Burton Anderson - The Wines of Italy. An endless adventure in taste

This book provides a basic reference to the wines of Italy through a survey of the 20 regions. It begins in the south, in those sunny Mediterranean places that the ancient Greeks called Oenotria, the land of wine, and moves north through the historic hills past Rome and Florence and over the Apennines to the Po valley and the Alps, with some of Europe’s highest vineyards. Vital if brief information is given on each region’s geography and climate, production figures, grape varieties, traditions and trends, along with listings and abbreviated descriptions of classified wines. There are notes on Italy’s wine laws and how to read a label, as well as a glossary of terms. A final feature discusses Italian food, la cucina italiana, the preferred way of eating in much of the world today. Specialties from the vast array of regional dishes are singled out and described with suggestions of wines to drink with them.