The definitive Reference Guide to Alcohol-based drinks and mixers, and how to choose, store and serve them.

An accessible and fact-filled visual guide to alcoholic drinks, how they are produced, where they come from, choosing and tasting, and a world directory to the best wines, beers and spirits.

Beverage Basics presents a new approach to understanding wine and other alcoholic beverages. The book includes an introduction to alcoholic beverages, information on important issues such as purchasing beverages, healthy drinking, and alcohol and the law, and an introduction to wine including viticulture, viniculture, and the sensory evaluation of wine. The authors teach readers about wines by varietal as opposed to appellation, which is a much simpler entry point for beginners to the world of wine. In addition to all the major wine varietals (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc.), the book also covers hybrid and Native American varieties, sparkling wines, and dessert and fortified wines. Chapters on beer and distilled spirits include information on making, purchasing, and evaluating beer and spirits. The appendices include map-filled sections on The Old World and The New World of wine, as well as a thorough examination of the TTB requirements for alcoholic beverage labels, and a complete glossary of terms. Author Robert Small is former Dean and Emeritus Professor of The Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he still teaches courses on wine, spirits, and beer and on beverage marketing and food and beverage management, and is the Chairman of the Los Angeles International Wine competition, one of the largest and most prestigious wine competitions in the United States.

"The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world's most prominent beer experts"-- Provided by publisher.

Enhanced by specific beer and wine recommendations, a colorful handbook explains how to pair both types of beverages with a wide assortment of foods and includes interactive quizzes to help readers identify and record their preferences, step-by-step recipes and relevant beverage suggestions, and more than two hundred full-color illustrations.

This encyclopedia presents the many sides of America's ongoing relationship with alcohol, examining the political history, pivotal events, popular culture, and advances in technology that have affected its consumption. From the constant advertising messages from beer, wine and liquor manufacturers to parties, weddings, and other social gatherings where alcohol is served to after-work happy hours with coworkers, the influence and presence of alcohol are inescapable in the United States. According to a government source, 50 percent of American adults identified themselves as "regular drinkers" (having at least 12 drinks in the past year). This encyclopedia presents an overview of the entire history of alcohol in America from the first colonies to present day, focusing on the often-marginalized and pop culture aspects of alcohol use and misuse. Entries illuminate topics such as the favorite alcoholic beverages in America; how they are manufactured; the role of alcohol in everyday life, special events, and across history; the impacts of alcohol consumption on society and health; and much more. Connections and influences from outside the United States are also considered for some topics.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails presents an in-depth exploration of the world of spirits and cocktails in a ground-breaking synthesis. The Companion covers drinks, processes, and techniques around the world as well as those in the US and Europe. It provides clear explanations of the different ways that spirits are produced, including fermentation, distillation and ageing, alongside a wealth of new detail on the emergence of cocktails and cocktails bars, including entries on key cocktails and influential mixologists and cocktail bars.

- The essential book on the world's wine, whatever your level of expertise - Oz Clarke makes wine accessible and enjoyable - Full of all the facts you need as well as the stories you will love, authoritative and enjoyable - Beautifully produced in a new flexibound volume that makes it easy to read There have never been so many delicious and original wines in the world, and to discover them, all you need is a glass in your hand and Oz Clarke - the ideal wine companion. With his inimitable sense of adventure and fun, Oz explains how his fascination with flavor led him to abandon a promising acting career and follow his heart from Chablis to 'the lost Himalayan valleys of Yunnan' in pursuit new taste experiences and wine thrills. He found them! Oz Clarke On Wine takes us on a fast-paced, witty romp around the grape varieties key to the world's major wine styles, then explores the vineyards and regions where a vast trove of wine treasure lies waiting for discovery. Oz's passion for sharing, his deep wine knowledge, and his ability to conjure up the wine world's most beautiful landscapes, make this book the most unputdownable wine read this century. Includes: How Oz fell in love with wine: from his first dramatic encounter on a river-bank (aged three), to his post-performance tasting tales (after 'governing Argentina' as General Perón in the hit show Evita Oz explains how global warming affects what we drink today, and the new styles we can expect 'tomorrow' Organic and Biodynamic wines, Oz's favorite fizz The world's best-tasting wines, from Aconcagua to Okanagan, from Patagonia to east Yorkshire..., and wines to enjoy, from budget to blue chip... For sipping and savoring now. Or to age and enjoy in 10, 20, 30-years' time...