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| And the nominees are … |
In researching The House of Mondavi, I built up a modest wine library of fifty or so volumes. Some of my treasures came from the annual sale of the St. Helena Library, which has a wonderful collection of wine books. Others came from local, independent book stores or Amazon, or were given to me by people who knew I was working on a book about the first family of Napa Valley wine.
One of my favorites is George Taber’s Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine, which was published by Scribner in 2005 and justifiably earned wonderful reviews.
George, a business journalist who spent 25 years in the U.S. and Europe with Time magazine, is exactly the kind of writer with whom I love to spend time: clear, precise, and refreshingly even-tempered in an industry known for its high passions.
He helped me out on a funny front-page story I wrote for the Wall Street Journal about a ruckus that erupted among vintners and winemakers over a 30th anniversary reenactment of the famous Paris Tasting at Copia in Napa Valley. Since then, we’ve stayed in touch. Judgment of Paris is progressing toward becoming a movie and George’s latest email to me said that the screenplay is now complete, now that the writers’ strike was settled.
I feel honored to be competing against George in this year’s James Beard Foundation award in the category of books about wine and spirits. His latest book, To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle, is up against The House of Mondavi, as well as Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, by David Wondrich.
We’ll find out who wins in a black-tie blow-out on June 8th at New York’s Alice Tully Hall. Described as “the Oscars of the food world” by Time magazine, this should be a wonderful party. Maybe I’ll ask George, who lived in Paris for many years, for a little fashion advice…