Customer Review: Indispensible Guide for a Trip of a Lifetime!

Do you long to travel deeper into "la France profound" than even the best package tour? Do you like exceptional wines but realize you will never have seen many of the best ones on a winelist in the U. S.? Where are those great small restaurants and country inns that don't make it into the Michelin guide? Which are the typical (and best) cheeses of the region? Where are the best places to buy local breads and specialty baked items? Jacqueline Friedrich's 1998 Wine and Food Guide to the Loire is truly enlightening on these points. We used her book to develop our own 14 day tour of the Loire Valley and, thanks to many of her tips, it was "a trip of a lifetime". Buy and read this book; take notes; rent a car...! With this level of authentic local information, you can make magic. We culled what appealed to us from the book and every single thing we used was "spot on" and special. As examples, we stayed at the Domaine de Mestre, an elegant farm house run by the local mayor (his wife is one of the best artisinal soap makers in France) and we felt like we knew them a bit before we arrived thanks to this book. We visited the Troglo'tap in Turquant, where dried apples are still made using time-honored hand techniques in an ancient tufa cave workshop. We never would have found places like these without the book. Without the author's honest but evocative descriptions, we would not have had the faith to look for and enjoy these or many other places we visited. The wine information is copious and detailed: a reader can, purely by reading the text, select wines that accord with ones own preferences. Armed with notes from this book, you can find the wines you would not want to pass over on a winelist just because there were so many names and who knew which ones to pick out? In short, this book is a tool for travel. It is beautifully written but it is not a memoir. Select the places and details that interest you. Because of the small size of the localities where some of the best things are located, it was not practical to include a map with the book. Get a specialized one for the Loire Valley and use it as a companion to the text. This book is a classic of travel reference.

Customer Review: Loire Valley Wine

This book was very helpful in our tour of the Loire Valley. We used it to visit wineries in both Chinon and Vouvray. As there are quite a few places to visit, Ms. Friedrich's commentary about each vignoble and her rating system were very useful. One place in particular we did visit was SCEA Charles Joguet in the Chinon region. We mentioned the nice write-up he received in this book, and he said that he had the book and that Ms. Friedrich only lived right around the corner, this story really brought the book and the region to life for me. His facility includes a cave towards the back of the property where we tasted several wines and purchased some as well. As a professional, he took the name and address of the English friend, who resides in France, with whom we were visiting, in order to add her to his mailing list. He then told me how to purchase his wines in Pennsylvania. Without Ms. Friedrich's book we would never have gone to this property as it is off the beaten path, but well worth the visit. If you're headed to the Loire and want to do more than the usual tourist visiting of the chateaux then this book is indispensable.

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The flavor bursting from these delicious real Wine Jellies will amaze you. Made from real White Zinfandel, White Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Vinegar Raspberry Red Wine 1L

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Biodynamic growers rejoice! The successes of alternative agriculture have seldom been more apparent than in the high, broad acclaim for wines of the Coulée de Serrant vineyards. Joly has tapped the rich bounty nature possesses and profited by it.

Here, you will find agricultural methods that are proven and which offer a radically different approach to the destructive, chemical-dependent practices of modern viticulture. As Frank Prial of The New York Times noted, "[Nicolas Joly's] disciples are legion: winemakers from all over Europe come to sit at his feet. Getting to know a great Loire chenin blanc by starting with Saveunieres is like getting to know music by starting with a late Beethoven quartet."

Learn the best biodynamic methods to grow delicious wines from a master grower. Robert Parker, in his Wine Buyer's Guide, rates Joly as "an exceptional producer. [He] is the godfather of Saveuniere. Connoisseurs have long known the legendary longevity and quality of his Coulée de Serrant vineyard." Create your own legendary vintages drawing on his expertise.

Customer Review: Expanded Awareness

Wow! Through this book, Joly invited me to expand my awareness beyond planting a vine, spraying it with the "right" chemicals, harvesting the fruit and making the wine. He stirred my consciousness to recall and reconnect that which I have chosen to forget about this planet, this ever-changing life of whose whole-ness I am an integral part.

Based on Rudolf Steiner's concepts and research on agriculture, Joly's book introduced me to biodynamic agriculture. As described in Wine from Sky to Earth, biodynamics "is mainly the task of achieving a deeper understanding of the natural system within which a farm or vineyard is located and from which it receives its life forces."

Joly opines, "the key factor in making a good wine is to understand nature and help it - one becomes nature's assistant rather than `a wine maker'." I found my awareness shifting as Joly contends, "it is on the land, in the middle of his vines, that the wine-maker `makes' the wine."

I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing a stronger connectivity to his/her vines and wine.

Customer Review: More on Joly's pseudo science

This book is incredibly false in regards to some basic science. The states of matter are NOT Mineral, Liquid, Light (gas) and heat. They are solids, liquids, gases and plasma. This book incorrectly uses the term one sentence after another. Everything is made up on atoms and can be a solid, liquid or gas. Plasma is a little more sophicated. But let's take the 3. Water is a solid when ice, a liquid when at room temperature and gas when it evaporates or become steam with heat. Joly states water is almost mineral as a frozen solid and a "prisoner of matter." Water is matter, that's why they are the states of MATTER.

He says that light is an airy state. Does that mean dark places can not have air. Of course not. He also says with heat matter "disappears." Matter does not disappears it is just not visable to our eyes in some cases. I just can't get over how bad the science is. I don't even think I can trust the editors or publishers because I can't believe they put this out as non-fiction.

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Vinegar Rasp Red Wine 5L

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Vinegar Rasp Red Wine 16.7oz

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Lucie Montgomery thinks she has troubles enough with a freak spring frost that is threatening to kill her tender young Chardonnay grapes, but when the body of Georgia Greenwood, a controversial political candidate, is found lying in her vineyard, the situation becomes complex indeed. Suspicion immediately falls on Georgia's husband, Ross Greenwood, who is not just Lucie's doctor but also a close friend. Determined to prove Ross's innocence, Lucie crosses swords with her attractive but cantankerous winemaker, Quinn Santori. Then a second vineyard-related death drives the tension even higher. Lucie still believes that in vino veritas -- in wine there is truth -- but she's starting to wonder if her own risk level is moving into the danger zone along with this year's Chardonnay.

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Imported Naturally fermented Wine Vinegar, 5 percent. Product of Macedonia.

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Are there wines to rival the greatest first-growths of Bordeaux and the grand crus of Burgundy? Robert Parker's answer is a resounding Yes -- they are to be found among the finest wines of the Rhône Valley. With this new edition of Wines of the Rhône Valley, Robert Parker, the world's most influential wine critic, provides the key to enjoying the winemaking world's best-kept secret. And publication of Wines of the Rhône Valley coincides with reports that the 1995 vintage from this region may be one of the best ever.

With the precursor of this book, The Wines of the Rhône Valley and Provence, first published in 1987, Parker began a campaign to share with the wine consumer the wealth of wines found in this underappreciated region. The area contains the oldest vineyards in France -- indeed the heyday of some of the Rhône Valley wines was 2,000 years ago, around the time of the Roman conquest of France. In recent centuries, these wines have been misunderstood and ignored -- and consequently undervalued. All of which means that some of the great wines of the world are available for a fraction of the cost of those from better-known regions.

Wines of the Rhône Valley is the ultimate resource for every wine lover, highlighting both the greatest wines of the Rhône Valley and the region's finest wine values. These wines range, in Parker's words, "from the humble generic Côtes du Rhône to the most sublime and celestial wines of Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Condrieu, and Châteauneuf du Pape." With his trademark thoroughness, Parker has fully revised and expanded this edition to reflect changes in the region, new personalities, and the latest vintages.

Parker's previous books -- the critically acclaimed Bordeaux and Burgundy and four widely praised editions of the Wine Buyer's Guide -- firmly established him, in Time magazine's words, as "the man with the paragon palate." His appeal lies not only in his unabashed consumer advocacy, insightful reporting, and clear, lyrical writing but in the deep enthusiasm that infuses his work. Parker is an impassioned champion of wine and has made it his cause to give everyone -- from the novice whose curiosity about wine is just burgeoning to the expert who cellars by the case -- the information they need to be informed buyers and educated consumers. In this edition, Parker returns to the region closest to his heart, exploring the sun-drenched Rhône Valley in unprecedented candor and detail.

Wines of the Rhône Valley is divided into two main sections; the lush valleys of northern Rhône and the sunbaked hillsides of the southern Rhône. Within the sections, Parker profiles each appellation. A handy summary box provides information at a glance, including types of wines produced, grape varieties planted, and number of acres under vine. The price range of the wines is listed along with an assessment of their quality and aging potential. The description of the appellation that follows -- its history and personalities, successes and failures -- is accompanied by a rating of recent and older vintages. Then, Parker provides his classification of the growers of each appellation, comments on and explains how the wines are vinified and bottled, and gives guidelines for how long to cellar and when to serve the wines. Brief aromatic and textural profiles in this section give a hint of the detailed tasting notes that accompany the profiles of the top producers later in the chapters. Throughout, Parker tastes and evaluates the wines using his revolutionary 50-100 point scale.

The book's introduction thoroughly explains Parker's methodology and gives guidelines on how to use his ratings and reviews most effectively. His wine terms are also defined in a detailed glossary. And there's a section that provides Parker's guidelines for what a visitor traveling in the Rhône Valley can expect to pay for a meal as well as recommendations for restaurants and lodging.

Wines of the Rhône Valley is certainly the most comprehensive and detailed book ever written on this region. These wines, long overshadowed by their more well-known neighbors, are now thoroughly analyzed and reviewed, providing the ultimate resource for today's savvy wine consumer.

Customer Review: A must read for wine geeks (only)

Latest vintages reviewed are 1996 and many Rhone wines aren't made to cellar 10 years, so I consider the book out of date. However the details Parker includes about the regions and wineries do make this a very comprehensive reference tome.

Customer Review: Another excellent book from Parker

This is Parkers first book on Rhone - and what a result ! All areas of the Rhone are covered, some to a bigger detail than others but anyway, the outcome is great. Maybe a little more in-depth details on the smaller - or should I say lesser known - regions (which are the ones we mere mortals can afford !) would be nice but, knowing Parkers affection for Rhone, that'll probably (hopefully) come in the next edition. All-in-all, very recommendable..

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