"A must-read for any wine grape grower or winemaker who has ever wrestled with the most important myths of winegrowing or debated them with colleagues—and that would be all of us! It is also a great read for any wine consumer interested in looking at 'the man behind the curtain,' so to speak: the myths promoted by wine writers, tasting room staff, sommeliers and other wine gatekeepers."—Wines & Vines "A meticulously researched volume that every serious sommelier should read . . . if only to disagree." —The Somm Journal Wine is a traditional product with traditional explanations. Oft-romanticized, Old World notions of how to create fine wine have been passed down through generations and continue to dominate popular discussions of wine quality. However, many of these beliefs predate science and remain isolated from advances in the understanding of how crops grow and fruit ripens. Allegiance to them has frequently impeded open-minded investigation into how grapevines interact with the environment, thus limiting innovation in winegrowing. In Terroir and Other Myths of Winegrowing, Mark A. Matthews applies a scientist’s skepticism and scrutiny to examine widely held beliefs about viticulture. Is terroir primarily a marketing ploy that obscures understanding of which environments really produce the best wine? Is reducing yield an imperative for high quality grapes and wine? What does it mean to have vines that are balanced or grapes that are physiologically mature? Matthews explores and dissects these and other questions to debunk the myths of winegrowing that may be holding us back from achieving a higher wine quality.

s wine an artisanal creation or industrial product? Wine Myths and Reality goes behind the scenes of winemaking to reveal the truth about what goes into a bottle of wine. Extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, and charts, its approachable and entertaining style immediately engages the reader in the wine universe.Panoramic in its scope, magisterial in its treatment, and meticulous in its research, Wine Myths and Reality explodes the world of wine. From monks treading grapes in the middle ages to the latest research into grapevine DNA, this compelling book presents the authoritative account of how wine is really made. Practices in viticulture and vinification come under the microscope, the tricks of the wine trade are revealed, the methods of the new and the old worlds are scrutinized, and their wines are discussed.An overview of all major wine-producing countries extends from the powerful wines of the new world to the classic wines of France or Italy. Does terroir really matter? Is the international style taking over? Will global warming destroy the existing wine-producing regions? And extrapolating from current trends, what will wine be like in the next decade?For this edition the book has been divided into two parts. Part 1 contains three sections dealing with Viticulture, Vinification, and the Wine Trade, with chapters on The Grapevine; Cultivating the Vineyard, The Mystique of Terroir, Global Warming, Turning Grape Juice into Wine, Cultivars, Global Wine Trends, The International Wine Trade, Fraud and Scandal.. Part 2 contains sections focusing on the wine regions of Europe and the New World, with chapters on North America, Australia & New Zealand, : Chile & Argentina, Bordeaux and Burgundy, The Rhône and Languedoc, Italy, Spain & Portugal, Sweet Wines, and Truth in Labeling. Each part contains a full index. Photographs in this reprint edition are in black and white.

Is wine an artisanal creation or industrial product? The first edition of Wine Myths and Reality was widely praised for its innovative view of how wine is made and what distinguishes wines from different places. The world of wine is constantly changing, and this second edition is expanded and completely rewritten to take account of new developments. Panoramic in its scope, magisterial in its treatment, and meticulous in its research, Wine Myths and Reality explores the world of wine. From monks treading grapes in the middle ages to the latest research into grapevine DNA, this compelling book presents the authoritative account of how wine is really made. Practices in viticulture and vinification are explained, the tricks of the wine trade are revealed, the methods of the New and the Old Worlds are scrutinized, and their wines are evaluated. Extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, and charts, the approachable and entertaining style immediately engages the reader in the wine universe.An overview of all major wine-producing countries extends from the powerful wines of the New World to the classic wines of Europe. Does terroir really matter? Is the international style taking over? Will global warming destroy the existing wine-producing regions? And extrapolating from current trends, what will wine be like in the future?

Wine has been described as a window into places, cultures and times. Geographers have studied wine since the time of the early Greeks and Romans, when viticulturalists realized that the same grape grown in different geographic regions produced wine with differing olfactory and taste characteristics. This book, based on research presented to the Wine Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers, shows just how far the relationship has come since the time of Bacchus and Dionysus. Geographers have technical input into the wine industry, with exciting new research tackling subjects such as the impact of climate change on grape production, to the use of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems for improving the quality of crops. This book explores the interdisciplinary connections and science behind world viticulture. Chapters cover a wide range of topics from the way in which landforms and soil affect wine production, to the climatic aberration of the Niagara wine industry, to the social and structural challenges in reshaping the South African wine industry after the fall of apartheid. The fundamentals are detailed too, with a comparative analysis of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and chapters on the geography of wine and the meaning of the term ‘terroir’.

Look at the back label of a bottle of wine and you may well see a reference to its terroir, the total local environment of the vineyard that grew the grapes, from its soil to the climate. Winemakers universally accept that where a grape is grown influences its chemistry, which in turn changes the flavor of the wine. A detailed system has codified the idea that place matters to wine. So why don’t we feel the same way about whiskey? In this book, the master distiller Rob Arnold reveals how innovative whiskey producers are recapturing a sense of place to create distinctive, nuanced flavors. He takes readers on a world tour of whiskey and the science of flavor, stopping along the way at distilleries in Kentucky, New York, Texas, Ireland, and Scotland. Arnold puts the spotlight on a new generation of distillers, plant breeders, and local farmers who are bringing back long-forgotten grain flavors and creating new ones in pursuit of terroir. In the twentieth century, we inadvertently bred distinctive tastes out of grains in favor of high yields—but today’s artisans have teamed up to remove themselves from the commodity grain system, resurrect heirloom cereals, bring new varieties to life, and recapture the flavors of specific local ingredients. The Terroir of Whiskey makes the scientific and cultural cases that terroir is as important in whiskey as it is in wine.

Winemaking as a form of food preseIVation is as old as civilization. Wine has been an integral component of people's daily diet since its discovery and has also played an important role in the development of society, reli gion, and culture. We are currently drinking the best wines ever produced. We are able to do this because of our increased understanding of grape growing, biochemistry and microbiology of fermentation, our use of ad vanced technology in production, and our ability to measure the various major and minor components that comprise this fascinating beverage. Historically, winemakers succeeded with slow but gradual improvements brought about by combinations of folklore, obseIVation, and luck. How ever, they also had monumental failures resulting in the necessity to dis pose of wine or convert it into distilled spirits or vinegar. It was assumed that even the most marginally drinkable wines could be marketed. This is not the case for modem producers. The costs of grapes, the technology used in production, oak barrels, corks, bottling equipment, etc. , have in creased dramatically and continue to rise. Consumers are now accustomed to supplies of inexpensive and high-quality varietals and blends; they con tinue to demand better. Modem winemakers now rely on basic science and xvi Preface xvii the systematic application of their art to produce products pleasing to the increasingly knowledgeable consumer base that enjoys wine as part of its civilized society.