A fascinating and interesting journey through the wine world that began in the pioneering days of the Napa Valley in the 1960's and continued through college, then a wonderfully successful award-winning restaurant. Most recently, John has been consulting about wine and writing in sundry publications.

As a young child in Naples, Italy, Sergio Esposito sat at his kitchen table observing the daily ritual of his large, loud family bonding over fresh local dishes and simple country wines. While devouring the rich bufala mozzarella, still sopping with milk and salt, and the platters of fresh prosciutto, sliced so thin he could see through it, he absorbed the profound relationship of food, wine, and family in Italian culture. Growing up in Albany, New York, after emigrating there with his family, he always sat next to his uncle Aldo and sipped from his wineglass during their customary hours-long extended family feasts. Thus, from a very early age, Esposito came to associate wine with the warmth of family, the tastes of his mother’s cooking—and, above all, memories of his former life in Italy. When he was in his twenties, he headed for New York and undertook a career in wine, beginning a journey that would culminate in his founding of Italian Wine Merchants, now the leading Italian wine source in America. His career offered him the opportunity to make frequent trips back to Italy to find wine for his clients, to learn the traditions of Italian winemaking, and, in so doing, to rediscover the Italian way of life he’d left behind. Passion on the Vine is Esposito’s intimate and evocative memoir of his colorful family life in Italy, his abrupt transition to life in America, and of his travels into the heart of Italy—its wine country—and the lives of those who inhabit it. The result is a remarkably engaging and entertaining wine/travel narrative replete with vivid portraits of seductive places—the world-famous cellars of Piedmont, the sweeping estates of Tuscany, the lush fields of Campania, the chilly hills of Friuli, the windy beaches of Le Marche; and of memorable people, diverse and vibrant wine artisans—from a disco-dancing vintner who bases his farming on the rhythm of the moon to an obsessive prince who destroys his vineyards before his death so that his grapes will never be used incorrectly. Esposito’s luscious accounts of the wonderful food and wine that are so much a part of Italian life, and his poignant and often hilarious stories of his relationships with his family and Italian friends, make Passion on the Vine an utterly unique and enchanting work about Italy and its eternally seductive lifestyle.

Arizona's flourishing wine industry may surprise those who think of the Grand Canyon State as a desert landscape dotted with cacti. From the high-country vineyards of the Verde Valley to the rolling plateaus of Sonoita and Willcox, pioneering winemakers are producing nationally acclaimed, award-winning wines. While the 1970s are recognized as launching the modern-day industry, Arizona's viticulture dates back much further. The Spanish and Jesuit missionaries introduced European winemaking to the Southwest, and the 1800s saw the introduction of Arizona's first wineries. Join author Christina Barrueta on this fascinating journey and meet the pioneers and visionaries who are forging their own paths to build America's newest wine region.

This is a fun but respectful (and very comprehensive) guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People, described by Imbibe magazine as "a wine podcast for the people." More than 60,000 listeners tune in every month to learn a not-snobby wine vocabulary, how and where to buy wine, how to read a wine label, how to smell, swirl, and taste wine, and so much more! Rich with charts, maps, and lists—and the author's deep knowledge and unpretentious delivery—this vividly illustrated, down-to-earth handbook is a must-have resource for millennials starting to buy, boomers who suddenly have the time and money to hone their appreciation, and anyone seeking a relatable introduction to the world of wine.

“Can I just be Marissa, please? I want to be hilarious and sexy and smart and insanely knowledgeable about wine.” —Mindy Kaling A fresh, fun, and unpretentious guide to wine from Marissa A. Ross, official wine columnist for Bon Appétit. Does the thought of having to buy wine for a dinner party stress you out? Is your go-to strategy to pick the bottle with the coolest label? Are you tired of choosing pairings based on your wallet, instead of your palate? Fear not! Bon Appétit wine columnist and Wine. All The Time. blogger Marissa A. Ross is here to help. In this utterly accessible yet comprehensive guide to wine, Ross will walk you through the ins and outs of wine culture. Told in her signature comedic voice, with personal anecdotes woven in among its lessons, Wine. All the Time. will teach you to sip confidently, and make you laugh as you're doing it. In Wine. All The Time., you’ll learn how to: • Describe what you’re drinking, and recognize your preferences • Find the best bottle for you budget and occasion • Read and understand what’s written on a wine label • Make the perfect pairings between what you’re drinking and what you’re eating • Throw the best damn dinner party your guests will ever attend • And much more

