ContentsIntroduction ix

The Story of Windows on the World xiv Witness to the Wine Revolution xviii

P r e l u d e t o W i n e

WhITe GRapeS of The WoRld 2 Red GRapeS of The WoRld 3

The phySIoloGy of TaSTe and Smell 20

c l a s s o n e

The WhITe WIneS of fRance 47

c l a s s t W o

The WhITe WIneS of calIfoRnIa; The WIneS of WaShInGTon, oReGon, and neW yoRk 75

c l a s s t h r e e

The WhITe WIneS of GeRmany 121

c l a s s f o u r

The Red WIneS of BuRGundy and The Rhône Valley 137

c l a s s f i v e

The Red WIneS of BoRdeaux 159

c l a s s s i x

The Red WIneS of calIfoRnIa 179

9781454913641_int_00i-xxi.indd 6 5/21/14 11:09 AM

c l a s s s e v e n

The Wines of spain and iTaly 195

c l a s s e i g h t

Champagne, sherry, and porT 221

w i n e s o f t h e w o r l d

ausTria, hungary, greeCe, ausTralia, neW Zealand, souTh afriCa, Canada, Chile, and argenTina 239

t h e g r e a t e r w o r l d o f w i n e

maTChing Wine and food 278frequenTly asked quesTions abouT Wine 287

besT of The besT 295 besT Value lisT: $30 and under 309

Wine resourCes 324

a f t e r w o r d

looking baCk, WiTh graTiTude 328

selected glossary 330

index 334

photo Credits 346

Using a barcode scanning app, point your phone or other mobile device at the QR codes in this book to access additional helpful material—pronunciation guides, videos of Kevin teaching about

wine, and online sources of the wines mentioned.

9781454913641_int_00i-xxi.indd 7 5/21/14 11:09 AM

IntroductIon

As I celebrate the thirtieth anniversary edition I want to

look back in time to describe my wine journey and why

I wrote this book. I can honestly say that after forty years

of studying wine, I am still having fun on this amazing

adventure.

At the age of twenty-five I accepted the position of

cellar master at Windows on the World, the restaurant

that was opening at the top of One World Trade Center.

I was given the responsibility of selecting, ordering, and

selling all the restaurant’s wine. There I was, a kid in a

candy store with carte blanche and only one mandate:

to create the biggest and best wine list New York had

ever seen. And so I did. Within five years of its opening,

Windows on the World became the number-one dollar-

volume restaurant with more wine sold than any other

restaurant in the world.

Before Windows, wine had been my passion since

my college days, when, at the age of nineteen, I got a

job as a waiter to pick up some “beer money.” As fate

would have it, the restaurant received a four-star rating

from New York Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne,

and the owner asked me to take over the bartending

duties (luckily, the legal drinking age in New York was

eighteen). I began studying up on beer, distilled spirits,

and wine, learning whatever I could as fast as I could.

Then I tasted my first glass of great wine, and that was

it. From that moment on, wine became my passion, and

I quickly switched from Budweiser to Bordeaux!

I soon learned that studying wine is not merely

learning about a beverage, but also understanding the

history, language, culture, and traditions of the people

and countries where each wine is made. Wine is a very

complicated subject, one that reinvents itself every year

with a new vintage; the fact that wines constantly change

makes for a fascinating and a lifelong study.

Over the next five years I read as many wine books

as I could find, attended wine tastings, and traveled to

wineries in New York, California, and Europe. I taught

my first class when I was twenty and, later, a two-credit

wine course, while I was still a college student.

All this helped when I interviewed for the job at

Windows on the World. And then, in the fall of 1976,

the Windows on the World Wine School began, and

it has continued uninterrupted for thirty-eight years.

Through the first WTC terrorist bombing in 1993, and

even after its destruction in 2001, I was able to con-

tinue the school at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times

Square. (Today it is located at the J.W. Marriott Essex

House, at Central Park South.)

