A Companion to California Wine: An Encyclopedia of Wine and Winemaking from the Mission Period to the Present
Charles Sullivan'sA Companion to California Wine: Encyclopedia of Wine and Winemakingfills an oenological-reference niche that has up till now been lacking a suitably comprehensive and scholarly effort. An A-to-Z compendium of wine-related entries ranging from Acacia Winery to Zinfandel, theCompanion to California Winecovers 750 wineries and more than 100 wine-grape varietals, delivering useful explanations for tourists and wine-tasters, plus well-researched historical context for wine scholars, history students, and the idly curious.A random flip to page 3 reveals a profile of Leon D. Adams (journalist, historian, cofounder of the Wine Institute, and author ofCommonsense Book of Wine), thumbnail sketches of small wineries (Adelaida Cellars near San Luis Obispo, Aetana Springs Wine Ranch in Napa, and Ahlgren Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains); an entry on aging wines that explains the process and details its history in California; a blurb on Aguardiente, the hard liquor commonly consumed during the Gold Rush; plus a introduction to Alameda County and its important wine-growing regions.A great boon to California oenophiles wishing to bone up on the small winery labels they run across (the entries for which include location, history, annual production, and the varietals they specialize in), Sullivan's encyclopedia is engaging enough for amateur wine buffs and comprehensive enough for serious students of California history, wine history, or both.-- Stephanie Gold