When it comes to wine, your "wants" are pretty simple: a good wine, at a price you can afford, that's stocked at your local wine shop or supermarket. Good Better Best Wines gives you just that. It reveals in plain English, the good, better, and best wines available for the dollars you're willing to spend--up to $15--along with photos of clearly labeled bottles to make wine shopping easier.
And because Good Better Best Wines is the first book to rank the best-selling wines in North America--think names like Beringer, Kendall-Jackson, and Woodbridge--you bet they'll be stocked at your local store.
Inside you'll find:
*The good, better, and best big-name wines under $5, $8, $11, and $15 for each major grape variety
* Perfect party wines for specific occassions--weddings, dinners, backyard barbecues and more
* Trade secrets for getting the most out of each wine, including storage tips, serving techniques, and food pairings
Seasoned journalist and qualified sommelier Carolyn Evans Hammond makes wine accessible with her witty and light approach to the subject. Her first book, 1000 Best Wine Secrets, earned critical acclaim,a nd her writing has appeared in such eminent publications as Decanter, Wine & Spirit International, The Times in London, and others.
Rashard Mendenhall-Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back & ESPN Rise Games
RB Rashard Mendenhall, after missing most of his rookie season with a broken shoulder, broke through in '09 after being in Mike Tomlin's early doghouse and averaged 4.6 yards a carry in his 1,108 rushing. He will be the workhorse this season and the likely candidate to handle third downs as well.
Teresa Murphy-Marketing and Sales Coordinator for Emmolo Wine Company
Her grandfather, Salvatore Emmolo, had established a rootstock nursery in St. Helena in 1923. The stone winery that he built on Galleron Road still stands, but was never used – a victim of Prohibition but still a part of Napa Valley’s historic landscape.
Cheryl’s father, Frank Emmolo, took over management of his father’s nursery. At the same time – and continuing today – he grew grapes on his 43-acre vineyard, known as "River Ranch," in the prestigious Rutherford District. As a young girl, Cheryl helped her father by driving the tractor and assisting with other viticultural tasks in that vineyard.
The Emmolo's had planted Sauvignon Blanc on the River Ranch vineyard, on Mee Lane, in the 1950’s fortunately on phylloxera-resistant St. George rootstock. Frank Emmolo selected the same St. George rootstock when, in 1990, he planted Merlot on 2.4 acres at a second family vineyard site on Galleron Road. Over the years, Frank has supplied grapes to a number of top Napa Valley wineries, including the Robert Mondavi Winery and the Hess Collection. The Sauvignon Blanc has also historically been a part of Caymus Vineyards’ white wine program.
In 1994, Cheryl founded Emmolo Wine Company for two key reasons: to fulfill a lifelong ambition to make her own wine and to extend her family’s legacy to her three children, Charlie, Joey and Jenny Wagner. It is no surprise that Cheryl was able to secure from her father the crème de la crème of his Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot grapes for her small production.
On the first day of harvest for Emmolo's first vintage, in 1994, Cheryl and her three children celebrated their new family enterprise by picking grapes and trucking them to the crush pad together.
Starting with just 400 cases of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and 90 cases of Merlot, Cheryl has carefully expanded Emmolo’s production with the help of her sons and winemakers, Charlie and Joey Wagner. With the 2000 harvest, she seized the opportunity to acquire Sauvignon Blanc from Caymus Vineyards’ program, allowing her to extend her distribution in selected national markets.
Cheryl is looking forward to increasing Emmolo’s production even more with future vintages, when grapes from her family vineyard currently contracted to other wineries become available to her. However, she doesn’t intend for the winery to get too large: "I’m excited that more people will have an opportunity to taste our wines," says Cheryl. "But we will always approach our wines with the care and attention of a small family winery. That’s what we do best."
Steve Evans - "The Movie Guy"