When the wine school first began, I had to decide

which textbook to use. Unfortunately, most wine books

available at the time were encyclopedic and too advanced

for my students. So I started with my own handouts for

each class. I also had a friend tape-record a year of wine

school. After each class she gave me a transcript of what

I taught, including the students’ questions. Those hand-

outs and the transcripts eventually became the basis for

this book, which I have been using in the wine school

since the book was first published in 1985. That it has

sold over three million copies is overwhelming!

In college, one of my favorite authors was George

Orwell. In the essay “Rules of Communication,” he

wrote: “Use simple language, simple expressions, and

simple style.” William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White continue

the thought in The Elements of Style: “A sentence should

contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnec-

9781454913641_int_00i-xxi.indd 8 5/21/14 11:10 AM

i n t r o d u c t i o n •   i x

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

essary sentences.” And, as Shakespeare masterfully said,

“brevity is the soul of wit.” In updating this book, I followed

that advice, and it continues to work well for my students

and readers. The format has also stayed very much the same

for thirty years. To emphasize specific points and supple-

ment the information in the text, I added sidebars. I love

statistics, so I have included anecdotes, facts and figures,

personal commentary, and quotes in the margins to rein-

force the main ideas in the text. Recently, I have added QR

codes for videos and for the pronunciation of more than

1,300 wine words. All these learning tools are designed to

keep learning about wine easy and fun.

Faced with the opportunity to revise, my approach

over the years has been to add only up-to-date, useful

information . . . . For me, less is more.

In researching The Greater World of Wine chapter this

past year, I tasted thousands of wines. Some were good,

some not so good, and others outstanding, especially in

the $20–$30 range. For this edition, I’ve added almost 300

new wines to the Best Value List: $30 and Under (pages

309–323). By constantly tasting wine, I learn new things

every day. The journey continues.

The Windows on the World restaurant will always be

with me. After September 11, 2001, I took every memento I

had of the restaurant and shared all of it with the New York

Public Library, as part of a tribute they were holding to the

greatest restaurants of the world. Now, as the World Trade

Center Memorial officially opens this year, it seems only

appropriate to share photos, menus, and memories of this

very special restaurant once again. On the following pages

you’ll find the story behind this great restaurant. It is my

own personal way of honoring the legacy and keeping alive

the memory of Windows on the World.

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9781454913641_int_xxii-045.indd 22 5/21/14 11:48 AM

PRELUDE TO WINE

WHITE GRAPES OF THE WORLD • RED GRAPES OF THE WORLD

WINE FLAVORS • FERMENTATION

MATURATION AND AGING

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE AND SMELL, WITH WENDY DUBIT

ON TASTING WINE • THE 60-SECOND WINE EXPERT

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3 6   • W i n d o w s o n t h e W o r l d C o m p l e t e W i n e C o u r s e

on tasting wine

You can read all the books (and there are plenty) written on wine to become more knowledgeable on the subject, but the best way to truly

enhance your understanding of wine is to taste as many wines as possible. Reading covers the more academic side of wine, while tasting is more enjoy-able and practical. A little of each will do you the most good.

The following are the necessary steps for tasting wine. You may wish to follow them with a glass of wine in hand.

Wine tasting can be broken down into five basic steps: color, swirl, smell, taste, and savor.

Color

The best way to get an idea of a wine’s color is to get a white background—a napkin or tablecloth—and hold the glass of wine on an angle in front of it. The range of colors that you may see depends, of course, on whether you’re tasting a white or red wine. Here are the colors for both, beginning with the youngest wine and moving to an older wine:

WHiTe Wine Red Wine

Pale yellow-green Purple

Straw yellow Ruby Yellow-gold Gold Red Old gold Brick red Yellow-brown Maderized Red-brown Brown Brown

if you can see through a red wine, it’s generally ready to drink!

as white wines age, they gain color. Red wines, on the other hand, lose color as they age.

types of tastings

horizontal Tasting wines from the same vintage

vertical Comparing wines from different vintages

blind The taster does not have any information about the wines

semi-blind The taster knows only the style of wine (grape) or where it comes from

the top 3 ways americans buy their wine

1. Tasted before

2. Recommended3. By grape variety

“There are no standards of taste in wine, cigars, poetry, prose, etc. Each man’s own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard.”

