Alpana Pours is a unique lifestyle book with wine as the centerpiece. Since American women purchase and consume more wine than American men, 77% and 60% respectively, a voice is needed to help women understand that their busy professional and social lifestyles can be well paired with wine. Master Sommelier and successful television host Alpana Singh, 29, is just the person to help them do it.

Alpana is uniquely qualified to talk about wine, contemporary women and relationships. She spent five years as sommelier at a world-famous four star restaurant, where she closely observed the sometimes humorous, sometimes absurd, social interactions between men and woman at all stages of their relationships.

Readers will learn how to select wine when entertaining important clients, pair wine with food they and their partner are preparing together, choose the right wines for special occasions--weddings, anniversaries, bridal showers, a first meeting with a boyfriend's parents--and what wine to, or not to, order on a first date. Alpana Pours supplies tips on these and a myriad of other topics including "dating" and "dealing with guys."

Customer Review: This book is a ton of fun!

This book is not just for the ladies! Anyone who loves wine and would like to learn a few more basics (I've learned a lot reading this) in a fun, easy to read format will LOVE this book. It is a total page-turner...can't put it down. I'm ordering several more as gifts for all my win-loving friends! Highly recommend.

Customer Review: Great introduction or knowledge deepener

Yes, the writing style is a tad simple and breezy and yes, it's kind of a "chick book", but what I found fascinating was someone who is clearly passionate and near brilliant about wine (think how much she learned and how rapidly) sharing her conceptual schema of how to categorize and think of wines. The knowledge and memory skills inherent in becoming a master sommelier amaze me. Here you see how she learns and thinks of wine with absolutely zero pretense. Sure, I skimmed the ideas on bingeing wines, etc.; but the overall delivery was, IMO, outstanding.

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On the outskirts of Vicenza, Zuccato has been packaging some of Italys most enjoyed pickled vegetables and antipasti since 1898. We think these Italian kitchen essentials are the finest in their price range.

These spicy and flavourful peppers preserved in wine vinegar are perfect for antipasti platters, as garnish to meats and for picnics.

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Glass in one hand, fork in the other, Brian St. Pierre explores the regional wines and cuisines of Italy in this dream of a cookbook. As you'd expect from the author of A Perfect Glass of Wine, St. Pierre brings to the table fabulous recipes and inspired wine pairings. Whether it's a hearty barolo from Piedmont in the northwest that complements a pan-roasted veal tenderloin, a refreshing pinot grigio from the shores of the Adriatic paired with succulent risotto di frutti di mare, or a glass of easy-going Apulia primitivo from the southern reaches to enjoy with the rosemary and oregano notes of slow-baked lamb, each wine suggestion is designed to enhance the flavor of the recipe. The sweeter side of the wine spectrum is also represented with such treats as zuppa inglese with strawberries served alongside a glass of sparkling prosecco a finish with flourish to a remarkable meal. With a glossary of wine terms and gorgeous photographs of both the wine and the food, this stylish cookbook is as beautiful as it is informative.

Customer Review: Useful, beautiful cookbook and reference guide

This lovely cookbook is also a valuable reference guide for anyone interested in learning more about wine and the art of wine-pairing with food. Italy grows a vast variety of wine grapes and produces many different types of wine, a fact which can be incredibly intimidating and confusing to those unfamiliar with the country's wines beyond the now ubiquitous Chianti and Pinot Grigio. This book takes a look at each of the regions of Italy, the primary wines produced in each, and typical dishes from the region that pair well with these wines.

The writing is easy to follow and the history behind some of these wines quite fascinating. I wish I'd had this book before a recent trip to Florence, as it would have helped me tremendously with deciphering wine lists and making good choices of wine pairings. The recipies range from simple salads to more complex roasts, but should not be too intimidating to most people with some cooking experience.

The only thing that might have been nice to include would have been a breakdown of wine labelling as used on Italian wines, to help the reader understand how to find all the information on what can sometimes be complicated labels--especially for those who do not speak or read Italian.

Customer Review: Excellent book about Italian Wine and Food!

A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years, concentrating on Italian cooking for the last 10 years, writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry". With more than 500 cookbooks in my collection I am usually disappointed in my recent cookbook acquisitions. However, I feel that this book is a nice addition to any cookbook library.

