The best of the wine country Book

Completely revised and updated, this edition of The Best of the Wine Country begins with a lighthearted introduction to wine, then it takes readers right into the vineyards themselves. Covering all of California's major wine-producing areas, it lists more than 300 tasting rooms from Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa, to the southern San Francisco Bay Area, through Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, down to the south central coast, up into the Gold Country and down to Temecula, just north of San Diego. Each winery listing includes hours, facilities such as gift shops and picnic areas, descriptions of the types of wine produced, and "Vintner's Choices," in which the winemakers themselves select their favorites. The book concludes with a special chapter on tasting, serving and storing wines, and also offers a lexicon of "winetalk."