Any New Food or wine Books ?

going to the land of Covid in a few weeks and am anticipating much reading time. Also restaurant books.

A few recommendations:

“Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells” by Harold McGee

An updated version of Jamie Goode’s “The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass” recently came out if you haven’t read that yet.

While not super new, I just picked up Alex Maltman’s “Vineyards, Rocks, and Soils: The Wine Lover’s Guide to Geology” and making my way through that.

Also picked up “Dirt” by Bill Buford which has been enjoyable so far.

Last month, I purchased Ian D’Agata’s new book, The Grapes and Wines of Italy: The Definitive Compendium Region By Region, which he wrote with his protege Michele Longo.

This book is up to the minute with its analysis of Italian grapes and their primary appellations and regions. This self-published volume seems to be geared toward students pursuing an Italian wine certification - D’Agata is closely involved with the TerroirSense program - and it reads like those textbooks that your college professors wrote and required you to buy for their classes (is this still a thing in 2021, or am I aging myself?).

I like the region-by-region breakdown and the focus on the indigenous grapes of Italy, many of which other writers have not covered in depth. It’s easy to read and well organized; for those of us who are hopeless wine geeks, it is a book that you can crawl up with in bed or bring to the beach.

D’Agata does a great job explaining which grapes are or are not the same, and shoots down the idea that DNA testing is the final word in ampelography and ampelology. I found his discussion of Vermentino/Pigato/Favorita particularly helpful.

There are some surprises here for those who may not be familiar with D’Agata’s work; for example, he is more excited by Montefalco Rosso than Sagrantino de Montefalco, and he does not mention Paolo Bea among his top Umbrian producers. Unless the quality of Bea’s wines has significantly fallen in the past couple of vintages, they are up with Arnaldo-Caprai as one of my top two Umbrian producers. Of course, nobody is going to agree with any given wine writer or critic 100% of the time.

My main criticism with this book is that it appears that nobody proofread the text before D’Agata published it. There are numerous typos throughout the book; you would think that spell check would flag ‘belive’, but it nonetheless found its way into the discussion about Greco di Tufo. I am not a professional writer, and am definitely not the type of person who will harp on every single spelling or grammar mistake, but there are far too many errors here.

loving the noble rot book - wine from another galaxy…novices or berserkers will enjoy this one…done very well.

It’s that time again. Anything new ? Not really looking for books on tasting or viticulture. More personal stories. Especially books on chefs or restaurants. Think beach reading.

Have you read Jeffrey Steingarten’s books or Richard Olney’s memoir Reflexions or Blue Trout and Black Truffles?

None new, all good.

I have read both those authors.

Blue Trout Black Truffles is by Wechsberg - what about The Kitchen Book / The Cook Book by Freeling?

The New French Wine by Jon Bonne**. Well written, informative, and indulges all my desires for a deep dive into French wine in all its glory!

Another vote for The New French Wine by Bonne**

Not new, but these are all winners:

Pappyland was a great read. This entertaining story of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon is also a surprisingly moving book about family, fatherhood and Southern foodways (if you want to count bourbon as food).

Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon and the Things That Last, Wright Thompson

If you have not yet read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, you are in for a treat. Run do not walk to your local bookstore. Rollicking, profane, fun, real.

In the same vein of entertaining bad boys speaking loud and true, Jay McInerney’s collected columns from his time as an unreliable and very entertaining wine writer for House and Garden.
Bacchus and Me
A Hedonist in the Cellar

Here are some pull quotes from “Bacchus and Me”
On the difficulty of picking a wine for a vegetarian meal: “Like boys and girls locked away in same-sex prep schools, most wines yearn for a bit of flesh.”
On telling the difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux: “If it’s red, French, costs too much, and tastes like the water that’s left in the vase after the flowers have died, it’s probably Burgundy.”
On the fungus responsible for the heavenly flavor of the dessert wine called Sauternes: “Not since Baudelaire smoked opium has corruption resulted in such beauty.”

The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand
Some of Jim Harrison’s best food and wine writing collected here. He’s been called a combination of Hunter S. Thompson + Hemingway + Henry Miller

Sometimes the answer to death is lunch
And this: Jim Harrison on Writing and Drinking - Poetic Outlaws

A better read than I expected: In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire. Peter Hellman

Good call on The Raw and the Cooked, great read, as is almost everything else Jim Harrison wrote. He loved the pairing of food and wine, especially game with Bandol and Burgundy.