—Mark Twain, 1895

“The hardest thing to attain . . . is the appreciation of difference without insisting on superiority.”

—George Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar-Book (1920)

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RÍASBAIXAS

RIOJA

RUEDA

RIBERADEL DUERO

PENEDÈS

PRIORAT BarcelonaMadrid

Seville

SHERRY

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

200

1000

0 Kilometers

Miles 200

200

100

Spain

1 9 6   • W i n d o w s o n t h e W o r l d C o m p l e t e W i n e C o u r s e

The Wines of spain

Spain iS the world’S third largest producer of wine, behind Italy and France. With 2.7 million acres of land planted, Spain has more acreage

dedicated to grapevines than any other country in the world.Despite thousands of years of grape growing and winemaking history,

Spain has undergone a radical change over the last forty years. Since joining the European Union in 1986, Spain has benefited from the infusion of cap-ital for its vineyards and wineries. Modern technology, with its stainless steel

although there are nearly 800 different wineries in Spain, about 80% of their production comes from a handful of companies.

http://bit.ly/y0976b pronunciations

http://bit.ly/e22O3Tvideo

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T h e W i n e s o f S p a i n a n d I t a l y •   1 9 7

fermentors and new vineyard trellis systems, has helped create outstanding wines from all of Spain’s diverse wine regions. To offset a dry climate and frequent droughts, especially in the center and south of the country, irrigation was made legal in 1996 for grapevines, which has increased both the quality and volume of Spain’s wine production.

What are the major grape varieties planted in spain?

There are hundreds of grape varieties grown in Spain. Here are the ones you will most likely find in the wine store or restaurant:

NaTive To SpaiN iNTerNaTioNal

White Red White Redalbariño Tempranillo Chardonnay Cabernet verdejo (Tinto Fino) Sauvignon Blanc SauvignonMacabeo (viura) Garnacha Merlot Cariñena Monastrell Syrah

What are the major Wine regions of spain?

Spain first established Denominación de origen (Do) laws in 1970 and revised them in 1982. There were twenty-five Dos in 1982, and today Spain has sixty-nine Do regions and two DoC regions. Similar to the aoC laws of France, Spain’s Do laws control a region’s boundaries, grape varieties, wine-making practices, yield per acre, and most important, the aging of the wine before it can be released.

My favorite wine regions of Spain with the most important grapes include the following:

Rioja: TempranilloRibera del Duero: Tinto FinoPenedès: Macabeo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cariñena, GarnachaPriorat: Garnacha, CariñenaRueda: verdejoRías Baixas: albariñoSherry (Jerez): palomino

there are more than 600 grape varieties planted in Spain.

you will find the word cosecha, which means “harvest” or “vintage” in Spanish, on some labels. It can also indicate a wine that has little barrel aging, and is often used by producers for their “modern-style” wines.

doc is the highest level of quality wine in Spain. As of 2009 there are only two that qualify: Rioja and Priorat.

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2 1 4   • W i n d o w s o n t h e W o r l d C o m p l e t e W i n e C o u r s e

in the last 10 years, Italians have become more weight- and health-conscious, so they’re changing their eating habits. As a result, the leisurely four-hour lunch and siesta is a thing of the past. Yes, all good things must come to an end.

my italian-wine friends sometimes refer to Veneto as Tri-Veneto, which includes Trentino, Alto-Adige, and Friuli. Some of the best white wines of Italy come from those regions.

A Quick Guide to Other Important Regions

I sometimes wish that it was possible for my book to cover every one of the world’s wine regions, especially when it comes to a country like Italy. Of course, that would defeat the purpose of a “simple” guide to wine. But in Italy, where all twenty regions produce good to great wine, it is important that you have a quick look at the less well-known regions along with a brief guide to the wines to look for.

