wine

Here's a book for 21st-century cocktailians. It's jam-packed with information seldom found in cocktail books. Do you want to know how to make a Thai Chili Syrup that you can use in the tequila-based Enlightment? You'll find formulas right here. This tome also includes recipes from some of the best bartenders in the world, and the beautiful photography makes the whole thing come alive. This is a must-have book for serious mixologists.

—Gary Regan, author of The Joy of Mixology.

The best currently available sake guidebook in English is The Sake Handbook by John Gauntner, an American living in Japan.

—San Francisco Chronicle

There are many things to love about Japan, but its exceptional bars and drinking culture are among the things at the top of my list. Anyone with the same yen (heh) for Tokyo-and-beyond bars should check out "Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments." Written by Chris Bunting after a year and a half of research (i.e., drinking his way across Japan) and published by Tuttle in April, the book combines a guide to Japanese spirits with reviews of the bars devoted to them.

—Los Angeles Times

In this thoroughly documented tome, toxicologist Dasgupta covers everything you ever wanted to know about alcohol—and more. Alcoholics' brains get lighter. About half of U.S. adults drink regularly, and one in five always abstain. Women should consume no more than one drink a day, and men no more than two. Alcohol increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. And some energy drinks contain low levels of alcohol. A helpful, scary chart shows the many common medications—from Prozac to Robitussin—that can interact poorly with alcohol....Overall, it's a definitive guide that should be available to everyone, including those who want to understand the science behind a friend's or relative's substance abuse. And that's a lot of people: Dasgupta notes that 30.4 percent of U.S. adults consume more than two drinks a day. Anyone who reads this book won't want to be among them.

— Booklist

Extreme Wine is a must-read for wine lovers and people in the wine industry. It helps me to look at the industry from various unique angles. I found myself jotting down idea after idea while reading the book—of which many are now part of my plan for promoting Grace Vineyard in China. Highly recommended!

— Judy Leissner, CEO, Grace Vineyard, China

Fascinating. . . . Political economist and blogger Veseth examines the wine world and analyzes its historical and present-day factors from the small to the large along with their potential impact on wine's future. He structures his overall argument into three major 'flights,' or selection of wines for tasting, the first being the effects of globalization. Looking at expansionist politics and economics, he examines retailing policies in domestic markets such as England, Germany, and the U.S. Veseth turns to the wine drinking market and its evolution, and the ever-expanding influence of wine criticism on both in the face of the rapid changes in bulk production. The last part of his analysis looks at terroir and the potential effect of climate change. . . . Veseth's analysis is provocative.

— Publishers Weekly