Oct 27 2008

Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience

Published by under Wine Books

THE ONLY BOOK THAT PRESENTS FOOD AND WINE PAIRING FROM A CULINARY AND SENSORY PERSPECTIVE.

Demystifying the terminology and methodology of matching wine to food, Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience presents a practical, user-friendly approach grounded in understanding the direct relationships and reactions between food and wine components, flavors, and textures. This approach uses sensory analysis to help the practitioner identify key elements that affect pairings, rather than simply following the usual laundry list of wine-to-food matches. The text takes a culinary perspective first, making it a unique resource for culinary students and professionals.

FOOD AND WINE PAIRING:

  • Lays out the basics of wine evaluation and the hierarchy of taste concepts
  • Establishes the foundation taste components of sweet, sour, slat, and bitter in food, and dry, acidity, and effervescence in wine, and looks at how these components relate to one another
  • Discusses wine texture, and the results of their interactions with one another
  • Examines the impact that spice, flavor type, flavor intensity, and flavor persistency have one the quality of wine and food matches
  • Includes exercises to improve skills relating to taste identification and palate mapping
  • Provides a systematic process for predicting successful matches using sequential and mixed tasting methods
  • Gives guidance on pairing wine with foods such as cheese and various desserts, as well as service issues such as training and menu/wine list development

Food and Wine Paring provides students and professionals with vivid and dynamic learning features to bring the matching process to life with detail and clarity. real-world examples include menus and tasting notes from renowned restaurants, as well as Aperitifs or vignettes portraying culinary notables - both individuals and organizations—which set their wine parings in a complete gastronomical, regional, and cultural context.

Culinary students making their initial foray into understanding paring will appreciate the reader-friendly and comprehensive approach taken by Food and Wine Pairing. More advanced students, instructors, and culinary professionals will find this text to be an unparalleled tool for developing their matching process and honing their tasting instinct.

Customer Review: Smart and insightful

Fun to read, great exercises to test your taste. Primarily a text for students it includes some amazing recipes specially chosen to appreciate the subtle flavors of lots of wines. Can make for wonderful tasting dinner amongst friends. Highly enjoyable!

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Oct 26 2008

First Big Crush: The Down and Dirty on Making Great Wine Down Under

Published by under Wine Books

The story behind the bottle, First Big Crush is Eric Arnold's wild account of his year immersing himself in all things wine...and somehow not winding up in rehab.

Never having held a meaningful job for very long (and getting fired from most of them), Eric Arnold heads to New Zealand -- to Allan Scott Wines -- seeking adventure and hoping to learn a little bit about wine. What could be better than working outside in the fresh air and drinking wine all day? Before he knows it, he is dirty, wet, cold, and at the mercy of a tank of wine that just might explode and take him with it. So begin Eric's adventures in the world of wine. He gets sunburned, sore, and drunk -- and then does it all over again the next day.

First Big Crush is a story that is as outrageous as it is compelling. Here are tales of first pressings, pruning, and tasting competitions. There are also rowdy nights at the local pub, girls, meat pies, girls, rugby, and tales of hunting wild pig. Along the way, each step of the winemaking process is explained in a way that humans can actually understand. Almost against his will, Eric becomes an expert.



Customer Review: Read the "dirty" in more than one sense

Eric Arnold spent a year in New Zealand's Marlborough winemaking region. Years earlier he spent a day touring the area: "And from my very first sip of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at ten-thirty or so on that morning, I knew it, too -- I was tasting something special. My mouth zipped and zinged, and though I couldn't describe the flavors I was tasting, I was sure of only one thing: I wanted more. I was hammered by noon, with five wineries still to go. At one point I stole the tour guide's microphone in the van and started singing karaoke -- "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson -- even though I didn't know the words. I might've taken off my shirt, too, but I don't remember. From winery to winery and sip to sip, the wines just got better and better. From the time I got back home to Brooklyn, whenever I was in a wine shop I either bought wine from New Zealand or asked for something similar. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was my new Hogue."

The memory of that firts Sauvignon Blanc sticks in Arnold's memory:

"For a few years after that trip I was still guzzling whatever New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc I could find at night, and spending my daylight hours working the copy desk at a small business magazine. It was better than working for the Nazi devil woman at PBS, but the same could probably be said for cleaning up monkey shit at the zoo (which, I imagine, is very similar to working at PBS). So out of a desire to drink more, work less, and maybe satisfy a little curiosity, up sprang the idea of just throwing myself into the lifestyle: getting a job at a winery and writing a book about it."

Arnold initially knows nothing about winery work, but you have to admire his cheerful attitude, no matter what reality throws at him. He learns about rugby, pig hunting, and hard working rural New Zealanders. He finds two particularly difficult areas: the finer points of pitchforking and pruning winter vines in the cold fields. He concludes:

"Vineyard work sucks...I have no idea why, but many people who drink wine think that making it is some sort of relaxed, cushy lifestyle. And I don't understand it , because I've never eaten a juicy steak and imagined how romantic and luxurious a life I'd have if I started raising cattle in Wyoming. Similarly, I've never met anyone who got a massage and moved to Sweden or shot heroin and moved to Afghanistan."

Arnold is excellent at describing the difficulties and joys of working in a vineyard and in a winery. His language may be a bit racy for some readers, his humor a little too broad. Overall, I found the substance worth a few "Oh, grow up" moments.

Customer Review: Plow through the puerile...it's enlightening

The author's unrelenting use of tacky sexual simile might be difficult to deal with if the overall content of the book wasn't quite so interesting...his 'hands dirty' insight to this small piece of the wine making business is compelling, though, and I found myself ignoring his hormonal excess. This is one that I'll read again.

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Oct 26 2008

Research winery is for science, not sipping (Seattle Times)

Published by under Uncategorized

Another new winery has popped up near Prosser, but there is no tasting room, and wine lovers won't be able to even steal a sip. Most of the wine...

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Oct 25 2008

Colavita Champagne Wine Vinegar – 17oz

Published by under Wine Gourmet

Traditionally fermented vinegar made from Champagne wine and naturally aged.

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Oct 25 2008

The American Wine Society Presents: Growing Wine Grapes

Published by under Wine Books

Containing advice from the experts, this guide offers helpful tips for growing wine grapes in any climate.

Customer Review: Important questiones unansewred.

Very basic information at best. Not really much help if you are seriously thinking of growing your own grapes. Many questions, like what variety should I grow, in not addressed properly as far as a Merlot or Cabernet etc. In fact the word "Merlot" is not even in the book! How far apart should the vines be planted? Beats me! I guess I'll have to look in another book.

Customer Review: Probably a helpful read if starting a home vineyard

I thought this book was mediocre at best. I was surprised when got it because it is a small book. I have read others on grape growing and wine making and this didnt hit the top of the list. I was a little surprised because some of the important info of this book contradicted other books which makes me think that there are different methods to do certain things. The book has some very good ideas, but it can sometimes be hard to understand. I found many of the illustrations and tables hard to understand. Being an amateur grape grower, I guess i just had more questions than the illustrations and explanations could answer. Some chapters are very good. For example there is one that talks about specific diseases; this would be a good reference for the amateur grape grower.

I would say to gain more knowledge if you are new to the subject, read this book because it will allow you to see things in a different perspective and it will reinforce certain ideas, but if you had to pick one book, dont pick this one. I really liked Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines because it had good info on grape growing and wine making.

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Oct 25 2008

Couple to open Chippewa Falls-area winery in 2009 (Leader-Telegram)

Published by under Uncategorized

CHIPPEWA FALLS - Albert and Donna Sachs think there's a better way to buy wine than going to the store. When their River Bend Vineyard and Winery west of Chippewa Falls opens in June, they hope their customers stroll the vineyard and talk with them about growing grapes and making wine.

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Oct 25 2008

Colavita Cabernet Wine Vinengar – 17oz

Published by under Wine Gourmet

Traditionally fermented vinegar made from Cabernet wine and naturally aged.

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Oct 24 2008

Chocolame with Port Wine – Chocolate Cake

Published by under Wine Gourmet

This delicious chocolate cake is madly popular in Portugal, Brazil and Spain. Although there are many variations of the receipe, one of the more popular onces includes the addition of Port wine, for an extra sweet, tart kick. Made with chocolate, butter, crushed sweet cookies and eggs, this cake is "baked" in the refrigerator. Cut in slices and enjoy with a cup of coffee.

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Oct 24 2008

About Wine

Published by under Wine Books

About Wine is a unique resource designed for those who require practical information on how to manage wine and wine sales for restaurants and the hospitality business. Unlike other texts on this subject, this text seeks first to give the reader background information on the origins of wine and how it is produced, and then builds upon this knowledge with information on the wine producing regions of the United States and the World. The numerous variations of wine produced in Europe, North America, and the Southern Hemisphere are presented. Special features of the text include detailed color diagrams and photographs, and useful appendices designed for use as a quick reference or a starting place for more research on topics of interest.

Customer Review: A Simple read with a pleasant bouquet

Needed for school, but enjoyed in spite of that fact.

Customer Review: Great for all beginners!

This is a great resource for the beginning wine lover. Not just culinary students, but average consumers can learn a lot. It's written intelligently at a basic level and is very complete.

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Oct 23 2008

Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

Published by under Wine Gourmet

This sweet golden Chinese wine, made from fermenting freshly steamed glutinous rice, is used strictly for cooking. It has a low alcohol content and a mild, sweet taste. Add a dash of this wine to stir-fries or salad dressings.

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