Battle for Wine and Love or Are You Hungry Tonight

Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization

Author: Alice Feiring

"I want my wines to tell a good story. I want them natural and most of all, like my dear friends, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue,” says Alice Feiring. Join her as she sets off on her one-woman crusade against the tyranny of homogenization, wine consultants, and, of course, the 100-point scoring system of a certain all-powerful wine writer. Traveling through the ancient vineyards of the Loire and Champagne, to Piedmont and Spain, she goes in search of authentic barolo, the last old-style rioja, and the tastiest new terroir-driven champagnes. She reveals just what goes into the average bottle—the reverse osmosis, the yeasts and enzymes, the sawdust and oak chips—and why she doesn’t find much to drink in California. And she introduces rebel winemakers who are embracing old-fashioned techniques and making wines with individuality and soul.

No matter what your palate, travel the wine world with Feiring and you’ll have to ask yourself: What do i really want in my glass?

The New York Times - Bryan Miller

The Battle for Wine and Love is loosely organized, but that's not a fault. Reading it is like taking a road trip with a smart-alecky friend who can't stop talking about the wines you're going to taste with dinner. And, refreshingly, this is one of the few books in this genre that focus on telling readers what not to drink.

Publishers Weekly

In this entertaining oenological salvo, wine blogger and journalist Feiring makes an argument for wine authenticity through adherence to old techniques. She's against what she calls "Big Wine"-viticulture as business and technology-and blames the shrinking appreciation for hand-vinified, long-aged "Old World" wines (like the Barolo that eventually led to her career) on, among other things, the UC-Davis School of Enology and Viticulture and the wine writings of critic Robert M. Parker Jr. (of the book's title). But what sets her sprightly polemic apart is that her argument is pinned to a personal narrative of wine tours through Europe and California. Rounding out the Syrah-and-the-City parallels are several female characters who receive noms de vin like "Honey-Sugar" and the air-kissing "Skinny," and most entertainingly of all, the author's Carrie-like relationships. Parker looms like Mr. Big over all Feiring's oenological relationships; they finally have a couple of phone dates that distill the differences between them down to quantifying (Parker) versus qualifying (Feiring). The author, who already has fans through her blog and other journalism, can count on new ones with this publication. (May)

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New interesting textbook: 101 Things to Do with Tofu or Sweeter Side of Amys Bread

Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes

Author: Brenda Arlene Butler

More than 50 of Elvis' favorite recipes. Includes his mama's recipes for mashed potatoes and lemon meringue pie, peanut butter and 'nana sandwiches' and Priscilla's magnificent wedding cake (make the whole thing or only a tier). With great pictures of Elvis at work and play as well as full-color food photography. 70 photos, mostly color. 64 pages. 8 1/2 X 11. GRAMERCY.