Immerse yourself in NorCal's diverse cities, quaint historical towns, towering forests, and stunning coastline. Inside Moon Northern California you'll find: Strategic, flexible itineraries that can be adapted for your budget and timeline, from three days in San Francisco to one day in Yosemite, designed for road trippers, outdoor adventurers, culture mavens, foodies, and moreHow to plan a Northern California road trip, with detailed mileage and driving times for trips to the North Coast, Shasta and Lassen, and the Gold CountryUnique activities and can't-miss highlights: Explore a Gold Rush-era ghost town, ride the rollercoaster on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or crest San Francisco's steep hills on a historic cable car. Visit world-class museums in the Bay Area, absorb history in the Capitol Building in Sacramento, or watch the otters play at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Climb Yosemite's granite peaks, hike among the redwoods in Sequoia and Kings Canyon, ski Tahoe's pristine powdery slopes, or try to catch a peek at condors at Big Sur. Savor an authentic Mission burrito, sample unique varietals in wine country, and enjoy a romantic seafood dinner as the sun sets over the PacificFull-color photos and detailed maps throughoutExpert advice from NorCal native Elizabeth Linhart Veneman on where to stay, where to eat, and how get around by plane, car, train, and public transportationHandy tips for international visitors, seniors, and travelers with disabilitiesBackground information on the landscape, plants and animals, history, and cultureFull coverage of San Francisco and the Bay Area, Wine Country, the North Coast, Shasta and Lassen, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and Gold Country, Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra, the Central Coast, and Sequoia and Kings CanyonWith Moon Northern California's myriad activities, local insight, and expert know-how, you can plan your trip your way.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Prominent wine critic Richard Wilson makes a living elevating and destroying winemakers' reputations with the stroke of his pen. When he disappears after a tasting at Napa Valley's Norton Winery, his sister Janie looks to her ex-husband Babe Stern for help. But when Wilson's body is found floating in a vat at Norton, Stern's search turns into a hunt for the killer.Working with the Napa Valley police, Stern quickly finds a string of suspects, all with one thing in common: their desire to get revenge for the reviews that shattered their wines and livelihoods. But as the police work to quickly clear the case, those same suspects have a string of alibis and the trail begins to fade.Stern digs further into the circumstances of Wilson's death and finds himself following his only lead, to Burgundy, France. In cellars and tasting rooms from Beaune to Nuits-Saint-Georges, Stern tracks the troubled son of a family of "vignerons, " one of the few people in the winery the night Wilson died. But the wine families of the Cote d'Or are secretive and entangled, and the further Stern goes to discover the truth, the more he becomes the ultimate target. In a stunning debut mystery packed with revenge and murder, Stern's only choice is to find the truth.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Acknowledgments Introduction: The Place and the Notion
• 1. Birth of a Valley
• 2. The Underpinnings of Terroir THE TOURS: PART ONE
• 3. Great Wine Begins with Dirt
• 4. The Land and Its Climate
• 5. Civilizing the Vine THE TOURS: PART TWO
• 6. The Winery: Preserving Character or Shaping Style?
• 7. The Winemaker's Dance
• 8. Some Final, and Fundamental, Issues Bibliography Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

There is a saying among wine makers that 'great wine begins with dirt'. Beginning from this intriguing premise, "The Winemaker's Dance" embarks on an eye-opening exploration of 'terroir' in one of the greatest places on earth to grow wine - California's Napa Valley. Jonathan Swinchatt and David G. Howell weave a tale that begins millions of years ago with the clash of continental plates that created the Napa Valley and go on to show how this small region, with its myriad micro climates, complex geologic history, and dedicated wine makers, came to produce world-class wines. A fascinating look at the art and science of wine making and the only comprehensive book that covers Napa's geology, history, and environment, "The Winemaker's Dance" will help wine enthusiasts better understand wine talk and wine writing and, most importantly, wine itself. "The Winemaker's Dance" is animated by the voices of Napa's wine makers talking about their craft. The book also contains two driving tours through the valley that highlight the landscapes and wineries discussed. An array of unique illustrations - including shaded relief maps overlaid with color aerial photographs - provide a new and illuminating look at the region: its bedrock, sediments, soils, sun, wind, and rain. The expansive narrative considers how these elements influence wines from particular vineyards and how specific wine making practices can bring out or mask aspects of terroir. It concludes with a discussion of the state of the wine making industry today. Unraveling the complex relationship between the people, the earth, and the vines of Napa Valley, "The Winemaker's Dance" brings the elusive concept of terroir to a broad audience, adding a vibrant dimension to the experience of the valley's wines. It also provides insights that enhance our understanding of wines and wine growing regions the world over.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Acknowledgments Introduction: The Place and the Notion
• 1. Birth of a Valley
• 2. The Underpinnings of Terroir THE TOURS: PART ONE
• 3. Great Wine Begins with Dirt
• 4. The Land and Its Climate
• 5. Civilizing the Vine THE TOURS: PART TWO
• 6. The Winery: Preserving Character or Shaping Style?
• 7. The Winemaker's Dance
• 8. Some Final, and Fundamental, Issues Bibliography Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

