Book Recommendations
The Wine Maker’s Answer Book
July 9, 2010 - 3:31pm | by dorcas
Home winemaking is an appealing hobby for a new generation of wine lovers lured by the promise of a great payoff — small batches of handmade wine. It’s the perfect opportunity to experiment with flavors, have fun playing with chemistry, and share a few tasty bottles with friends and family. But safely fermenting, bottling, and aging wine is a demanding process requiring special equipment, impeccable sanitation, an understanding of chemical reactions, and the patience to see the aging process through to the end. No matter how experienced the home wine maker, unforeseen questions develop with every batch of new wine.
When a wine maker has problems with leaky corks or finds an oily film on top of his fermenting wine, what’s the simplest, quickest way to get an answer? The Wine Maker’s Answer Book is a 24/7 help line with advice on hundreds of winemaking dilemmas. From the basic curiosity of the novice (What equipment will I need to get started?) to the finer points of fermentation (What is the impact of malolactic fermentation on acidity?), every step of the process is covered in detail.
Author Alison Crowed uses a friendly question-and-answer format to explain the mysteries of turning grape juice into wine, whether the reader is beginning with fresh grapes or a home winemaking kit. To the straightforward requests for information, she offers detailed descriptions of procedures and equipment. For stickier real-life problems, she first carefully assesses the possible causes and then gives expert advice on fixing the trouble.
Covering the entire range of situations a winemaker is likely to face, this handy, at-a-glance reference will make every batch of wine taste better.
The Wine Maker’s Answer Book, Alison Crowed, 2007, Storey Publishing
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course
July 9, 2010 - 3:19pm | by dorcas
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course is simply the best selling wine book in North America—it’s a classic. In addition to retaining the expanded 60-page section on “101 Wines You Should Know,” from last year, the 2009 revision will include 16 pages of quizzes (two at the end of every chapter) to test readers on how much they’ve learned—just as if they were in Kevin’s class.
Those who use the book as an actual course will find this enormously helpful, and a great challenge for testing their knowledge of wine fundamentals. Of course, all wine lists and labels, vintage charts, and trend reports will receive a complete update, too.
As always, Zraly organizes his wines by region, from simple to complex, beginning with white wines from France, the U.S., and Germany; he moves on to the red wines of Burgundy and the Rhône, Bordeaux, the U.S., Italy, Australia, Argentina, and Chile; and concludes with champagnes and ports. By following Kevin’s order, readers will experience the best wines and the wide diversity of taste, style, region, and country. It’s not only a comprehensive and bargain-priced hands-on wine education, but a superb catalog from which to start a wine cellar or find a bottle appropriate for any occasion at any price.
This unequaled volume retains all the invaluable information, fabulous illustration, and gorgeous styling of the previous editions—presented in Zraly’s inimitable, irreverent style. It’s clearly the wine guide against which all others are judged.
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, Kevin Zraly, 2009 Ed, Sterling Publishing
The Home Wine Maker’s Companion
July 9, 2010 - 2:52pm | by dorcas
A
complete reference for the home winemaker. From getting started with the very first batch to advanced techniques for making wines from grapes, The Home WineMakers Companion covers it all. Includes detailed instructions and helpful hints for using concentrates, kits, juices, fruits, and herbs to create a wide variety of homemade wines.
The Home Wine Maker’s Companion, Gene Spaziani, 2000, Storey Publishing
The Joy of Home Wine Making
July 9, 2010 - 2:30pm | by dorcasPort and sharries, whites, reds, roses and melomels -- make your own wine without owning a vineyard!
If you can follow a simple recipe, you can create delectable table wines in your own home. It's fun, it's easy-and the result swill delightfully complement your favorite meals and provide unparalleled pleasure by the glass when friends come calling. You don't have tore-create Bordeaux in your basement to be a successful home vintner-you can make raisin wine and drink it like sherry, or use it to accent your Chinese cooking. Raspberry or apricot wine lend themselves to delicious desserts. And if you are interested in more exotic concoctions,rhubarb champagne is the ultimate treat.
The Joy of Home Winemaking is your comprehensive guide to:
- the most up-to-date techniques and equipment
- readily available and affordable ingredients and materials
- aging, bottling, racking, blending, and experimenting
- dozens of original recipes for great-tasting fruit wines,
- spice wines, herb wines, sparkling wines, sherries, liqueurs
- even homemade soda pop!
- a sparkling brief history of winemaking
- helpful illustrations and glossary
- an extensive mail-order resource section
The Joy of Home Wine Making, Terry Garey, 1996, Collins Living
From Vines to Wines
July 9, 2010 - 2:00pm | by dorcasCreate you own backyard winery!
From breaking ground to savoring the finished product, Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines is the most complete and up-to-date guide to growing flawless grapes and making extraordinary wine.
Wine connoisseurs, gardeners, and home winemakers will find the latest techniques in this fully revised and updated edition. With thorough, illustrated instructions, you'll learn how to:
-- Choose and prepare a vineyard site
-- Construct sturdy and effective trellising systems
-- Plant, prune, and harvest the perfect grapes for your climate
-- Press, ferment, age and bottle your own wine
-- Judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, body, and taste




