Kevin Zraly - Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition

WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
Complete Wine Course
25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
Complete Wine Course
Kevin Zraly

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This 2010 edition is dedicated to Robert Mondavi who not only led Napa Valley and California on the road to great wines but also had a tremendous influence on wine and winemaking throughout the world. Without his vision there probably would not have been a need for this kind of wine book. His energy, passion, commitment, and foresight, not only in winemaking but in combining wine with food, music, and art, paved the way for Americans to enjoy wine.

A special thanks to Robin Kelley OConnor who traveled around the world with me in 2008 and 2009. His wine knowledge, tasting skills, and driving (car) stamina made this 25th anniversary book complete.

The signatures on the endpapers represent some of the owners of wineries, vineyardists, winemakers, and marketing and public relations professionals whose help was invaluable to me.

I welcome questions and comments. Please visit my Web site, www.kevinzraly.com, for updates and wine news.

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

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Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
2009 by Kevin Zraly

All rights reserved

STERLING ISBN 13: 978-1-4027-9040-9
STERLING eBook ISBN: 978-1-4027-9040-9

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

PHOTO & ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Vineyard near Beaune, Burgundy Charles ORear/Corbis
Insets: Wine tasting Owen Franken/Corbis;
Vineyard near Savigny-les- Beaune, Burgundy G. Bowater/Corbis;
Chteau Beycheville, Bordeaux Adam Woolfitt/Corbis
Grapes on the vine in Napa, California Morton Beebe/Corbis
Vineyards and fields in Chablis Owen Franken/Corbis
Napa Valley vineyards Charles ORear/Corbis
Braune Kupp vineyard, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany Charles ORear/ Corbis
Vineyard at Volnay, Cte de Beaune, Burgundy Charles ORear/ Corbis
Cellar at Chteau Mouton-Rothschild Charles ORear/Corbis
Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, Napa Valley Jim Sugar/Corbis
Vineyards, Barolo, Piedmont John Heseltine/Corbis
Barrels of Port, Dow & Co. warehouse, Oporto, Portugal Charles ORear/Corbis
Grapes, Avignonesi Winery, Tuscany Bob Krist/Corbis
Red wine and cheese at fireplace, Ina Peters/istock
How Do We Smell?, illustration adapted by permission from Tim Jacob, www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob

In 2010, I am celebrating my 34th anniversary teaching the Windows on the World Wine School. It all started in 1976 when Windows on the World, the restaurant on top of One World Trade Center, opened. We were a private lunch club, and I was asked to put together a six-week wine course as a club activity. We started off with only twenty people, and I taught the first class and the last class; the other four classes were taught by prominent wine writers. To this day, I have vivid memories of the great wines that we poured for that first class and the happy response of the students.

In fact, the club members were so happy with the wine school that they started asking if they could bring friends. By 1979 there were more friends than club members attending the class. The growing interest in wine was becoming obvious. In 1980 we opened our first classes for consumers. To date, more than nineteen thousand people have graduated from the Windows on the World Wine School. Many of my students have found their passion with wineopening retail stores, restaurants, and wine bars. Some have started importing wine and a few have even started their own wineries.

Since my teenage years, wine has been my passion. In 1970, as a nineteen-year-old college student, I got a job as a waiter at a restaurant to pick up some beer money. The restaurant received a four-star rating from The New York Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne and the owner asked me to take over the bartending duties. (Luckily for me, back then the legal age to drink was eighteen in New York State.) I started studying about beer, distilled spirits, and wine, learning as much as I could. Within six months my interest in wine became an obsession. I quickly switched from Budweiser to Bordeaux. I read every book on wine I could find, and I visited all the wineries in New York. (I couldnt yet go to Californiathe drinking age there was twenty-one!)

A local college contacted the restaurant, suggesting a wine-and-cheese course for their adult-education program. So in 1971, at twenty years of age, I taught my first wine class. I continued to teach this class throughout college, and I was beginning to sense that wine appreciation was going to become a major area of interest in America.

I eventually graduated with an education degree and, combining that with my passion for wine, the Wine School for me has become the best of both worlds. After thirty-nine years of teaching about wine I am still fascinated by the subject, intrigued by its complexities, and thirsty to learn more with every new vintage. I would like to thank all of my graduates for supporting my passion.

This book is dedicated to everyone who has a passion for wine, from the grape growers to the winemakers, from the buyers and the sellers to, most important, the wine consumers.

May your glass always be more full than empty.

Contents

Introduction

Questions

CLASS TWO: THE WINES OF WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND NEW YORK;
THE WHITE WINES OF CALIFORNIA

CLASS FOUR: THE RED WINES OF BURGUNDY
AND THE RHNE VALLEY

Questions

WINES OF THE WORLD: AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, GREECE, AUSTRALIA,
NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA, CHILE, AND ARGENTINA

Frequently Asked Questions About Wine

Windows on the World
A Personal History

Afterword
Looking Back, with Gratitude

This picture was taken from the 107th floor of
One World Trade Center overlooking the East
River and the Brooklyn Bridge.

T HIS IS THE TWENTY-FIFTH anniversary of my book, and what a ride it has been! This book has been updated annually since its release in 1985 as Ive strived to make this a complete wine course. I can honestly say, with this twenty-fifth edition, we have achieved just that. From the very beginning this book has been a work in progress and, just like a winery or a vineyard, every year Ive introduced something new. This year Ive added information on six new countriesAustria, Hungary, Canada, New Zealand, Greece, and South Africaas well as updating all countries and elaborating on the material about Spain, Italy, Argentina, Chile, and American wine regions.