh thyme, and dried apricots and cranberries, Yummy frittatas, Stirfrys, recipes for chicken, pork, lamb, beef ... Desserts and breads like, Gingerbread or Raspberry & Nectarine Cobbler & so much more.
   
   I love just thumbing through this book just to gather more nutritional tidbits of information, and get inspired for the next meal. The pictures are enough to get to motivated. I also might add that I LOVE that this is a healthy cookbook, but there is nothing "diet" about it: they use butter, cheese, coconut milk, sauces, healthy oils and seeds and nuts, just in proper portions. And it's all about variety of flavors, textures, colors and the foods you regularly eat.
   
   For anyone wanting to add delicious and good for you food to their plates BUY THIS BOOK! I'm buying a bunch of copies as gifts!



2. Excellent cookbook. The recipes are very flavorful. We have liked all dozen recipes we have made.



3. ON 12/30/08, at age 43, I was diagnosed with choroidal melanoma, an eye cancer that only hits 8 our of every million people. My particular survival prognosis is pretty good, but I'm not taking any chances. Using this cookbook as a foundation, plus 14 miles a week on the treadmill, I've dropped 40 lbs, slashed my triglycerides 150 points, and hopefully revamped my immune system so that should I every have to battle a metastic recurrence of my cancer, I'll be in much better shape to do so.
   
   Until my diagnosis, my sole intake of vegetables was through salads, and I ate quite a bit of grilled meat. No more. This book has transformed my diet so completely and so quickly, it's like being in a different person's body. Almost all of the recipes from this book are super, and even those that are less than super can become so with minor tinkering. You will spend more time prepping food; veggies are just that way. You will probably spend more time shopping, and more money on organics, but I suppose you can pay for them now, or pay for more healthcare later.



4. This book is full of healthy dishes that are sure to please! You can try something new everynight and be pleased with the results!



5. If you are like most of us, you grew up with meals that were planned around the "meat" as the main course with bread and very few vegetables. My husband's doctor suggested he not eat as much meat and pointed him to the American Institute for Cancer Research website where I found this book. It has been so easy to limit the meat in our diet. These recipes are flavorful, filling and easy which is a must for me because I am not much of a cook. They are pretty flexible too if you don't have a specific ingredient, you can substitute and it is still good. The best part about the book is he lost 15 lbs. My only complaint is the binding of the book is coming apart and it isn't that old. I do use it several nights a week.

4 comments about Quick Access Napa-Sonoma Wine Country Map and Guide (California Wine Region Maps).

1. 
   For my latest trip to Napa/Sonoma wine country, I purchased several books beforehand in the hopes that, among all of our choices, we'd be able to find the perfect, off-the-beaten-path winery. We did in Tres Sabores, although sadly most of their wine had been damaged in a fire.
   
   Having a good book or two on the wineries and restaurants is helpful, but in the end, this map, with it's simple laminated 4-fold design, road map with wineries and tasting rooms labelled on one side, and on the other side, an alphabetical list of wineries, their hours and phone numbers, was the most useful.
   
   Whatever the price, this clear and comprehensive tool is worth three times as much. And definitely stop by and have a chat with the folks at Tres Sabores.



2. worst map I have ever used. Save your money and pick one up at the wineries when you get down there - they are much more accurate (surprise!)



3. This is a great visual tool to help lay out your next trip to Napa Valley. Small and compact but laminated so you don't have to worry about wrinkles.



4. This map is essential if you plan on touring Napa and Sonoma vineyards and wine tastings. Besides showing us the way, the reverse side of the map gave us vital information concerning hours of operation, phone numbers and tours. We didn't get in the car without it.