The book is subdivided as follows:
Introduction
.....Italian Wine: The New Renaissance
.....Matching Italian Wine and Food
.....About this Book
.....Glossary of Italian Wine Terms

Italian Wine and Food
.....Northwest: Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Liguria, Lombardy
.....Northeast: Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
.....Central: Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio
.....Adriatic: Emilia-Romagna, Marches, Abruzzo, Molise
.....South: Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania
.....Islands: Sicily, Sardinia, Lipari, Pantelleria
.....Desserts

Foundations
.....Building Blocks
.....Olive Oil
.....Italian Cheese

If you love Italian wine and good food this is a nice book to add to your library. The information on Italian wine alone is worth the price of the book. I thought that I was very familiar with Italian wine and I learned quite a bit from this book. The book covers all the major Italian wines in reasonable detail. Many of the minor Italian wines are also covered, a few I had not yet discovered.

For each major wine the author spells out the following information:
1. Narrative regarding a history of the wine
2. Typical aromas and Flavors of the wine
3. Tips to Successful Matches for that particular wine.

For each recipe that is included in the book the author offers two wine selections. The recipes are solid, mostly classics but some with a spin. Many of the recipes are simple Italian fare, but some of them have more of a gourmet twist. There are dishes in this book for carnivores and vegetarians a like. There are even a few vegan dishes in the book. The recipe for Polenta, Pesto and Red Pepper Terrine was excellent even without the goat cheese, which I omitted to make the dish vegan. Most of the recipes have a corresponding full color photograph of the finished dish. The recipe directions are clearly written and easy to follow.

If you love Italian wine and good food I think you will enjoy this book, I know I do.

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I recommend "The New Spain" over this book, but if you want another view into wine, this is a great addition.

Pros: superbly written, great information
Cons: average maps, not as in depth as others

Customer Review: Great information, too many typos

I am a Certified Sommelier and have been in the wine business for the past seven years. I found this book to be one of the best I have read on the wines and regions of Spain. The information is detailed and Interestingly presented. I did find the amount of typos a bit disturbing, but not enough to stop me from recommending it strongly.

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L'Estornell Reserva Sherry Wine Vinegar is produced from choice Palomino Fino, the primary grape of Spain'srenowned sherries. Aged in a solera of 24 Oak casks, L'Estornell Reserva's aroma is pungent, its taste of nuts and ripe fruit delicately balanced by tangy acidity.

Enjoy its intense flavor as a dressing for greens, in warm salads, cooked dishes, and as a companion toL'Estornell extra virgin oil.

Each bottle of L'Estornell Reserva Sherry Wine Vinegar contains 12.6 Fl.oz. or 375 ml. (Acidity 7%)

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The house of Delouis was born in 1885, with the purchase of a vinegar factory in Limoges, France, where they have produced high quality vinegar products ever since. Based on a tradition of Natural Quality, that is, no additives, preservative or artificial flavors, Delouis produces some of the finest vinegars out in the market today. This rich sherry vinegar is made in the South of Spain, based on the traditional Spanish Jeréz style, and is more full-bodied that its other vinegar cousins. It marries well to any oils, but try with olive oil for better taste.

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When special investigator Ding Gou'er hears persistent rumors that there is cannibalism in the province called the Republic of Wine, he goes to learn the truth. Beginning at the Mount Luo Coal Mine, he meets Diamond Jin, legendary for his capacity to hold his liquor and fondness for young human flesh. A banquet is served during which the special investigator, by meal's end in an alcohol-induced stupor, loses all sense of reality. Interspersed are stories sent to Mo Yan himself by Li Yidou (aka Doctor of Liquor Studies), each one more mad than the next. Wild and politically explosive, The Republic of Wine proves that no regime can stifle creative imagination.