AbruzziGrapes: MontepulcianoBest Wine: Montepulciano d’AbruzzoFavorite Producers: Elio Monti, Emidio Pepe, La Valentina, Masciarelli

Friuli-Venezia GiuliaGrapes: Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon BlancFavorite Producers: Bastianich, Jermann, Livio Felluga, Marco Felluga, Mario Schiopetto, Vie di Romans

Trentino-Alto Adige Grapes: White—Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio,

Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer Red—Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lagrein, Merlot

Favorite Producers: Alois Lageder, Cantina di Terlano, Colterenzio, Ferrari, Foradori, H. Lun, Rotaliano, Teroldego, Tiefenbrunner, Tramin

Lombardy Grapes: Nebbiolo, Trebbiano

Wines: Franciacorta (Sparkling), Lugana, Valtellina (Grumello, Sassella, Inferno, Valgella)Favorite Producers: Sparkling—Bellavista, Ca’ del Bosco Valtellina—Conti Sertoli, Fay, Nino Negri, Rainoldi

0

0

200

Miles

Kilometers

200100SICILY

TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE

TyrrhenianSea

AdriaticSea

IonianSea

MediterraneanSea

FRIULI-VENEZIAGIULIA

LOMBARDY

UMBRIA

ABRUZZI

CAMPANIA

Rome

SICILY

TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE

TyrrhenianSea

AdriaticSea

IonianSea

MediterraneanSea

FRIULI-VENEZIAGIULIA

LOMBARDY

UMBRIA

ABRUZZI

CAMPANIA

Rome

ITALY

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T h e W i n e s o f S p a i n a n d I t a l y •   2 1 5

Umbria Grapes: Trebbiano, Sagrantino, Sangiovese

Wines: Orvieto, Sagrantino di Montefalco, Torgiano Rosso RiservaFavorite Producers: Arnaldo Caprai, Lungarotti, Paolo Bea

CampaniaGrapes: Aglianico, Fiano, Greco, Sangiovese

Best Wines: Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino, TaurasiFavorite Producers: Feudi di San Gregorio, Mastroberardino, Molettiera, Montevetrano, Mustilli, Villa Matilde

Sicily Grapes: White—Catarratto, Chardonnay, Grecanico, Inzolia,

Malvasia, Moscato Red—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Nero d’Avola (Calabrese), SyrahBest Wines: Marsala, Moscato di Pantelleria, Nero d’AvolaFavorite Producers: De Bartoli, Duca di Salaparuta (Duca Enrico), Gulfi, Morgante, Palari, Planeta, Rapitalà, Regaleali (Rosso del Conte), Santa Anastasia

ItalIan WhItes

I am often asked why I don’t teach a class on Italian white wines. The answer is quite simple. Take a look at the most popular white wines: Soave, Frascati, and Pinot Grigio, among others. Most of them retail for less than $15. The Italians traditionally do not put the same effort into making their white wines as they do their reds—in terms of style or complexity—and they are the first to admit it.

Plantings of international white varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvi-gnon Blanc, along with some of the better indigenous grapes, have recently elevated the quality of Italian white wines.

for further readingI recommend The Simon & Schuster Pocket Guide to Italian Wines and Wine Atlas of Italy by

Burton Anderson, Vino Italiano by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch, Italian Wine by Victor

Hazan, and Italian Wines for Dummies by Mary Ewing Mulligan and Ed McCarthy.

for a list of best value wines from Italy with a price of $30 or under, see pages 312–314.

pinot grigio is a white-grape variety that is also found in Alsace, France, where it is called Pinot Gris. It is also grown with success in Oregon and California.

for great Italian whites, try Gavi from Piedmont, and wines from the Friuli region.

