Books for the Wine Lover in Your Life

Name: Sonoma County Wineries
Brand: Thomas Maxwell-Long
SKU: 9780738519067
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

“Terroir” is a wine-lovers word for the taste of place that comes through the wine. The opposite of nowhereness, avin de terroirhas distinct characteristics connected to the particular climate and history of the vineyard, region and year. Our wine books celebrate that unique character of place in words and rare photos, from the earliest days of American winemaking in the Finger Lakes region of New York, to Napa Valley to the regional wine histories in places like Virginia, Oregon, Michigan, and New Mexico. The right wine book pairs well with any vintage, and will delight the wine lover on your list.

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Sonoma County Wineries

Ohio's Lake Erie Wineries

Wineries of the Gold Country

Wineries of Santa Clara Valley

Temecula Wine Country

Shenandoah Valley and Amador Wine Country

Rogue Valley Wine

New Jersey Wineries

Napa Valley Wine Country

Napa County Wineries

Missouri Wine Country

Lake Erie Wine Country

Finger Lakes Wine Country

Sonoma County Wineries

9780738519067

$24.99

As early as the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century, the first settlers of Sonoma County recognized that the rich soil and unique array of climates of the region's valleys were particularly conducive for the ages-old livelihood of viticulture. Beginning in 1857 with Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma became one of the preeminent winemaking regions in the world. Chronicled here in over 200 vintage images is Sonoma's wine producing history, covering its many wineries, vineyards, towns, and townsfolk that grew up alongside the development of this fantastic agricultural enterprise.

The first Sonoma Country venture was Buena Vista Winery, founded in 1857 by the eccentric Count Agoston Haraszthy. Since then, and over the course of the next 150 years, hundreds of wineries would dot the landscape; while some succeeded and lasted through the years, others fell in the face of life's trials, including earthquakes, wildfires, and Prohibition. Covering three centuries of award-winning winemaking, this new book captures in photographs the history of some of the world's most famous wineries, their proprietors, workers, and families, including those from Korbel, Geyser Peak, Simi, Sebastiani, Pedroncelli, Orr, Seghesio, and Ravenswood.

Ohio's Lake Erie Wineries

9780738582818

$24.99

Ohio's Lake Erie wineries and vineyards are rooted in tradition. European immigrants settled on the Lake Erie islands and nearby shoreline in the mid-1800s, and the grape industry flourished in Ohio into the early 20th century. Industrialization from Cleveland to Toledo swallowed up prime growing property along the lakeshore, but many farms continued to grow grapes. During Prohibition, wine making went underground. When it ended, restaurant owners bottled their own fortified wines and some of the wineries started mass producing wine with new equipment. The wines of Ohio, like those all over the eastern United States, were mostly sweet and made from native labrusca grapes. In the 1960s, Ohio's serious winemakers learned how to cultivate European-style vinifera grapes along Lake Erie's shore and on the islands. Chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon grapes now grow alongside Concord and Catawba. Today, more than 40 wineries stretch across northern Ohio.

Wineries of the Gold Country

9781467130417

$24.99

Say the words "California Gold Rush," and images of miners plying glittering gold from streams and mines come to mind. But there is a larger story in the California Gold Country than just the discovery of this precious metal. Immigrants from around the world rushed into the area, bringing with them their own languages and traditions in a quest for riches. One of those traditions was wine making, which, for some, would prove to be a greater boon than panning for gold as they discovered that the region's soils and microclimates were ideal for vineyards.

Wineries of Santa Clara Valley

9781467133289

$24.99

The Santa Clara Valley was the first premier wine production region in California. The valley's history of winemaking dates back to 1777, when Spanish padres founded Mission Santa Clara and planted their grape cuttings in order to make wine for religious purposes. Immigrants from around the world, following the American dream, were soon lured to the Santa Clara Valley for its rich soil and ideal growing climate. These immigrants brought centuries of winemaking traditions, passed down through the generations.

Temecula Wine Country

9780738570143

$21.99

Vineyards flourish in Temecula because of the ideal climate. The name Temecula is taken from Luiseno words that mean "where the sun and earth were created." At an altitude of 1,500 feet, the filtered sunlight and an ocean breeze that drifts through a gap in the mountains coax the decomposed granite soil of Temecula Valley to produce high-quality grapes for premium wines today just as they did over a century ago. From the time the Spanish padres entered the valley and made sacramental wines and French and Italian immigrants brought vines from the Old World, its grape harvests were unknown to the rest of the world. In 1967, Vincenzo and Audrey Cilurzo came from Hollywood to plant the first commercial vineyard, followed by Ely Callaway, who built the first commercial winery in 1974, and soon the Temecula Wine Country was home to 14 wineries. The annual Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, started in 1983, draws as many as 50,000 attendees.

Shenandoah Valley and Amador Wine Country

9780738556031

$24.99

The grape has been grown and fermented into wine in the foothills of Amador County since the first days of the Gold Rush. While many dreamed of overnight riches in the gold fields, others saw wealth in the region's red soils and Mediterranean climate, patiently planting gardens and orchards, wheat, and vine. These vines, some of the oldest zinfandel in California, have produced distinctive wines in a viticultural tradition that has survived the ravages of mining, disease, and Prohibition. After Prohibition, the region slipped into quiet jug production until its rediscovery in the 1960s. While the Shenandoah Valley is undeniably the heart of Amador's winemaking region today, vineyards flourished historically from Sutter Creek to Fiddletown, from Jackson to Ione, and tasting rooms are open countywide.

