Past Issues: Wine Skinny Hot Titles, oct/nov 2005

In every issue, the Wine Skinny will review a new (or even not-so-new) food and wine book. If you have a title you think is particularly great and would like us to consider it for review, please email us at editor@wineskinny.com.

A Wine Journey along the Russian River
by Steve Heimoff

Hardcover: 298 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (September 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 0520239857
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches

A Wine Journey along the Russian River is a great find for anyone hoping to get a long-distance education on the land, history, personality and production of one of California's most prominent wine regions.

At first, we approached the book with the hope of really getting some answers on the ideas of terroir and appellation in the context of the Russian River. So many books these days purport to make sense of the many California wine regions and what a sense or taste "of place" really means in America's most well known wine State. If, indeed, the concepts mean anything at all.

Author Steve Heimoff, the West Coast editor of Wine Enthusiast, certainly includes these topics in the book, but really, it is a much more historical perspective that he offers. And probably a better one, at that.

We were unexpectedly enthralled with the early chapter on the geological history of the region, complete with undersea volcanoes, plates and fault lines, and magma flows. Heimoff walks a fine line between dumbing down the super-scientific stuff for the average reader and offering enough challenging information to require the occasional referral to a dictionary. We now have Heimoff to thank for a newfound fascination in the entire subject!

The Pangaean perspective is included, of course, as a foundation for the various soils and rocks and waterways that shape the Russian River Valley and surrounding valleys. Suddenly, the fact that a Simi vineyard contains layers of ash peppered with rounded river stones begins to have some greater context, rather than just being another factoid on a winery tour. It also makes an interesting connection to the surrounding lands and has a comprehensible impact on the grapes in the vineyard. No small accomplishment!

By the end of the book, Heimoff has made compelling, memorable cases to explain the success of certain wines in certain areas - Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Along the way, his anecdotes are entertaining and folksy and sprinkled with humor. Interviews with winemakers and growers offer personal insights from the people who walk and work the lands, and hit plenty of familiar winery names.

Heimoff clearly has enjoyed his exploration of the Russian River, and his enthusiasm is happily contagious.