Search This Blog

Monday, February 9, 2015

* THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS...

 
...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
 
 
22.VINE LINES (Wine Appreciation Guild, 2007; distr. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 96 pages, ISBN 978-1-891267-93-2, $14.95 US hard covers) is by Judy Valon with illustrations by Roger Roberts. It is a "cheery and humourous exploration of wine terminology". It's got wine information and quotes. With its pictures, it deals with serving wine, sparkling wines, red wines, white wines, fortified wines, and faulty wines, ending with some of the more common wine tasting terms (and a brief description for each). The illustrations (bacon wine, for example) are hilarious. A fun book. Quality/price rating: 87.
 
 
23.MAKING SENSE OF WINE TASTING. 5th ed. (Wine Appreciation Guild, 2010; distr. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 174 pages, ISBN 978-1-891267-03-1, $34.95 CAN paper covers0 is by Alan Young. It was originally published in 1986, and this is now its fifth edition. It's a basic book that is frequently reissued for demand sake, and it has been described as the ultimate wine tasting book, "elucidating all sorts of grey areas" (Sutcliffe).He covers sight, smell, taste, and touch in a humourous way, along with practical exercises. This new edition has been updated by Diane Spencer Hume. Topics covered include: quality, sight, glassware, smell, taste, touch, and judging wine. This is a first rate book, good value for sommeliers or any wine education class. Quality/price rating: 89.
 
 
24.THE UNIVERSITY WINE COURSE. 3rd ed. (Wine Appreciation Guild, 2009; distr. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 426 pages, ISBN 978-0-932664-69-3, $49 CAN soft covers) is by Marian W. Baldy, a microbiologist-geneticist who has been teaching wine appreciation courses since 1972. Her husband is a viticulturist and professor of agriculture also at Cal State along with Ms. Baldy. This book is based on her notes, and was first issued in 1993. This is a wine appreciation text with a self-tutorial. It is a little formal, but it has  a strong academic and scientific basis, nicely organized. You can get a 12 week college level course out of it. It's a standard work that has been used for many years at many colleges or many wine appreciation classes. It pretty well covers everything: sensory evaluation, white wine production, red wine, sparklers, dessert wines, fortified wines, viticulture, varietals, chemistry, tasting at home (do it yourself) with lots of tables and forms. An extremely useful book for the wine lover who wants to know more. Quality/price rating: 90.
 
 
25.MY LITTLE FRENCH KITCHEN (Chronicle Books, 2013, 2014, 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-4521-3507-6, $35 US hard covers) is by Rachel Khoo who wrote The Little Paris Kitchen book and hosted the TV show of the same name. This book extends the range to the rest of France, into the regions. It was originally published in the UK in 2013. She's got a 100 or so preps "from the mountains to the market squares and shores of France". There are dozens of her hand drawings and many photographs. It is arranged by region: Brittany, Bordeaux, Basque, Provence, Lyon, and Alsace. Try tian provencal, goat cheese-strawberry-cucumber mille-feuilles, sticky cassis pork ribs with mint and fava bean couscous, or some French savoury pintxos (tapas). She's got some good regional descriptions of local cuisines, but too many photos of herself (selfies?). Preparations have their ingredients listed in some metric but mainly avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.
 
 
 
26.THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN WINES. 2nd ed. (Cheviot Publishing, 2009; distr. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 256 pages, ISBN 978-0-98027423-3, $39.95 CAN softbound) is by Elmari Swart, a winery owner and author of wine books about South Africa. It was originally published in 2006. It's a strong mix of "terroir and travel", allowing you to discover many things for yourself along various wine trails. There are travel tips, what to see, some GPS pointers, plus recommendations for food and accommodations. Mostly there is material on the better known wineries and information about grape varieties and tasting notes. Things have changed greatly (for the better) in the Cape since 1994 when Mandela was freed and trade sanctions lifted. An excellent book package. Quality/price rating: 88.
 
----------------------------------------------------

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

No comments: