Book Reviews
Holiday 2011- Gift Guide

Wine Country International Magazine and VinoTasting Editors review the latest Wine, Cooking and Travel books monthly to help guide our readers select the best books in their class!

Book Reviews Dec. 2011

Tips For Exploring Brunello Wine Country!
By Christopher Davies & Dean Smith

America's Banfi Vintners are responsible for putting Montalcino and the Brunello region of Tuscany, Italy on the world wine map. They have invested more than thirty years into development and research into grape growing. Their family owned vineyard estate and winery showcases a medieval castle and modern tasting center that rivals Napa Valley. The estate also features
a taverna that is open for lunch and dinner, balsamic cellars, a museum dedicated to the history of glass and a boutique hotel within the castle called "Il Borgo".

The tasting experience at Castello Banfi is exceptional. You will get to taste mass produced, popular wines, top notch Brunellos as well as
limited production wines that are only available at the tasting center. www.castellobanfi.com

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MUST READ!

Grandi Vini
An Opinionated Tour of Italy's 89 Finest Wines

Author: Joseph Bastianich
Rating: Excellent
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Price: $24.99
Webpage: www.randomhouse.com
ISBN:978-0-307-46303-6

Joseph Bastianich is a leading authority on Italian wines & food. He is Mario Batali's goomba and partner. He is Lydia's Son and a founder of Eataly. Best of all he is a gifted story teller. His new book, Grandi Vini, is highly opinionated. It gives no mention of Castello Banfi or Banfi Wines. With more than 30,000 wine producers in Italy, this book only touches on Mr.
Bastianich's 89 favorite producers. We found the information to be quite useful when guiding a wine industry colleague on which wineries to visit in Montalcino.

Eataly: http://eatalyny.com/

Wines of Santorini
Born of Earth, Wind & Fire

By Rob Rudko
Photos: www.winesfromsantorini.com

What comes to mind when you think of the breathtaking island of Santorini? Picture perfect white washed villages with small blue domed churches, dramatic volcanic rock cliffs, beautiful crystal clear azure waters or perhaps eating delicious fresh grilled octopus right on the beach? Yes, all these things pop right into our heads, but what about wine? Santorini is home to one of the oldest vineyard and winemaking regions in the world (about 3500 years old) and yet few have ever tasted the high quality, mineral driven wines of this ancient Greek island.

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