The Winery Collection

In the same series as Assouline’s original The Impossible Collection of Wine: The 100 Most Exceptional Vintages of the Twentieth Century this addition to the Ultimate Collection envisions a cellar brimming with the most remarkable American wines. The Impossible Collection of Wine: The 100 Most Exceptional and Collectible American Wines highlights wines from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries produced by the finest vineyards. Celebrating vintages from the legendary 1964 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour to the more recent yet striking 2010 Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs, this collection reflects all the diversity and beauty that American wine has to offer. Author Enrico Bernardo, Best Sommelier of the World 2004, explores the world of endless surprises that wine has to offer, as well as the joy and memories that it can bring to all those who appreciate it. Including wines from Napa to Walla Walla Valley, the selection takes into account rarity, terroir, taste, and historical mystique. Bernardo celebrates the most exquisite vintages, inviting the reader on a journey through the unique history of American wine, from its beginnings with the Founding Fathers to the momentous Judgment of Paris and the distinct Napa Valley culture of today. Bringing readers on a journey from 1955 to 2016, Bernardo curates a list any connoisseur could only dream of.

With the evolution of agriculture from a family-run, artisanal economy to an industrial scale activity, wine production was mainly concentrated in industrial style buildings lacking in any architectural inspiration, since it was limited to a purely functional role. Thanks to a series of social, economic, and also cultural factors, this trend was even completely inverted. The challenge now lies in creating wineries that are industrial buildings suitable for production, but at the same time evocative and engaging spaces, perfectly integrated with the landscape, so that they will not alter the natural beauty of the surrounding countryside. Showing a selection of twenty-eight wineries spread throughout Italy, this book is aimed at investigating the characteristics of each single construction, establishing and underlining the connection between the architectural structure and its role within the agricultural fabric. An oenological section examines in more detail the production in each of the wineries, analyzing the organoleptic characteristics and properties of the wine, offering important suggestions for later analysis.

The adventure of a lifetime to buy Stalin's secret multimillion dollar wine cellar located in Georgia; it is the Raiders of the Lost Ark of wine. In the late 1990s, John Baker was known as a purveyor of quality rare and old wines. He was the perfect person for an occasional business partner to approach with a mysterious wine list that was different to anything John, or his second-in-command, Kevin Hopko, had ever come across. The list was discovered to be a comprehensive catalogue of the wine collection of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. The wine had become the property of the state after the Russian Revolution of 1918, during which Nicholas and his entire family were executed. Now owned by Stalin, the wine was discreetly removed to a remote Georgian winery when Stalin was concerned the advancing Nazi army might overrun Russia. Half a century later, the wine was rumoured to be hidden underground and off any known map. John and Kevin embarked on an audacious, colourful and potentially dangerous journey to Georgia to discover if the wines actually existed; if the bottles were authentic and whether the entire collection could be bought and transported to a major London auction house for sale. Stalin's Wine Cellar is a wild, sometimes rough ride through the glamorous world of high-end wine.

The Hess Art Collection is one of the world's most distinguished private collections of contemporary art. It was assembled by the Swiss businessman and wine producer Donald M. Hess. The collection unites extraordinary works by numerous artists now known around the world as well as excellent pieces by artists whose names are (as yet) less well known. This mixture is part of the ensemble's particular charm, making a glance through this copiously illustrated catalogue a veritable expedition. Hess's collecting activities primarily focus on the individual work. Accompanied by an unmistakable sense of quality, he judiciously selected the works he acquired over a period of more than forty years. A large part of the collection's holdings is open to the public in the museums of the Hess wineries in Napa, California, Glen Carlou in Paarl, South Africa, and Bodega Colomé in Calchaquí Valley, Argentina. A fourth museum is being planned at the Peter Lehmann Winery in Barossa Valley, Australia.

A handsome volume that is both a traditional cellar book and an indispensableguide to developing and maintaining the home wine collection.

In The Impossible Collection of Whiskey, bestselling spirits writer Clay Risen unpacks the history of this storied drink, inviting the reader to tour some of the world’s most famed distilleries and their finest bottles. From the best Scotch of the Scottish Highlands to Kentucky’s finest Bourbon, Risen’s selection of 100 unparalleled whiskeys come from age-old makers as well as trailblazers of the craft distilling movement that has swept across the globe. Here are whiskeys selected not only for their exquisite flavor but also for rarity, age, flavor, and innovation. Bottles from countries with nascent whiskey markets, such as India and the Czech Republic, sit beside old American classics like Pappy Van Winkle and some of the rarest, most coveted bottles on the market. Risen marvels at bottles like Ireland’s Midleton Very Rare 45 Year Old, the oldest, most expensive Irish whiskey in the world. Together, these 100 bottles comprise a collection of whiskeys so exclusive that no one could ever assemble them all under one roof. A must-have for the library of any true whiskey connoisseur, The Impossible Collection of Whiskey is a carefully crafted homage to a liquor long revered as the “water of life.”

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.

Winner of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award in "Reference, History, Scholarship" Winner of the 2017 André Simon Drink Book Award Winner of the 2018 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award for "Wine, Beer & Spirits" From Peter Liem, the lauded expert behind the top-rated online resource ChampagneGuide.net, comes this groundbreaking guide to the modern wines of Champagne--a region that in recent years has undergone one of the most dramatic transformations in the wine-growing world. This luxurious box set includes a pullout tray with a complete set of seven vintage vineyard maps by Louis Larmat, a rare and indispensable resource that beautifully documents the region’s terroirs. With extensive grower and vintner profiles, as well as a fascinating look at Champagne’s history and lore, Champagne explores this legendary wine as never before.