Every wine has a story. In this collection of elegantly written essays from the past thirty years, updated with a new introduction and endnotes, renowned author Gerald Asher informs wine enthusiasts with insightful, engrossing accounts of wines from Europe and America that offer just as much for those who simply enjoy vivid evocations of people and places. Asher puts wine in its context by taking the reader on a series of discursive journeys that start with the carafe at his elbow. In his introduction, Asher says, "Wine . . . draws on everything and leads everywhere." Whether the subject is a supposedly simple red wine shared in a Parisian café or a Napa Valley Cabernet tasted with its vintner, every essay in A Carafe of Red is as pleasurable as the wines themselves.

List of Maps Introduction A Carafe of Red Storm in a Champagne Flute Côte Rôtie and Condrieu: Drinking with Pliny and Columella Côtes de Castillon: A Bordeaux Wine Reborn Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé! Armagnac: The Spirit of D'Artagnan Les Chevaliers du Tastevin Jerez de la Frontera: Sherry and Tapas Malmsey: A Greek Classic Barbaresco: A Glimpse of Paradise Priorato: A Heady Success Story School Days on the Rhine Franconia: Going for Baroque California Cabernet Sauvignon A Morning Tasting with Joe Heitz Beaulieu Vineyard's Georges de Latour Private Reserve Santa Cruz Mountains: Ingenuity and Tenacity Zinfandel: California's Own Wine and Food: The Myth of a Perfect Match Chardonnay: Buds, Twigs, and Clones Haut-Brion: A Most Particular Taste Judgment of Paris: California's Triumph A Silent Revolution: Organic and Biodynamic Wines A Memorable Wine Missouri: Return of the Native Spreading the Word: Books on Wine Simple Pleasures: Warm Bread and Hot Chocolate Index