Customer Review: A deliciously sarcastic satire of China's corruption

Mo Yan well-deserves his reputation among those in the know as one of modern China's most wonderfully wry writers, as this discomfiting yet compelling novel attests. Republic of Wine's strength is in its evocative, viciously funny descriptions and depictions and in the symbolic social implications they raise. Centered around a fictitious province in China named Liquorland, the novel portrays China's obsession with food and drink and skewers the extremes to which it is taken by the wealthy and the politically connected (which are often one and the same). There is an expression in Chinese "Chi-he-wan-le" literally "Eat-Imbibe-Play-Joy". In ancient China, the landed and the literati had elaborate rituals and cultures surrounding the consumption of delicacies and fine liquor, which were mingled with the higher arts such as poetry composition, calligraphy, painting, and music. The Cultural Revolution attacked such traditions (among other things), and in its aftermath the finer points disappeared, leaving only its cruder translation: gluttony. Many Chinese know of few entertainments besides food and booze. A Chinese banquet is a grandiose affair, aimed at wasting expensive food and flaunting one's wealth. The higher level the revelers, and the bigger the favors the host is trying to earn, the more obscenely wasteful the dishes. Especially in the 1980s, when government corruption peaked, wining and dining was a popular form of bribery that took a chunk out of the Chinese treasury to the tune of billions of dollars per year. Republic of Wine is beautifully biting in its spoofing of this food obsession, which includes a craving for ever more exotic and expensive foods to impress ones guests with, here taken to the frighteningly logical extreme of serving up braised infants. Mo Yan also mocks the farcical attempt of Chinese men to prove their dubious machismo by "bottoms-upping" toast after toast: the last one standing is the "real man". Mo's winding, rambling narrative is the book's only shortcoming, which may be deliberate as it flirts with assertions that it was written under the influence. In some ways, the surrealism and sarcasm are overplayed to a degree that makes it difficult to become very involved in the stories. In that regard, it reminds me of the stories of Wang Shuo; the similarity may be partially due to the esteemed Howard Goldblatt, who translated both of Wang's English versions as well as Republic of Wine.

Customer Review: This Guy is Amazing

This has been an excellent book. He is by far the best writer in China today and I hope he receives his deserved acclaim from the international literary world one day. Mo Yan is a great and creative talent...this is an absolutely bizarre book where he displays his profound imagination. He completely condemns the ostentatious consumption of China's corrupt ruling elite and their total, chilling disregard for the lower strata off which they consume. I see the book as a metaphor of the unchecked growth in wealth and power of this elite since the economic reforms. The main reason I admire Mo Yan is because he is an absolutely fearless writer. He is never afraid to take creative risks; he does so in each book and this gives him a style truly his own. The scatological humor, references to dogs, reptiles, apes and donkeys; through the ugliest specimens of nature he alludes to the human condition. Li Yidou's fight with his wife in the chapter 'Cooking Lesson', where in his eyes she degenerates into an ever more grotesque series of images is a case in point: 'her stumpy little fists, which looked like donkey hooves'; 'like a footless person wearing shoes, she was actually wearing a bra', etc. Hilarious, yet nauseating. I can't wait for his next novel. Oh yeah, and the translation by Howard Goldblatt is dead on. Truly excellent, and you can tell he is completely in tune with Mr. Mo's agenda.

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This accessible volume provides practical information on wine analysis and production. It covers the full range of techniques, from quick screening assays to wet chemical and instrumentation analysis, as well as interpretation of results. Emphasizing a step-by-step approach to procedures, the authors:

• - examine analyses commonly performed in the United States, Europe and Australia:
• - discuss viticultural considerations as they relate to winemakeing as well as sensory evaluation and the importance of each anolyte in the spectrum of winery operations:
• - present new procedures including 'quick' qualitative tests for the presence of various constituents:
• - explore updated information on sensory evaluation of wines, use of enzymes in winemaking, health aspects and more, and - offer a chapter featuring laboratory procedures, listed alphabetically and extensively cross-referenced.

International in scope, Wine Analysis and Production is essential for winemakers and laboratory personnel worldwide. Students of enology will find it an incomparable resource.

Customer Review: Must have book for winemakers

This book is must have for anyone who is in wine production business. The authors discuss viticultural considerations as they relate to winemaking as well as sensory evaluation and the importance of each analyte in the spectrum of winery operations. I bought this book with "Successful wine marketing" and have greatly benefited from these two books. Here is the content of the book: Preface o Introduction o Sensory Analysis of Juices and Wines o Grape Maturity and Quality o Hydrogen Ion (PH) and Fixed Acids o Carbohydrates o Alcohols and Extract o Phenolic Compounds and Wine Color o Nitrogen Compounds o Sulfur Dioxide and Sorbic Acid o Volatile Acidity o Metals, Cations and Anions o Sorbic Acid, Benzoic Acid, and Dimethyedicarbonate o Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen o Tartrates and Instabilities; Fining and Fining Agents o Sanitation o Basic Principles of Microbiology in the Winery o Cork o Analytical Methods I strongly recommend this book to winemakers and wine marketers. It is a classic!

Customer Review: Wine Analysis and Production

Clearly and concisely written for the amature wine maker or student of enology who is serious about learning the technical aspects of great wine production.

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This is Sherry Wine Vinegar in Bottle of Delouis Fils (France).

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