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.