HISTORY IN A GLASS
Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet
Ruth Reichl – Modern Library – US16.95

I bought this in New York last Christmas which is why I am quoting the US price.
Reichl is the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine so was in the perfect position to edit a collection of the best of wine writing from that magazine over the past 60 years.
She was also, of course, one of the stars at the recent New Zealand Post Writers & Readers Week in Wellington. And of course she is a very successful author in her own right with titles such as Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, and Garlic & Sapphires.
This is a book to have beside the bed or your favourite reading spot so that you can dip[ into it when you have 10 or 15 minutes to spare. There are some real gems and collectively the stories provide a perspective of the modern wine industry.
The Modern Library is an imprint of Random House and has a significant food series.

And on a similar subject:

FIRST BIG CRUSH
the down and dirty on making great red wine
Eric Arnold – Simon & Schuster Hardcover $32.99

American writer Eric Arnold was at a loose end when a friend passed him a magazine article about touring New Zealand’s South Island. Off he went and from his very first sip
Of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc he was hooked.

Back in New York he spent the next few years drining New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wherever he could find it until the day came when he gave up his Brooklyn apartment and shifted to Marlborough to live and work at Allan Scott Wines to work through all the seasons and routines of one wine making year. He is now back in New York working at Wine Spectator magazine
His book is about wine and travel and adventure it is a memoir and more besides and it is all told in an entertaining, humorous and down-to-earth, often irreverent manner.

The book gets a rave review from leading wine writer Michael Cooper in The Listener of April 26. His review concludes as follows:

Provocative, fact-packed, gossipy, Fearless, funny - a great read.

Michael _ I totally agree.