Every wine has a story. In this collection of elegantly written essays from the past thirty years, updated with a new introduction and endnotes, renowned author Gerald Asher informs wine enthusiasts with insightful, engrossing accounts of wines from Europe and America that offer just as much for those who simply enjoy vivid evocations of people and places. Asher puts wine in its context by taking the reader on a series of discursive journeys that start with the carafe at his elbow. In his introduction, Asher says, “Wine . . . draws on everything and leads everywhere.” Whether the subject is a supposedly simple red wine shared in a Parisian café or a Napa Valley Cabernet tasted with its vintner, every essay in A Carafe of Red is as pleasurable as the wines themselves. “A terrific introduction to one of the greatest wine writers of our times. . . . Complexity [that’s] easy to savor.” -- Lara Douglass ― Wine & Spirits Magazine Published On: 2012-02-01 “Unique and engaging.” ― The Blue Lifestyle Published On: 2012-01-09 "Simply put, no one writes like Asher anymore, and 'A Carafe of Red' serves as a capable introduction to his style and his work. As a study in effective, entertaining, and efficient wine prose, few authors even come close to Asher's celebrated ability to lucidly summarize the heart and soul of his subjects in only a few well-written and well-paced sentences. In that way, 'A Carafe of Red' is a short masterclass in wine prose." -- Joe Roberts ― 1WineDude.com Published On: 2013-12-01 "This is a number of charming collected essays on various aspects of wine by one of the wine world's most stylish writers, historians and wine lovers." -- Dan Berger ― The Press Democrat Published On: 2014-03-19 "Asher's discussion of the most memorable wine in his life makes the reader want to learn more while they are entertained in the process." -- Conal Gregory ― The Scotsman Published On: 2012-12-15 Praise for Gerald Asher s A Vineyard in My Glass: Gerald Asher s name snaps wine types to attention for good reason . . . shimmering, detailed prose [that] can often relay a wine s cultural tale in a single sentence. Jon Bonné, San Francisco Chronicle There is a timelessness to his writing . . . a literary pleasure. Lettie Teague, The Wall Street Journal Praise for Gerald Asher’s A Vineyard in My Glass: “Gerald Asher’s name snaps wine types to attention for good reason . . . shimmering, detailed prose [that] can often relay a wine’s cultural tale in a single sentence.”―Jon Bonné, San Francisco Chronicle “There is a timelessness to his writing . . . a literary pleasure.”―Lettie Teague, The Wall Street Journal Gerald Asher is author of The Pleasures of Wine, Vineyard Tales, Wine Journal, and On Wine . As an international wine merchant, he was decorated by the French Government in 1974 for his contribution to French viticulture, in 2001 was named Outstanding Wine Professional of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, and in 2009 was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintner’s Hall of Fame. A Carafe of Red By Gerald Asher UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2012 Gerald Asher All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-27032-9 Contents Introduction, 1, A Carafe of Red, 3, Storm in a Champagne Flute, 14, Côte Rôtie and Condrieu: Drinking with Pliny and Columella, 27, Côtes de Castillon: A Bordeaux Wine Reborn, 37, Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!, 44, Armagnac: The Spirit of D'Artagnan, 54, Les Chevaliers du Tastevin, 63, Jerez de la Frontera: Sherry and Tapas, 73, Malmsey: A Greek Classic, 81, Barbaresco: A Glimpse of Paradise, 90, Priorato: A Heady Success Story, 101, School Days on the Rhine, 109, Franconia: Going for Baroque, 117, California Cabernet Sauvignon, 128, A Morning Tasting with Joe Heitz, 141, Beaulieu Vineyard's Georges de Latour Private Reserve, 147, Santa Cruz Mountains: Ingenuity and Tenacity, 157, Zinfandel: California's Own, 164, Wine and Food: The Myth of a Perfect Match, 176, Chardonnay: Buds, Twigs, and Clones, 185, Haut-Brion: A Most Particular Taste, 199, Judgment of Paris: California's Triumph, 209, A Silent Revolution: Organic and Biodynamic Wines, 216, A Memorable Wine, 224, Missouri: Return of the Native, 229, Spreading the Word: Books on Wine, 242, Simple Pleasures: Warm Bread and Hot Chocolate, 253, Index, 261, CHAPTER 1 A CARAFE OF RED We had stopped for a quick lunch at a pastry shop near the Place de la Madeleine. My friend sniffed approvingly at her glass of red wine. "This is good," she said. "What is it?" It was from the Corbières, the block of wind-riven mountains between Carcassonne, Narbonne, and Perpignan on the French Mediterranean coast. While the world has been looking elsewhere, the growers of the Corbières have been busy recapturing for their wines a reputation that had always distinguished them from those grown elsewhere in the Languedoc. My friend was right: The wine