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OVERVIEW OF THE WINE JOURNEYS

The heart of this book is a sequence of journeys through twelve varietals (grape types), along with sparkling wines and dessert wines. Hundreds of grape varieties are used to make wine around the globe. In these sections I focus on the grapes used to make the wines people most often consume on a regular basis, in still, sparkling, and sweet or dessert styles. Within the categories of white and red, the varietals are arranged in order of popularity and prestige in the wine world. Each journey presents a practical approach to understanding wines made from the grape type, interpreting varied styles, and applying those insights to pairing the wines with food. But first, here's an explanation of the itinerary for each journey and how to follow the road map!

WINE-GROWING AREAS First I look at the countries, regions, states, appellations, and subappellations where the grape is grown and wines are produced. Tables showing the wine-growing areas for each varietal can be found in the chapter titled “Principal Wine-Growing Regions.” These tables list U.S. regions first, followed by other areas in order of importance. These lists aren't exhaustive; they emphasize what is commercially produced and widely available.

VINTNER CHOICES This section lists the fundamental options and decisions facing a winemaker and his or her team that determine the style, taste, and flavor of the wine. Many of these choices are addressed as comparative scenarios, such as the use of oak or no oak, blended or 100 percent pure varietal, or barrel rather than stainless-steel fermentation. For sparkling wines and dessert wines, I also explain how these types of wines may be vinified. Definitions of the more technical and specialized terms used in these descriptions are provided in the glossary at the back of the book.

As this is not a encyclopedic wine book but one about matching food with wine, I don't go into detail about most aspects of wine production. For example, long before the grapes are harvested, vineyard decisions must be made about trellising, irrigation, root-stock selection, leaf picking, and other basic viticultural practices. For more detail on these matters, you may want to consult comprehensive wine books such as Tom Stevenson's Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia or Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine. These books offer excellent discussions of the wine-making process and preproduction vineyard practices.

FLAVOR LEXICON Although the flavors elicited from a wine are quite subjective, there is an accepted working vocabulary for describing grapes and their resultant wines. In this section I try to provide some of the most common flavor descriptors associated with a particular varietal or style. These listings are by no means exhaustive, and you may find yourself developing and inventing your own words to describe the wines. That's not only OK; it's encouraged and applauded.

WINE AND FOOD PAIRING The final component of the journeys addresses real-life scenarios at home or in a restaurant. While I do offer my own point of view and attempt to “get into your mouth,” the truism still holds: nobody experiences aroma and taste in the same way as anybody else. As each person's threshold for saltiness, bitterness, heat or spice, sweetness, and tartness is different, so too are the perceptions of how these factors react with wine and food on individual palates.

Each of the varietal chapters concludes with four tasty, easy-to-make recipes that have been designed specifically to go with different stylistic versions of the grape. For sparkling wine, I provide four recipes to accompany different styles of sparkling wine and Champagne, and the dessert wine chapter includes six recipes. Each recipe is followed by Joyce's discussion of the dish and my rationale for the pairing.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCERS Following each recipe, where the information is germane, is a short list of reliable producers whose wines are consistently made in the relevant style. I have purposely avoided specifying a particular vintage, vineyard, or bottling, because the availability of many wines varies radically in different areas of the country—and from year to year. Instead of listing specific prices, which are also highly variable, I give three price ranges, as shown below.

Everyday	$5-15
Premium	$16-39
Splurge	$40 and up

In a few cases, no producers make wines in a certain price category, and so no recommendations are made for that category. For example, there are no “splurge” white Zinfandels.

I have tried to select producers with reasonably comprehensive distribution who produce sufficient quantities of wine. Nothing is more frustrating than falling in love with a wine and then finding out that only ten cases were produced, and those were sold exclusively to those who live in the right places and know the secret handshake.