There is a saying among wine makers that 'great wine begins with dirt'. Beginning from this intriguing premise, "The Winemaker's Dance" embarks on an eye-opening exploration of 'terroir' in one of the greatest places on earth to grow wine - California's Napa Valley. Jonathan Swinchatt and David G. Howell weave a tale that begins millions of years ago with the clash of continental plates that created the Napa Valley and go on to show how this small region, with its myriad micro climates, complex geologic history, and dedicated wine makers, came to produce world-class wines. A fascinating look at the art and science of wine making and the only comprehensive book that covers Napa's geology, history, and environment, "The Winemaker's Dance" will help wine enthusiasts better understand wine talk and wine writing and, most importantly, wine itself. "The Winemaker's Dance" is animated by the voices of Napa's wine makers talking about their craft. The book also contains two driving tours through the valley that highlight the landscapes and wineries discussed. An array of unique illustrations - including shaded relief maps overlaid with color aerial photographs - provide a new and illuminating look at the region: its bedrock, sediments, soils, sun, wind, and rain. The expansive narrative considers how these elements influence wines from particular vineyards and how specific wine making practices can bring out or mask aspects of terroir. It concludes with a discussion of the state of the wine making industry today. Unraveling the complex relationship between the people, the earth, and the vines of Napa Valley, "The Winemaker's Dance" brings the elusive concept of terroir to a broad audience, adding a vibrant dimension to the experience of the valley's wines. It also provides insights that enhance our understanding of wines and wine growing regions the world over.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

When acclaimed journalist Alan Deutschman came to the California wine country as the lucky house guest of very rich friends, he was surprised to discover a raging controversy. A civil war was being fought between the Napa Valley, which epitomized elitism, prestige and wealthy excess, and the neighboring Sonoma Valley, a rag-tag bohemian enclave so stubbornly backward that rambunctious chickens wandered freely through town. But the antics really began when new-money invaders began pushing out Sonoma's poets and painters to make way for luxury resorts and trophy houses that seemed a parody of opulence. "A Tale of Two Valleys" captures these stranger-than-fiction locales with the wit of a Tom Wolfe novel and uncorks the hilarious absurdities of life among the wine world's glitterati. Deutschman found that on the weekends the wine country was like a bunch of gracious hosts smiling upon their guests, but during the week the families feuded with each other and their neighbors like the Hatfields and McCoys. Napa was a comically exclusive club where the super-rich fought desperately to get in. Sonoma's colorful free spirits and iconoclasts were wary of their bohemia becoming the next playground for the rapacious elite. So, led by a former taxicab driver and wine-grape picker, a cheese merchant, and an artist who lived in a barn surrounded by wild peacocks, they formed a populist revolt to seize power and repel the rich invaders. Deutschman's cast of characters brims with eccentrics, egomaniacs, and a mysterious man in black who crashed the elegant Napa Valley Wine Auction before proceeding to pay a half-million dollars for a single bottle. What develops is nothing less than a battle for the good life, a clash between old and new, the struggle for the soul of one of America's last bits of paradise. A dishy glimpse behind the scenes of a West Coast wonderland, "A Tale of Two Valleys" makes for intoxicating reading.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)