For anyone who wants to understand the full story that lies within a glass of wine, this book opens up the inner secrets of the geology, the vineyards, the wines, and the growers of the northern Rhône Valley in France. Home to the spicy Syrah, or Shiraz, and the floral Viognier grapes, the northern Rhône Valley is one of France's oldest wine-growing regions; its appellations include Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, and Château-Grillet. With evocative descriptions and marvelous insights, this accessible, elegant book, the culmination of more than thirty years following the Rhône, is a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the various estates, winemakers, and their wines.
Taking a deeper look at the northern Rhône than Livingstone-Learmonth's highly regarded previous volumes on the Rhône Valley, this revised and up-to-date edition covers more producers and includes more in-depth information on the various terroirs, the histories of the wines, and the methods for making the wines. Livingstone-Learmonth concentrates on letting the producers explain their outlook and methods and includes much local color.

The Wines of the Northern Rhône includes
Assessments of thousands of wines, with guide dates onwhen to drink and how long to age them
Winemakers' views on what foods best accompany their wines
New vineyard maps for each appellation
Detailed descriptions by growers discussing the effect of different soils on their wines
Precise information on how each domaine makes its wines
New research on the historical links between Hermitage and Bordeaux

Customer Review: Technical and Linear

I just finished reading Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route and was so enthralled by the chapter on the Rhone Valley that I searched for more books on the subject. I purchased Wines of the Northern Rhone, which has a foreward actually written by Kermit Lynch, but that's where the romance ended for me. Learmonth's writing style is nowhere nearly as engaging as Lynch's. If Lynch's writing is a sandwich with fresh ingredients slathered in homemade aioli, Learmonth is cafeteria boloney; dry and flavorless. The pages are filled with technical data including charts of rainfall in centimeters and dull reviews of the wines he's tasted that most of us can't afford.

Customer Review: Great book for those who like northern Rhone wines

Wonderfully informative. This book has become my most trusted reference for the northern Rhone. It is well written and informative. Mades me feel I am there. While about wine the information about people and places adds an import aspect. I bought two more and gave them to friends I knew would enjoy all the details and great information.

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