Valencia Land of Wine [Paperback]

Joan C Martín (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2007

The author, Joan C. Martín, is a prize-winning wine writer and winemaker. This collection consists of articles, here translated into English, that originally appeared in Spain's "El País" newspaper, and is the best introduction available not only to the wines of the Comunidad Valenciana, but also to the people who make them and the landscape in which they are made. Almost uniquely for a wine writer, Joan C. Martín is also a winemaker, who as director of some of Valencia's leading wineries has been at the forefront of the transformation in the quality of the wines of the three Denominaciones de Origen of the Valencia region: Alicante, Utiel-Requena and Valencia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Joan introduces you to new wineries, styles of wines, old histories, and imbues it all with his expert knowledge culled from a lifetime among the wines of Valencia. Too often as English speakers, we are offered books full of thin tales, dumbed down for the foreigner s benefit, about wine regions we re all too familiar with. What I love about this book is its lack of apology for the styles and wines he writes about...[he] speaks of the wines with such pride and conviction as to their quality. After each tale, I find myself wanting to set aside a month just to taste the wines that make up the three regions of D.O. Alicante: Alicante, Valencia and Utiel Requena. In Spain, most people wouldn t even know that these regions produced anything but turron and oranges. While outside Spain, with the exception of vacationing Brits and Germans, most people probably don t know these wines exist at all. Therefore, I hope this book can change this just a little. --Ryan Opaz, catavino.net, 24 January, 2008

"...an informative and entertaining read on the Spanish wines of Valencia" --"Wayward Tendrils Quarterly", April 2011, Vol. 21 No. 2

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Anaconda Editions (December 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901990044
• ISBN-13: 978-1901990041
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,813,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An Amiable Guide to an Exciting "New" Wine Region, January 12, 2012

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Jan S. Reinhart (New Brunswick, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Valencia Land of Wine (Paperback)

I confess to having downloaded this lovely little book just because it had "Valencia" in the title. I've traveled the East Coast of Spain enough to be intrigued by its history and culture. Martin's book has plenty of that -- detailed stories about historical figures and regional geography -- but what it really gave me was a primer on a whole class of wines I had previously barely understood. He's passionate about the innovative ways Valencians are making affordable yet premium wines out of Moscatel, Macabeo and Bobal, varietals that I frankly used to avoid out of ignorance but now seek out.

Being a collection of newspaper columns, the book is a light read. But Martin still makes room for gratuitously charming literary references (he loves James Joyce). A bottle of Bobal, a freshly baked "coca" flatbread and this book would make a very fine afternoon indeed.