Rogue Valley Wine

9780738581361

$24.99

Winemaking in Oregon began more than 150 years ago when Peter Britt of Jacksonville brought grapevine cuttings from California to create his Valley View Vineyard. By 1890, the Southern Oregon State Board of Agriculture forecast a vineyard-dotted Rogue Valley to rival "the castled Rhine, the classical vales of Italy and the sunny slopes of France." But Prohibition, which became law in Oregon four years before the rest of the country, killed the nascent industry. Not until the 1970s, when Americans discovered a passion for wine, was winegrowing and winemaking in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley reestablished. Pear orchards were converted to vineyards, and winemaking--not on a California scale, but rather in boutique wineries tucked away along scenic country roads--began anew and thrived.

New Jersey Wineries

9780738557229

$24.99

New Jersey, the fifth-largest wine-producing state in the country, has been making wine since 1864. While perhaps not as well known as other wine-producing states, New Jersey is home to many premier varieties. Award-winning chardonnay, syrah, marechal foch, viognier, traminette, merlot, cabernet, and dozens of others are produced in the state. Particularly unique to New Jersey wineries is an array of fruit wines, such as raspberry, cherry, and blueberry, which are exported all over the world. Because of the climate and conditions of the state, New Jersey wines are most often compared by viticulturists and enologists to the wines of France and Italy. From Cape May County up to the northernmost tip of Sussex County, New Jersey wineries offer more than 200 varieties of wine.

Napa Valley Wine Country

9780738528762

$24.99

California's upper Napa Valley is regarded by many as the premier wine-growing region in America. Producing vintages since the 1850s, the mountain-ringed valley studded with ancient oaks is the setting for several wineries that have been active for more than a century, overcoming a variety of challenges from insect invasions to Prohibition. But Napa's "Up Valley" also has a rich pioneer heritage that extends beyond its famous vineyards and cellars. Home to some of California's earliest settlers and the staging and recruiting area for the Bear Flag Revolt, the region was also home to California's first resort spas and a silver and cinnabar mining industry that brought wealth to some investors but disappointment to many others.

Napa County Wineries

9780738520575

$24.99

Situated in one of the most beautiful valleys in the state, the Napa Valley Wine Country is home to many of California's premiere wineries. As the Native California population of the area declined, more and more of the land was transformed into an agricultural community, with viticulture quickly winning out. One of the unique features that has been defining California's wine history from the earliest days of its Spanish heritage has been both the variation of the vintages and the vintners. One need only to read the names of these visionaries and wineries to gain a sense of the diversity: Beringer, Far Niente, Beaulieu, Charles Krug, and Inglenook. The picturesque setting of the roaming vineyards, along with the attractive quality of the estates and tasting rooms, has made the Napa Valley wineries one of the most popular and fast-growing tourist destinations in the state of California. In this new book, America's most celebrated wine-producing region is presented for visitors and wine connoisseurs alike, using over 200 vintage images to showcase the area's heritage, Golden Age, and incredible expansion. Alongside these photographs are collages of the famous wine labels and illustrated maps.

Missouri Wine Country

9780738577777

$24.99

Before prohibition, Missouri was the second largest wine-producing state in the union, and for a short time during the Civil War, it was number one. Today the state's lush green area overlooking the Missouri River is officially recognized as America's first wine district. Parts of this district have produced wine since the 1830s, when German immigrants from the Rhine River Valley settled in Missouri. The historic towns of Augusta and Defiance, home of pioneer Daniel Boone, are part of this district. Other towns along the river include Dutzow, the first permanent German settlement in Missouri; Washington, which holds the state record for the most buildings on the National Register of Historic Places; and Hermann, recognized by its settlers as a German utopia.

Lake Erie Wine Country

9781467122122

$24.99

In 1818, Deacon Elijah Fay planted the first grape vines of the Lake Erie Wine Country, located in the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt. Fay's relatives planted the premier Concord vineyards in Brocton, New York, where the mighty Concord grape thrived. Vineyards were planted along the shore of Lake Erie in both New York and Pennsylvania, attracting the likes of Dr. Charles Welch, who relocated his grape juice operations to Westfield, New York, in 1897. Regional wineries sprung up during the grape boom of the 19th century but went out of business due to Prohibition in 1919. While New York permitted commercial wineries after Prohibition, it was not until 1968 when wineries were allowed to reopen in Pennsylvania. Today, the Grape Belt spans almost 60 miles along the southern shore of Lake Erie. Quaint towns dot the Grape Belt, which is now home to the Grape Discovery Center and boutique wineries that welcome thousands of visitors each year.

Finger Lakes Wine Country

9781467123341

$24.99

For more than 150 years, Finger Lakes Wine Country has played a major role in American wine history.

At its heart are the four deepest Finger Lakes, part of a group of 11 long, narrow lakes in central New York. There, nestled among Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes, farmers began planting vineyards in the 1830s. In 1860, the Pleasant Valley Wine Company became America's first bonded winery, turning Keuka Lake into a busy shipping hub for fresh grapes and award-winning champagnes. Other wineries soon followed, as did railroads and basket factories. Early 20th century business was good until Prohibition forced wineries to reinvent themselves. In the 1950s and 1960s, innovators like Charles Fournier, Dr. Konstantin Frank, and Walter S. Taylor experimented with hybrid and European vinifera grape varieties. But by the 1970s, local grape growers faced extinction; it would take a grassroots movement and landmark legislation in 1976 to bring about a Finger Lakes wine renaissance.