Wine & Spirits - February 2013 - (Page 80)

Alchemy by the Glass From Fourpenny Dark to Grange You’ve probably read before that Grange was an experiment headed for the scrap pile before a visiting Frenchman praised it. What you might not have heard was that the people who perked up their ears at that information were Mrs. Gladys Penfold Hyland and her secretary, who promptly put Max Schubert’s oak-aged red in the Adelaide Wine Show, where it won best of show. That’s just one of the many fascinating stories Max Allen has compiled in The History of Australian Wine, a distillation of hundreds of hours of interviews that he’s fashioned into an energetic romp through the last century of wine. It feels a little like a scrapbook, with old photographs and advertisements scattered throughout bits of conversations—though the text comes from such Aussie greats as Ray Beckwith, Wolf Blass, Len Evans, Colin Gramp, Max Lake and many more. Between the lively characters and Allen’s illuminating background information, the slim volume manages to convey just how far Australia’s wine industry has come far more vividly than any traditional history text could. —T.Q.T. The History of Australian Wine by Max Allen (Victory Books/Melbourne University Press; $51) Alchemy, humankind’s early attempts at science, may never have yielded the ability to turn lead into gold or produce an elixir of immortality, but it did give us distillation and the first distilled spirits. While those early distillates were usually mixed with herbs and dispensed as medicine, it would take several millennia for the idea of the medicinal cocktail to arrive. Enter Dr. Cocktail by author Alex Ott, a bartender by trade who has an organic chemistry degree. The concept of the book may invite skepticism, but with the alchemist’s-lab mood of the photography (by Evan Sung) and the interesting cocktail recipes, it’s well worth a look. Each recipe features a medicinal ingredient and lists its effects, like lavender and chamomile to fight insomnia, ginger as an antioxidant or damiana tea to boost libido. Although this won’t be the first book you reach for next time you don’t feel well, it should be when you need to conjure up an enchanting cocktail. Just like the old alchemist’s art of distillation, these potions may not be a panacea, but in the right hands, they can feel like pure magic. —Lou Bustamante Dr. Cocktail: 50 Spirited Infusions to Stimulate the Mind and Body by Alex Ott (Running Press; $17) books Gin Buzz If you’ve ever pondered over the flavors in your martini glass or considered the great collection of historical events that paved the way for your Negroni, Richard Barnett has a dynamic read to sate your curiosity. The Book of Gin begins with medieval proto-gins cooked up in the alchemist’s laboratory—for the therapeutic value of juniper—and carries through to modern times. Barnett illustrates society’s changing attitudes towards the spirit with William Hogarth prints and Dickensian passages, as well as references to James Bond and the 1996 film Swingers. The appendix is as interesting as the narrative itself, including selections from 17th- and 18th-century texts for the history buff and a sampling of modern day gins in varying styles, along with suggestions for cocktails that suit them best. —Carson Demmond The Book of Gin: A Spirited History from Alchemists’ Stills and Colonial Outposts to Gin Palaces, Bathtub Gin, and Artisanal Cocktails by Richard Barnett (Grove Press; $24) Tadashi Agi Takes Napa Drops of God fans take note: The fifth English-language volume has arrived. In it, rivals Issei and Shizuku—budding sommelier and his nemesis, a seasoned pro, competing to uncover the identity of each of 12 bottles (or “apostles”)—are in a dead heat to figure out the identity of Apostle 7. Sensing this bottle is more about man than terroir, they both take off for the New World—one to Napa, the other to South Australia—where they drink their way through some of the regions’ greatest names. Along the way, the plot takes some crazy twists, the story feeling a bit clunkier than past volumes. It’s not helped by the fact that the publisher chose not to translate the installments that covered Apostles three through six, so new characters and references to past events come off as mysterious. Yet Drops of God still delivers an imaginative story and vivid art, an entirely fresh take on writing about wine. —T.Q.T. The Drops of God New World by Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto (Vertical Inc., NY; $14.95) 80 WINE & SPIRITS FEBRUARY 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2013

Wine & Spirits - February 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Austral Spirits
Petite Conversion
Sydney’s Sommelier Hangouts
Pinot Noir at the 46th Parallel
Extreme Patagonia
W&S Centerfold – Kimchi & Red Wine
Extreme Values
Introduction
Rhône Valley Reds & Whites
US Syrah
US Zinfandel
Catalan Wines
Chilean Cabernet & Carmenère
Argentine Malbec & Blends
American New Releases
Imported New Releases
New Books

Wine & Spirits - February 2013