California's Wine Country (Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country) [Hardcover]

Phil Barber (Author), Phyllis Zauner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997 | Series: Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country

Ideal grape growing conditions have made California's Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties famous for producing some of the best wines in the world. In addition to taking you to the best as well as wonderful little-known wineries, The Insiders' Guide(r) to California's Wine Country also explores historic towns that evoke Spanish influence, quiet backcountry roads, redwoods, ocean vistas, kidstuff, one-of-a-kind boutiques, nightlife, bed and breakfast inns and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Not just an overview of the wineries of northern California, this book seems more directed to those who might want to settle down in the area or open a business, and it will also be useful to the casual visitor. Some 27 sections arranged by county cover such topics as real estate, hotels, festivals, day trips, healthcare, churches, restaurants, and spas. Telephone numbers, addresses, prices, descriptions, advertisements, and the like are also included. The maps are small-scale and not very useful; some town maps would have been much better. The authors have written for various magazines and have published books on sports and the West. A handy book for anyone planning a visit to that part of California.?George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 485 pages
• Publisher: Insiders Guides (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573800309
• ISBN-13: 978-1573800303
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,574,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My newest book is "Food Lovers' Guide to Napa Valley," a breezy round-up of some of the best places to eat, shop for food, sip wine, and have fun -- all presented with a good dose of humor. That will be followed by the spring release of "Food Lovers' Guide to Sonoma," being pre-sold here on Amazon. My latest edition of "Insiders' Guide to Wine Country" (the 8th) features hundreds of descriptions of wineries, restaurants, lodgings, attractions, shopping options, and much more. You can also read updates and news from Wine Country at my blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very complete, informative guide., March 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: California's Wine Country (Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country) (Hardcover)

I stood in the bookstore for hours and looked at books about Sonoma/Napa but couldn't find one that neatly sat the fence between budget and splurge, which was what we were going to be doing on our vacation. Sight unseen, I purchased this one online, and was really glad I did. It doesn't miss a thing -- from Bed & Breakfasts to Spas to Restaurants to Wineries to Shopping. If anything, it's too complete and gives you all the additional information you'd need if you were going there to live. You never can have too much information. It is chock full of stuff and highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bogus review, September 5, 2001

By 

John Nagiecki - See all my reviews

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country (Paperback)

I am one of the authors of this book. The review submitted by an annonymous reviewer on August 30, 2001 is entirely false and contains a quote that does not appear in our book. It is also libelous and should be removed at once.

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly unhelpful, July 3, 2002

By 

K. Mash "karamash" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country (Paperback)

... don't bother with this book. First of all, it has virtually no maps. The entire book only has four tiny overview maps in the front overleaf. Want to find a winery or a restaurant? Good luck.

We did use this book to find an affordable B&B (although there are great websites for this too), so I hesitated to give it one star. However, the person that ran our B&B was a rude grumpy lady and the breakfast was mediocre, and so we really didn't enjoy our stay there. In fact, the only thing I recall this book being helpful with the entire week is finding one nice restaurant in Santa Rosa for dinner. Not finding how to get there - we used our free map for that.