Guide to California wines: A Practical Reference Book for Wine Lovers

San Carlos, California: Nourse Publishing Company, 1960. Second Edition. Cloth. Fine/very good. A fine second edition, as noted in Worldcat, on the inner flap ("this new edition"), and from the two copyright dates on the copyright page. In a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with tiny loss in two spots at top edge. Dust jacket is also toned along the top edge on the inside of the jacket, not visible on the exterior. xiv, 235 pages illustrations, 1 map. Octavo. From the private collection of noted attorney, sailor, and sometime cowboy, Joshua L. Soske Jr."John was the first to write a guide that defined California as a major wine producer with rich histories in the vineyards and the wineries. Many were started by Europeans who valued cultures where food and wine were central to the enjoyment of life. The names and addresses of California wineries were published in one succinct volume with a list of the finest wines being produced at each. John also brought scholarship to the subject with the assistance of Dr. A. Dinsmoor Webb, Associate Professor of Enology, College of Agriculture, University of California; the Wine Advisory Board; and the Wine Institute. John interviewed each of the winery owners to document their individual stories.John Melville wrote the comprehensive Guide to California Wines in 1955 which provided a detailed analysis in three sections of the book. In the first section, he described the various kinds of wines produced throughout California according to geographic region. This was the first attempt to describe the impact of terroir on winemaking to the general public; one grape varietal, grown in a wide variety of soils and climates, made different tasting wines of the same name, based on the regions and terroir in which the grapes were grown. This guide was designed to educate the public and to encourage them to learn about local wines by visiting tasting rooms and engaging with winemakers.In the second section of the book, John described the more notable wineries in three regions of California that were producing and bottling wine to be sold directly to the public. These three broad regions included the following counties: The Northern Coastal Region included San Luis Obispo County as well as San Francisco, Monterey, Sonoma, Napa, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa Counties. The Great Inland Valley Region included the Lodi area in Sacramento County, the Escalon -Modesto area in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties, the Fresno and Hanford areas in Fresno, Madera, and Tulare Counties. The third of the great wine producing regions of California covered Southern California from Cucamonga in San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties to San Diego where Padre Junipero Serra planted the first mission grape vines in 1769. This detailed description of the regions enabled both commercial winemakers and wine lovers to get into their cars and drive to wineries of their choice all over California to taste the wide variety of fine California wines – wines that would soon compete in quality with European wines.The third section of Guide to California Wines- a practical reference book for wine lovers describes a new California lifestyle. There is a” wine and food pairings guide” for lunch, dinner and special occasions, a description of the types of modern wine glasses and how to serve wine, a list of outstanding California wines, the California wineries open to the public, and last but not least, a guide to storing wine." --Wine History Project (San Obispo)