The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
by Benjamin Wallace
from Crown
It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.
In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux—one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose. Why wouldn’t Rodenstock reveal the exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret?
It would take more than two decades for those questions to be answered and involve a gallery of intriguing players—among them Michael Broadbent, the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women and staked his reputation on the record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent’s elegant archrival, whose palate is covered by a hefty insurance policy; and Bill Koch, the extravagant Florida tycoon bent on exposing the truth about Rodenstock.
Pursuing the story from Monticello to London to Zurich to Munich and beyond, Benjamin Wallace also offers a mesmerizing history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated and of Jefferson’s colorful, wine-soaked days in France, where he literally drank up the culture.
Suspenseful, witty, and thrillingly strange, The Billionaire’s Vinegar is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. It is also the debut of an exceptionally powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction.
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
from Da Capo Press
Who knew vegetables could taste so good? Moskowitz and Romero's newest delicious collection makes it easier than ever to live vegan. You'll find more than 250 recipes--plus menus and stunning color photos--for dishes that will please every palate. All the recipes in Veganomicon have been thoroughly kitchen-tested to ensure user-friendliness and amazing results. And by popular demand, the Veganomicon includes meals for all occasions and soy-free, gluten-free, and low-fat options, plus quick recipes that make dinner a snap. Recipes include:
-Autumn Latkes
-Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes
-Grilled Yuca Tortillas
-Baby Bok Choy with Crispy Shallots
-Chile-Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Po' Boy
-Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta
-Jicama-Watercress-Avocado Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette
-Acorn Squash, Pear and Adzuki Soup
-Tomato Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans
-Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto
-Almost All-American Seitan Pot Pie
-Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh
-Black Eyed Pea Collard Rolls
-Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
-Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel
Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis
by Kingsley Amis
from Bloomsbury USA
Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject. Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) the book includes Amis’s musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man’s Diet, What to Drink with What, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk—all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humor and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.
Green for Life
by Victoria Boutenko
from Raw Family Publishing
In search of the perfect human diet, Victoria Boutenko compares the standard American diet with the diet of wild chimpanzees. Chimpanzees share an estimated 99.4% of genes with humans, but their diet is dramatically different from ours. The most glaring difference is that chimpanzees consume significantly more green leaves than humans. Victoria developed a series of greens smoothies that enable anyone to consume the necessary amount of greens in a very palatable way.
Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy
by Sergio Esposito
from Broadway
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.
Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes
by Ani Phyo
from Da Capo Press
The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
by Julia Flynn Siler
from Gotham
The New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built—and then lost—a global wine empire Set in California’s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. A meticulously reported narrative based on more than five hundred hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is a modern classic.
How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time
by John J. Palmer
from Brewers Publications
Everything needed to brew beer right the first time. Presented in a light-hearted style without frivolous interruptions, this authoritative text introduces brewing in a easy step-by-step review.
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course)
by Kevin Zraly
from Sterling
Of course, as always, this unequaled volume retains all the invaluable information, fabulous illustrations, and gorgeous styling of the previous editions—all presented in Zraly’s inimitable, irreverent style. This is the wine guide against which all others are judged.
The Bartender's Black Book, Eighth Edition: 2,800 New and Classic Recipes
by Stephen Kittredge Cunningham
from Wine Appreciation Guild
Easy to use: Designed with your convenience in mind. Index by ingredient: Find all of the drinks made with your favorite spirits. Over 2,800+ recipies Spiral Binding: Allows this bar guide to lie flat, open to your drink selection while you mix it. Martini Section: Complete list of martinis. Mixing instructions: How to mix them. Garnishes: The finishing touches. Expanded Wine Section: Serious wine info! 150 of the HOTTEST New Drinks EXPANDED Glossary and Beer Section COGNAC Guide Weights and Measures Shooters Floaters and Frozen Drinks Dessert Drinks Mixing Techniques MORE advice for the professional bartender PLUS: Robert M. Parker Speaks On Wine! Glossary of Wine Terms Wine Rating System Latest Vintage Guide The Worlds Greatest Wine Values
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