Wine Lover's Devotional: 365 Days of Knowledge, Advice, and Lore for the Ardent Aficionado

321 Pages·2010·114.77 MB·English

by  Jonathon Alsop

Wine Lover's
DEVOTIONAL

Wine Lover's
D E V O T I O N L
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Lore for the
Ardent Aficionado
Jonathon Alsop
© 2010 by Jonathon Alsop
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written
permission of the copyright owners. However, the publisher grants permission for the pu rchaser
of this book to copy the patterns for personal use. All images in this book have been reproduced
with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted
by the producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from
the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately
comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and
will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
First published in the United States of America by
Quarry Books, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
100 Cummings Center
Suite 406-L
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.quarrybooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alsop, Jonathon.
Wine lover's devotional: 365 days of knowledge, advice, and lore for
the ardent aficionado / Jonathon Alsop.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-616-0
ISBN-10: 1-59253-616-6
1. Wine and wine making--Miscellanea. I. Title.
TP548.A43 2010
641.h--dC22
2010004020
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-616-0
ISBN-lO: 1-59253-616-6
109 8 7 6 543 21
Contributing writer: Kristen Hampshire
Design: everlution design
Illustrations: Michael Wanke
Printed in China
"Donfit worry if you canfit understand wine-speak.
Nobody can. Itfis a language invented by drunk people."
- JAY FEDIGAN, documentary film maker
This book is dedicated with love, thanks, and more love to my wife Sheleagh Somers,
who means literally everything to me, and whose relentless encouragement, faith,
and trust made this writing possible.
I could drink a case of you.

8
INTRODUCTION •.... . . • . . . . . ..
9
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK ••...•••.
A WINE LOVER'S YEAR
@
MONDAY / THE LANGUAGE OF WINE
CI)
TUESDAY / WINE GRAPES
®
WEDNESDAY / WINE AND FOOD
@
THURSDAY / GEOGRAPHY OF WINE
U
FRIDAY / PEOPLE MAKE WINE
®
+
SATURDAY SUNDAY / WEEKEND WINE ADVENTURES
317
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDITS • ••...••.
318
INDEX .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
320
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . •.•••..•••.
320
ABOUT THE AUTHOR . •.••...•••.
A corkscrew collection in a Heuriger, or wine tavern, in
Grinzing, Vienna, Austria
Introduction: Living the Wine Life
When I started writing about wine more than twenty years ago, I was like everyone
else: not obsessed with wine, not filling my weekends with wine tastings, and I
was not shopping, buying, ordering, cooking with, and thinking about wine all the
time ... yet.
What I was obsessed with at the time was writing. The first time I wrote about
wine, it was if I awoke and started seeing and writing about the whole world
through the prism of wine. I could write un-sexy corporate collateral material
during the day-order now and save!-while tasting wine and calling myself
a wine writer by night.
The wine life overtook me, and although I did not know it at the time, I was on a
track with millions of other people towards becoming a serious wine lover. As I was
discovering that Chardonnay was both the name of a grape and the name of a town
in France where they grow, so were millions of others. As I began to like red wine
8
more and more, the taste of millions moved in the same direction.
As you read or browse or study this book, I hope you'll find in it that same arc of
discovery that we all travel, whether you're new to wine, experienced with wine,
or somewhere in between. Wine itself is just a thing, a great thing granted, but
it's tasting wine and sharing wine and thinking about wine daily-living the wine
life-that gives wine meaning.
Whether you use this book for a day or a year or forever, remember that the secret
of wine is that it's not about the wine-it's about the people, the places, the stories,
and everything else behind the wine.
- JONATHON ALSOP
How to Use This Book
This book is organized as a day minder, with entries creating a complete year's worth
of information. Each of the year's fifty-two weeks has six entries.
You can start reading this book from the beginning" following the days of the week
through the calendar year, reading one entry each day. You can also read from the
middle of the book, the end, or skip around from week to week as inspiration strikes.
The most important thing to remember is that you can use this book however you
want. When you love wine, every day is an opportunity to sample a new vintage.
Turn to any page, and you will find another figurative bottle to uncork. Do you have
your tried-and-true vino? Bookmark your favorite pages and return time and again.
So, set aside some time and find a quiet place that is yours alone. Sip this book at
your own pace, and enjoy the journey through the delicious world of wine!
A Wine Lover's Year
MONDAYS / The Language of Wine: how we talk about it,
how we learn about it
TUESDAYS / Wine Grapes: the botany of worldwide grape
varietals, and how they shape our favorite wines
WEDNESDAYS / Wine and Food: beyond food pairings,
we offer dozens of delicious wine-inspired recipes and
recommendations
THURSDAYS / Geography of Wine: a virtual world tour of
wineries, famous wine regions, and places of legend
FRIDAYS / People Make Wine: profiles of wine-world
personalities throughout history and today
SATURDAYS + SUNDAYS / Weekend Wine Adventures:
from vineyard tours to building your own wine cellar