The brilliant creator of NPR's Planet Money podcast and award-winning New Yorker staff writer explains our current economy: laying out its internal logic and revealing the transformative hope it offers for millions of people to thrive as they never have before. Contrary to what you may have heard, the middle class is not dying and robots are not stealing our jobs. In fact, writes Adam Davidson—one of our leading public voices on economic issues—the twenty-first-century economic paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. Drawing on the stories of average people doing exactly this—an accountant overturning his industry, a sweatshop owner's daughter fighting for better working conditions, an Amish craftsman meeting the technological needs of Amish farmers—as well as the latest academic research, Davidson shows us how the twentieth-century economy of scale has given way in this century to an economy of passion. He makes clear, too, that though the adjustment has brought measures of dislocation, confusion, and even panic, these are most often the result of a lack of understanding. The Passion Economy delineates the ground rules of the new economy, and armed with these, we begin to see how we can succeed in it according to its own terms—intimacy, insight, attention, automation, and, of course, passion. An indispensable road map and a refreshingly optimistic take on our economic future.

We at Hershey's know something about brands that ignite genuine passion. In Passion Brands, Kate unlocks the secrets, showing how passion grows as special brands conscript a loyal following to spend precious social and financial currency. It's a fast, hot read, full of tips and tactics you can apply today and feel tomorrow on the bottom line.-Dave West, President and CEO, The Hershey CompanyKate is dissecting passion as a branding exercise. Timely, thoughtful and as ever erudite. I love reading her stuff.-Paco Underhill, author of Why We BuyKate Newlin is one of the sharpest brains in consumer marketing.... Her success in creating, building and reinventing brands should make this work invaluable.-Daryl Brewster, chairman and CEO, Krispy KremeKate is quite simply one of the smartest individuals I've met in business.... Her raw creativity, coupled with a profound understanding of our culture, market space and consumers make for remarkably actionable thinking.-Jim Becktold, director, Proctor & GambleWhat makes some brands stand out from the pack year after year? In a vast marketplace glutted with countless pretty good brands, how are some products able to command unquestionable customer loyalty and lasting enthusiasm?Veteran business strategist Kate Newlin defines the key ingredients that go into passion brands-brands that we recommend to friends wholeheartedly, with a joyous, even evangelical zeal. Passion brands inspire an emotional attachment. Unlike consumer fads, we become personally invested in them, sometimes even more so than we do with our friends and loved ones.Newlin identifies the social factors that have made passion brands the driving force in consumer marketing today. Based on proprietary research, which makes use of in-depth interviews with company executives as well as state-of-the-art analytics, she answers the following key questions:?Are there common characteristics that enable passion brands to become carriers of personal meaning?What is the financial impact on a company that produces a passion brand?Do passion brands create a halo over the stock prices?She notes that in a world of almost unlimited consumer choices, the old rules of marketing just don't work anymore (product, package, position, price, and promotion). Now marketers must react to consumers in real time, encouraging brand democracy in which users can help decide a product's characteristics, from size and color to how it should be marketed.Passion Brands is must reading for entrepreneurs and denizens of corporate cubicles and boardrooms alike.Kate Newlin (New York, NY), the principal and founder of Kate Newlin Consulting, is the author of Shopportunity! How to Be a Retail Revolutionary, which was on the Oprah Selects list of O magazine in 2006 and was also a recommended selection of the 2006 Harvard Business Review. With over 25 years of experience in business strategy and marketing, Newlin has worked with a broad cross-section of Fortune 500 businesses, including McDonald's, Pennzoil/Quaker State, Kraft, Hasbro, Cigna, GE Capital, Waldenbooks, LensCrafters, and others.

Providing new perspectives on the interface between passion and entrepreneurship, this book recognizes that entrepreneurship is not just based on the search for profit. Instead, the entrepreneurial experience incorporates more complex processes, often based on less rational behavior motivated by reasons other than revenue. ‘Passion’ refers both to emotional elements that may fuel an entrepreneurial effort as well as something that feeds the business. The book challenges established views and shows the complexity of the link between passion and entrepreneurship. The authors discuss the main implications for businesses, and explore how passion at the individual and community level influences entrepreneurial efforts. Offering case studies from multiple sectors alongside conceptual frameworks, this edited volume is a useful tool for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers working on entrepreneurship.