The books greatest strength is Ms. Scholes’s keen eye. She is unburdened by reverence merely for the overpriced icon wines (though they get their due with such brands as Sine Qua Non, Mouton and Scarecrow). Big House, the irreverent cartoon label created by Californian Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon fame, is here. So are an inordinate number of Canadian brands, such as Megalomaniac, Dirty Laundry, Blasted Church, