A Carafe of Red

by Gerald Asher

Overview

Every wine has a story. In this collection of elegantly written essays from the past thirty years, updated with a new introduction and endnotes, renowned author Gerald Asher informs wine enthusiasts with insightful, engrossing accounts of wines from Europe and America that offer just as much for those who simply enjoy vivid evocations of people and places. Asher puts wine in its context by taking the reader on a series of discursive journeys that start with the carafe at his elbow. In his introduction, Asher says, “Wine . . . draws on everything and leads everywhere.” Whether the subject is a supposedly simple red wine shared in a Parisian café or a Napa Valley Cabernet tasted with its vintner, every essay in A Carafe of Red is as pleasurable as the wines themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520270329
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	02/07/2012
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Gerald Asher is author of The Pleasures of Wine, Vineyard Tales, Wine Journal, and On Wine. As an international wine merchant, he was decorated by the French Government in 1974 for his contribution to French viticulture, in 2001 was named Outstanding Wine Professional of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, and in 2009 was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintner’s Hall of Fame.

Table of Contents

List of Maps
Introduction

A Carafe of Red
Storm in a Champagne Flute
Côte Rôtie and Condrieu: Drinking with Pliny and Columella
Côtes de Castillon: A Bordeaux Wine Reborn
Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!
Armagnac: The Spirit of D’Artagnan
Les Chevaliers du Tastevin
Jerez de la Frontera: Sherry and Tapas
Malmsey: A Greek Classic
Barbaresco: A Glimpse of Paradise
Priorato: A Heady Success Story
School Days on the Rhine
Franconia: Going for Baroque
California Cabernet Sauvignon
A Morning Tasting with Joe Heitz
Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve
Santa Cruz Mountains: Ingenuity and Tenacity
Zinfandel: California’s Own
Wine and Food: The Myth of a Perfect Match
Chardonnay: Buds, Twigs, and Clones
Haut-Brion: A Most Particular Taste
Judgment of Paris: California’s Triumph
A Silent Revolution: Organic and Biodynamic Wines
A Memorable Wine
Missouri: Return of the Native
Spreading the Word: Books on Wine
Simple Pleasures: Warm Bread and Hot Chocolate

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A terrific introduction to one of the greatest wine writers of our times. . . . Complexity [that's] easy to savor."—Wine & Spirits Magazine

Editorial Reviews

"Simply put, no one writes like Asher anymore, and 'A Carafe of Red' serves as a capable introduction to his style and his work. As a study in effective, entertaining, and efficient wine prose, few authors even come close to Asher's celebrated ability to lucidly summarize the heart and soul of his subjects in only a few well-written and well-paced sentences. In that way, 'A Carafe of Red' is a short masterclass in wine prose."

1WineDude.com - Joe Roberts

"This is a number of charming collected essays on various aspects of wine by one of the wine world's most stylish writers, historians and wine lovers."

The Press Democrat - Dan Berger

Unique and engaging.

The Blue Lifestyle

A terrific introduction to one of the greatest wine writers of our times. . . . Complexity [that’s] easy to savor.

Wine & Spirits Magazine - Lara Douglass

"Asher's discussion of the most memorable wine in his life makes the reader want to learn more while they are entertained in the process."

The Scotsman - Conal Gregory