The featured projects provide an introduction to the neophyte and are a delight for the connoisseur. Erhard Pfeiffer's spectacular photography leads the reader to some of the most idyllic places on earth: California, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Spain, Chile and Argentina.

An inspirational guide designed with the globe-trotting wine lover in mind--vineyards to visit, seasons to go, vintages and organics to drink, and how to get the most out of each wine region. The adventures featured in this atmospherically illustrated book will fuel the wine lover's imagination with an almost endless array of vineyard visits, must-see sights, and must-do events--harvest festivals, vineyard picnics, wine-region weekends, tasting tours, wine- focused restaurants. Designed to highlight the world's most rewarding wine destinations, this guide spans the spectrum from traditional (a wine luncheon in Bordeaux or touring Portugal's port lodges) to fun and quirky. Some ideas are active--a cycling tour of the Champagne region or grape stomping in the Italian countryside--while others are more urban, such as a tour of Vienna's summer wine gardens or Rome's iconic enotecas. Sidebar panels throughout detail what makes each region special and include lists of the top five local wines to seek out. There is something here for all palates and all levels of expertise--from regular contributors to #WineWednesdays to the budding oenophile just starting out.

Kermit Lynch's recounting of his experiences on the wine route and in the wine cellars of France takes the reader through the Loire, Bordeaux, the Languedoc, Provence, Northern and Southern Rhone, and the Cote d'Or.

Reclaim your attention, productivity, and happiness with this “captivating, informative and beautifully written” book by learning how to keep your focus on one familiar task at a time (Nate Berkus). Modern life is full of to-do lists, all-consuming technology and the constant pressure to be doing and striving for more. What if you could train your brain to focus on one thing at a time? What if the secret to better productivity involved doing less, not more? Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness, The Twelve Monotasks provides a clear and accessible plan for life in the twenty-first century. Practice resisting distractions and building focus by doing the things you already do—like reading, sleeping, eating, and listening—with renewed attention. For example, the next time you go for a walk, don’t try to run an errand or squeeze in a phone call, but instead, notice the cool breeze on your face and the plants and birds that may cross your path. Immerse yourself in the activity and let time melt away, even if you’re only actually out for 20 minutes. Notice how much clearer your head feels when you return home. This is the magic of monotasking. With monotasking you will: Become more productive Produce higher quality work Reduce stress And increase happiness. Thatcher Wine’s The Twelve Monotasks will help you do one thing at a time, and do it well, so you can enjoy all of your life!

Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic adventure tale, celebrated editor-in-chief of The Wine Economist Mike Veseth takes his readers Around the World in Eighty Wines. The journey starts in London, Phileas Fogg’s home base, and follows Fogg’s itinerary to France and Italy before veering off in search of compelling wine stories in Syria, Georgia, and Lebanon. Every glass of wine tells a story, and so each of the eighty wines must tell an important tale. We head back across Northern Africa to Algeria, once the world’s leading wine exporter, before hopping across the sea to Spain and Portugal. We follow Portuguese trade routes to Madeira and then South Africa with a short detour to taste Kenya’s most famous Pinot Noir. Kenya? Pinot Noir? Really! The route loops around, visiting Bali, Thailand, and India before heading north to China to visit Shangri-La. Shangri-La? Does that even exist? It does, and there is wine there. Then it is off to Australia, with a detour in Tasmania, which is so cool that it is hot. The stars of the Southern Cross (and the title of a familiar song) guide us to New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina. We ride a wine train in California and rendezvous with Planet Riesling in Seattle before getting into fast cars for a race across North America, collecting more wine as we go. Pause for lunch in Virginia to honor Thomas Jefferson, then it’s time to jet back to London to tally our wines and see what we have learned. Why these particular places? What are the eighty wines and what do they reveal? And what is the surprise plot twist that guarantees a happy ending for every wine lover? Come with us on a journey of discovery that will inspire, inform, and entertain anyone who loves travel, adventure, or wine.

When Adventures on the Wine Route was first published, Victor Hazan said, "In Kermit Lynch's small, true, delightful book there is more understanding about what wine really is than in everything else I have read." A quarter century later, this remarkable journey of wine, travel, and taste remains an essential volume for wine lovers. In 2007, Eric Asimov, in The New York Times, called it "one of the finest American books on wine," and in 2012, The Wall Street Journal pro-claimed that it "may be the best book on the wine business." In celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, Adventures on the Wine Route has been thoroughly redesigned and updated with an epilogue and a list of the great wine connoisseur's twenty-five most memorable bottles. In this singular tour along the French wine route, Lynch ventures forth to find the very essence of the wine world. In doing so, he never shies away from the attitudes, opinions, and beliefs that have made him one of our most respected and outspoken authorities on wine. Yet his guiding philosophy is exquisitely simple. As he writes in the introduction, "Wine is, above all, about pleasure. Those who make it ponderous make it dull . . . If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover." Adventures on the Wine Route is the ultimate quest for this magic via France's most distinguished vineyards and wine cellars. Lynch draws vivid portraits of vintners—from inebriated négociants to a man who oversees a vineyard that has been in his family for five hundred years—and memorably evokes the countryside at every turn. "The French," Lynch writes, "with their aristocratic heritage, their experience and tradition, approach wine from another point of view . . . and one cannot appreciate French wine with any depth of understanding without knowing how the French themselves look at their wines, by going to the source, descending into their cold, humid cellars, tasting with them, and listening to the language they employ to describe their wines." Here, Kermit Lynch assures a whole new generation of readers—as well as his loyal fans—that discussions about wine need not focus so stringently on "the pH, the oak, the body, the finish," but rather on the "gaiety" of the way "the tart fruit perfume[s] the palate and the brain."

Could China take over the wine world? Cynthia Howson and Pierre Ly explore how Chinese wine went from being ignored and ridiculed to earning gold medals and praise by famous critics in less than a decade. Wine made in… China? Until recently, for most people, at best, it didn’t exist. Or at worst, as one colorful tasting note described, it evoked: “ash tray, coffee grounds, and urinal crust.” Then, a 2009 Chinese red shocked the world when it won Best Bordeaux Blend at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Could China take over the wine world? Cynthia Howson and Pierre Ly provide a knowledgeable and exuberant exploration of how Chinese wine went from being ignored and ridiculed to earning gold medals and praise by famous critics in less than a decade. They take the reader along on their adventure on the China wine trail to meet the farmers, entrepreneurs, and teachers who are shaping this new industry. They travel to Chinese wine tourism hotspots, talk to winemakers who struggle to find good wine grapes, and visit lush mountaintops and arid deserts to see what French multinational corporations have in common with small family farms. Then, they visit a Chinese wine school to meet professors and their students eager to join the wine work force. They reveal where they bought the best local wines as they give travelers new insights on China and ideas for Chinese wine tourism. Readers interested in current affairs, economic development, and business in China will find that wine offers a clear lens for understanding the larger issues facing the country.