Wine & Spirits - June 2012 - (Page 80)

the ﬁne print SUMMER READING Restaurant Man The raucous memoir of restaurant mogul Joe Bastianich, Restaurant Man tells a number of stories simultaneously. The ﬁrst is a classic American success story: how the son of poor, hardworking immigrants ﬂeeing Communism ﬁnds fame and fortune in the New World. After settling in Queens, New York, his parents did what so many immigrants have done before and since: they opened a restaurant, Buonavia, serving typical Italian-American food. A decade later, the couple decided to open a more ambitious establishment in Manhattan, taking a more authentic approach to Italian cuisine. This restaurant, Felidia, launched Lidia Bastianich into celebrity chef-dom, and formed the foundation of Bastianich’s career. While the path from Buonavia to Del Posto is a family history, it also traces the evolution of dining (and of Italian cuisine) in America and, along with it, the emergence of an American wine culture. It also serves as a coming of age story: While Bastianich respects and bonds with his mother, he rejects and rebels against his father, the “original Restaurant Man.” Only after college, a stint on Wall Street and a hiatus in Italy does he decide to open his own restaurant, discovering that the journey away from his father’s legacy was actually a round-trip one. The Wineslinger Chronicles In The Wineslinger Chronicles, blogger Russell D. Kane relays his adventures through Texas wine country in a tone so conversive it has a drawl. Kane begins his exploration in El Paso, where 17th century missionaries brought Spanish vines intended for sacramental wines, then treks north to Denison, where horticulturalist T.V. Munson developed the phylloxera-proof rootstock that would save large swaths of Europe’s vineyards. In the 700 miles in between, he explores the state’s most promising terroirs and winemakers, discussing the varieties that will have enough grit to last in, and possibly transform, the state’s frontier.—LARA DOUGLASS Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX; 2012; $29.95 One could take issue with some of Bastianich’s statements—he’s not afraid to take potshots at other restaurateurs and a critic or two—and some people might be put oﬀ by his tough-guy, expletive-replete language. But most will ﬁnd Restaurant Man an engaging and informative peek into the high-end food biz through the eyes of one of its most signiﬁcant players. —ALAN TARDI VIKING, NY; 2012; $27.95 Rioja Reverie Ana Fabiano landed in Spain in 1980, in the midst of a cultural revolution; that she’s never really wanted to leave is clear in The Wine Region of Rioja, a love letter to the place she’s made her specialty for the last 25 years. She’s come to know the vineyards and wineries during her tenure as a brand ambassador and trade director for the region, providing a useful guide while ﬁlling out the book with cultural highlights—recipes for the region’s famed mushrooms and white asparagus, tapas bar suggestions for Logroño, the history of the Castilian language and the festivals that celebrate and deﬁne Rioja, the place and the people.—TARA Q. THOMAS The Wine Region of Rioja by Ana Fabiano (Sterling Epicure, NY; 2012; $35) 80 W I N E & S P I R I T S J U N E 2 0 1 2 More Manga! An amnesiac, a homeless alcoholic, a monk and bottles of Chambolle-Musigny— getting a grip on Burgundy’s intricacies with the third installment of Shizuku Kanzaki’s adventures in the wine world. Its just as weird, wild and imaginative as the ﬁrst two, and perfectly pitched for beach reading. —T.Q.T. The Drops of God, Volume 3: The First Apostle; story by Tadashi Agi, art by Shu Okimoto. (Vertical, NY; $14.95)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2012

Wine & Spirits - June 2012
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered: Bordeaux 2011, Diamond Jubilee Port, News in Brief
Jamon + Jerez
Spirits: Agave Distilled, by Lou Bustamante
Tequila Comes to Dinner
Sauvignon from the Heights
Geology Jazz
Value Brands of the Year
Tastings Overview
Top 100 Values
Sauvignon Blanc
Southern Italy
Ribera del Duero
American Wines
Imported Wines
Books: Summer Reading

Wine & Spirits - June 2012