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P R E L U D E T O W I N E

Q U I Z

1. What are the main tastes of wine?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

2. What are the three sources that go into a wine’s f lavor?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

3. What species of grape is used to make the most wine?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

4. Name three grapes that have high tannin . . . . . . . . .6

5. What is terroir? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

6. What does the term “Brix” refer to?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

7. What is phylloxera? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

8. What does “noble rot” refer to? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

9. Sugar + __________ = __________ + CO2 . . . . . 10

10. What is the percentage range of alcohol in table wine, sparkling wine, and fortified wine? . . . . . . . 10

11. What is must? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

12. How is white wine made from red grapes? . . . . . . 12

13. What is maceration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

14. Define the term “chaptalization” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

15. What is residual sugar? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4 4

9781454913641_int_xxii-045.indd 44 5/21/14 11:49 AM

16. Where does tannin come from?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

17. What does a vintage on a bottle indicate? . . . . . . . . .17

18. What factors can you use when judging ifa wine will last more than five years? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

19. What is “corked wine”?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

20. How is sulfur dioxide used in winemaking?. . . . 19

21. What is vertical tasting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

22. What happens to the color of white wines as they get older? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

23. What happens to the color of red wines as they get older? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

24. What is the difference between bouquet and aroma?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

25. Why should you swirl a wine before smelling it?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4 5

9781454913641_int_xxii-045.indd 45 5/21/14 11:49 AM

sterlingpublishing.com

No one matches Kevin Zraly for teaching the novice or giving experts the most current information about wine. Now, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Zraly’s definitive work, the world’s bestselling guide to wine receives a complete update. As always, Zraly deftly takes the mystery out of wine, recommending hundreds of new bottles (many under $30!) and providing the latest information on vintage wines. But this thoroughly redesigned edition also presents a beautiful tribute to the renowned restaurant where Zraly’s course: Windows on the World, which perished on 9/11. Thanks to user-friendly smartphone tags throughout, there are videos begin to enlighten key points and audio guides to help you correctly pronounce 1,300 wine names and terms.

• Prepublication media lunch for 10-15 key NYC-based journalists

• Trade mailing (Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus)

• Review copy mailing to men’s, wine, and beverage magazines, and to wine writers at daily newspapers

• Outreach to national and local TV producers

• Gift guide roundups

• Sell sheet on Kevin Zraly brand plus a “Wine as Gift” fact sheet

• Kevin Zraly landing page with promotion on Sterling’s social-media platforms

• Regional Press Tour: NYC, DC, Philadelphia, Boston

• Outreach to key wine blogs and websites offering excerpts and book giveaways

• Advertising including: the New York Times holiday ad; Publisher’s Weekly ad to coincide with publication; and ads in select wine/restaurant trade publications

• Promotional item: corkscrew

In 1976 Kevin Zraly was hired as the cellar master to the newly opened Windows on the World restaurant at One World Trade Center; that is where he opened his Windows on the World Wine School and where it remained until September 11, 2001. It is now located at the JW Marriott Essex House on Central Park South, and, to date, has more than 20,000 graduates. Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course was first published in 1985 and has since sold more than three million copies. He also created the Sherry-Lehmann/Kevin Zraly wine club and master classes. His honors include Lifetime Achievement Awards from the James Beard Foundation and European Wine Council, the James Beard Award for the Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, and the Food and Beverage Association’s Man of the Year Award. He is on the board of trustees at the Culinary Institute of America and has been featured in the New York Times, People magazine, the Wall Street Journal, GQ, and USA Today. He lives in New Paltz, NY.

For more information, contact Blanca Oliviery at (646) 688-2548 or boliviery@sterlingpublishing.com

October 2014Culinary/Wine$27.95 ($30.95 Canada)Hardcover with Jacket8 ½ x 9 ¼ • 368 pages (all in color)978-1-4549-1364-1

DISCLAIMERReviewers are reminded that changes may be made in this uncorrected proof before books are printed. If any material from the book is to be quoted in a review, the quotation should be checked against the final bound book. Dates, prices, and manufacturing details are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

To order book, scan here

P U B D A T E O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4Praise for Kevin Zraly and Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: “Kevin Zraly is the finest wine educator I have known.” —Robert Parker

“One of the best start-from-scratch wine books ever written.” —Frank Prial, the New York Times