Making Sense of California Wine

by Matt Kramer

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"With Making Sense of California Wine, Matt Kramer cements his position as the most insightful wine writer in a generation. His last book, Making Sense of Burgundy, excited critics to feverish praise: "It is simply the best book yet written on Burgundy" (Hugh Johnson). "This is Kramer at his most compelling. No one has written a more incisive narrative of how Burgundy got to be what it is" (Harvey Steiman, The Wine Spectator). "Mr. Kramer says some profound things about wine and civilization show more that will delight thoughtful wine enthusiasts" (Frank Prial, The New York Times)." "In Making Sense of California Wine, Kramer applies his style and insight in examining how and why California has become the most influential wine area in the world: California delivers the most advanced research in winemaking and the most sophisticated wine-marketing techniques. In an unprecedented chapter he demonstrates how economics has forced California to produce ever more Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay - and why that will continue for at least a generation." "But above all, Making Sense of California Wine is an explorer's search for what Kramer calls "somewhereness." All the great wines of Europe offer a sense of place. This is why they are acclaimed. For California wines to be equally great, they too must deliver this sense of "somewhere-ness." Do California wines taste of a particular plot of land, like the great wines of Europe? Kramer says they do. After numerous comparison tastings and crisscrossing the California vineyards, he reports in detail about the particularities of place in California's best wines. He discusses hundreds of California wineries, singling out those that consistently deliver the "sensation of somewhere-ness."" "Also included is a "first": Never before has anyone compiled a detailed "Vineyard Registry." You see a vineyard name on a California wine label. But what about this vineyard? Who owns it? Where is it? What is its size? Which wineries make wine from it? Kramer tells you. No other wine book has ever provided such information." "Making Sense of California Wine is a landmark book. It will do for California wine what Kramer did for Burgundy. In reviewing Making Sense of Burgundy for the English wine magazine Decanter, Christopher Fielden, himself an author of two books on Burgundy, commented, "I am not certain that he has made total sense of Burgundy, but he has certainly arrived as close to it as anyone who has written on the subject."" "In Making Sense of California Wine, Matt Kramer has done just that - again."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show less

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Member Reviews

1 review
When I lived in California and visited wineries this was one books that we used to determine where we would visit. One of the important considerations in Kramer appreciating a wine was whether it reflected the terroir of the location. I liked the fact that he let you know why he appreciated or did not appreciate a wine.

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12 Works 291 Members
Matt Kramer has been a full-time food and wine writer since 1976. He is a columnist in every issue of Wine Spectator and Diversion magazines. he is the longtime wine critic for The Oregonian newspaper, as well as previously a wine columnist for The Los Angeles Times. He resides in Portland, Oregon

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, Food & Cooking
DDC/MDS
641.2209794Applied science & technologyHome economics & family managementFood, Cooking & Recipes / Meals, PicnicsDrinksWineHistory, geographic treatment, biographyNorth AmericaWest Coast U.S.California
LCC
TP557 .K73TechnologyChemical technologyChemical technologyFermentation industries. Beverages. Alcohol

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Members
19
Popularity
1,331,479
Reviews
1
Rating
(4.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
1