The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America

by Cass, Bruce; Robinson, Jancis

• ISBN13: 9780198601142
• ISBN10: 019860114X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

With more than 1400 wineries producing many of today's most celebrated labels, North America has become a respected world power in wine production. California Chardonnays now compete with French, and discriminating shoppers can now choose Mexican and Canadian reds in addition to their European counterparts. The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America encompasses this fertile region's wine and winemaking with scope and authority, illuminating the major techniques, variations, and key players on the North American scene for the first time in one comprehensive volume. The ultimate complement to The Oxford Companion to Wine --now in its second edition and praised by The New York Times as the "most complete compendium of wine knowledge assembled in modern times"--this new Companion objectively surveys the current state of American wine production, celebrating traditions and sensibilities unique to American vintages while highlighting the geographical, philosophical, and commercial variations that distinguish regional wines. General Editor Bruce Cass and world-renowned wine expert Jancis Robinson weave the knowledge of wine academics and writers from across America into a compelling set of introductory essays that distinguish features of North American wine and its history, followed by corresponding alphabetical entries that explore wine topics in depth. Although California dominates American production, wineries and local specialties from throughout North America receive balanced coverage within individual area, region, state, and country entries. Mondavi and Beringer are here, along with segments on Gold Seal winery of New York, Santo Tomas of Mexico, Stoney Ridge of Ontario, and many others. Curious wine tasters will also find reliable information on grape and resultant wine varieties, viticultural techniques, notable brands, and the most coveted wines. All technical terms are fully explained with helpful cross-references to Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine. Sure to become the classic book on American wine, The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America is a masterpiece of scholarship with a dynamic flavor befitting its subject. Novices and connoisseurs alike will find it an irresistible resource.

Author Biography

Bruce Cass brings years of internationally recognized expertise to this remarkable project. He has taught wine classes on the Stanford University campus since 1972, helped found the Society of Wine Educators, and was the editorial consultant for James Halliday's Wine Atlas of California, which won both the Julia Child and the James Beard awards as Best Wine Book of 1993. He is a respected wine judge in international competitions both at home and abroad. He lives in San Francisco, California, where he runs the non-profit Pacific Rim Wine Education Center. Jancis Robinson is one of the world's leading authorities on wine and the editor of the acclaimed Oxford Companion to Wine. Now in its second edition, this bestseller has won numerous awards, including the Cliquot Book of the Year, the James Beard Award, the Julia Child/ International Association of Culinary Professionals Award, and the Andre Simon Memorial Award. The first British journalist to have passed the notoriously tough Master of Wine exams, she is now the wine columnist for the Financial Times and writes a regular column for publications in eleven countries on five continents, including The Los Angeles Times. She lives in London, England.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Preface	ix
Abbreviations and Conversions	xi
Note to the Reader	xiii
Introductory Essays:
Wine and the American Consumer	1	(8)
Jon Fredrikson
How Good are North American Wines?	9	(5)
Jancis Robinson
Commentators and the Wine Media	14	(3)
Jancis Robinson
The Prohibition Paradox	17	(4)
Dan Berger
The US Wine Distribution System	21	(3)
Jean-Michel Valette
Cybersales and the Future	24	(4)
Peter Granoff
Wine Service in the US	28	(4)
Larry Stone
American Wine Auctions	32	(3)
Fritz Hatton
Recent Advances in North American Winemaking	35	(4)
Merry Edwards
Microbiology in North American Wine	39	(5)
Ron Subden
North American Viticulture	44	(5)
Philip Freese
Labor in the North America Vineyard	49	(5)
Bruce Cass
The Vine Family in North America	54	(3)
Lucie T. Morton
North American Geneticists Untangle the Vine Variety Web	57	(2)
Carole Meredith
Organic Wine in North America	59	(2)
Jim Lapsley
A--Z Text	61	(206)
Appendices:
Matching Food and Wine in North America	261	(2)
Larry Stone
Classic American Foods with Wine Suggestions	263	(4)
Bruce Cass
Lists of US States by Vineyard Acreage and Number of Wineries	267	(2)
Maps of North American Wine-Growing Regions	269	(18)
Index	287