An approximate 625 page hard cover book written by world-acknowledged Burgundy expert Allen Meadows together with longtime Burgundy collector and aficionado Doug Barzelay. This is an essential reference book for all Burgundy enthusiasts. Each vintage from 1845 is not only rated and discussed in depth, but also carefully examined in the context of its era, creating a revealing narrative of the forces that created modern Burgundy and that are likely to shape its future. The book is full of new insights on the cultural, economic and technological developments that have made Burgundies among the most sought-after wines in the world. Burgundy Vintages is at once a wonderfully accessible Burgundian masterclass and a must-have reference for every wine lover, from novice to expert.

The head of Christie's wine department, Michael Broadbent has been sampling virtually every great vintage, new and old, for more than 40 years. This new, expanded, and fully updated edition of his classic wine guide is more than 90 percent new, and incorporates another 10 years of notes on tasting into its already comprehensive text.

This comprehensive wine atlas leaves no centimeter of terroir unexplored. After a thorough introduction to France, French winemaking and the concept of terroir, Jefford (Wine Tastes Wine Styles) gets to the heart of the matter with lengthy chapters on each of France's 14 regions. Each of these consists of an overview of the region and its history, profiles of the area's major winemakers, a description of the land and listings and descriptions of the local wineries. Some of the latter are lengthy, while others are brief, but all include an address and phone number, making this book useful as a guidebook as well. Jefford is refreshingly opinionated: the Loire Valley is in the throes of a "long and refined stone age," while Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace is the domain "most emblematic of the New France as a whole." The effort here is encyclopedic, but the writing rises above the usual dry discussion, comparing the quest to understand Burgundy to doing crossword puzzles. Even the most matter-of-fact information is presented with a certain flair: in a description of the Rhone Valley, Jefford explains that the area's mistral wind is both destructive and useful, in that it blows away "fugs and fungal diseases." Numerous maps and photographs-including portraits of the winemakers profiled-and a full list of vintages round out this entertaining addition to its field.

For centuries women have been marginalized and overlooked in American literary history. That injustice is corrected in this entertaining and provocative collection of 350 years of poetry and fiction by American women. From Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet to Margaret Fuller to Harriet Beecher Stowe, readers will encounter scores of lesser-known and forgotten writers who fully deserve to be rediscovered and enjoyed by new generations. Our famous women writers, including contemporary stars like Annie Proux and Jhumpa Lahiri, are showcased in their full literary context, offering an epic overview of the canon in one monumental, dazzling volume. This landmark anthology features the best work of our best American women, and was inspired and informed by the author's groundbreaking history celebrating women writers, A Jury of Her Peers.

The best on wine from the New York Times! The newspaper of record has always showcased the writing of some of the worlds most respected wine experts, and these 125 articles from its archives feature such esteemed names as Eric Asimov, Frank Prial, Florence Fabricant, and R. W. Apple Jr. They cover everything from corkscrews and winespeak to pairing wine with food, wines from the Continent and South of the Border, and restaurant experiences. This is the ideal gift book for wine lovers.

Antiques aficionados and rummagers of every stripe: call to mind dimly lit attics, trunks smelling of old leather, dusty cartons, and that indescribable tingle of suspense aroused by the idea of a hidden prize which has been lying there, biding its time, waiting for you to find it. If you follow the instructions we have mapped out for you, you might discover almost anything. . . Armed with this list of Paris addresses, carefully selected to fulfill all your desires, you’ll be equipped with what you need to search for the unknown, unexpected surprise, be it large or small. Paris still contains many mysterious secrets and magical places, which you’ll discover, to your wonderment, as you explore its secondhand stores that are brimming with all sorts of decorative curiosities. At the rear of a courtyard or sheltered by a nineteenth-century arcade, in a Gothic stone basement or in an ordinary-looking shop, you will find a cornucopia of delights at a variety of prices, always with charm. Fifty-eight antique, vintage, and curiosity shops–as well as the Saint-Ouen flea market–are profiled and photographed in this lavish guide to all things collectible in Paris.

The rivetingly strange story of the world's most expensive bottle of wine, and the even stranger characters whose lives have intersected with it. The New York Times bestseller, updated with a new epilogue, that tells the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux—supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—that sold for $156,000 at auction and of the eccentrics whose lives intersected with it. Was it truly entombed in a Paris cellar for two hundred years? Or did it come from a secret Nazi bunker? Or from the moldy basement of a devilishly brilliant con artist? As Benjamin Wallace unravels the mystery, we meet a gallery of intriguing players—from the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women to the obsessive wine collector who discovered the bottle. Suspenseful and thrillingly strange, this is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. “Part detective story, part wine history, this is one juicy tale, even for those with no interest in the fruit of the vine. . . . As delicious as a true vintage Lafite.” —BusinessWeek

The great wines captivate like lovers with their harmony and complexity - and especially their rarity. But what are the greatest among them? In this compact volume, international wine expert Michel Dovaz identifies the finest wines of our times and recounts how they came about. From the legendary 1900 Chateau Margaux to the blockbuster 2008 Pol Roger Champagne, the exceptional wines are mainly French, but also include vintages form Germany, the United States, Australia, Italy, and now South America. Dovaz provides an informative overview from year to year: land, climate, soil, grape varieties, harvest time and conditions, fermentation, and aging. In the following, newly expanded section, Dovaz lists the best vintages by year. Each entry features a detailed description of the wine itself, as well as an enlightening discussion of the vineyard's history and the specific conditions that led to superior vintages. They are paired with practical pricing information as well as photographic spreads that will provide enthusiasts and collectors with a fuller understanding of these favored wines within the historical and social context of their times. AUTHOR: Michel Dovaz is the author of more than one dozen books about wine, including Bordeaux, a Legendary Wine, and Chateau Latour. Michael Broadbent, author of the introduction, is founder and senior consultant of Christie's international wine department. ILLUSTRATIONS 375 illustrations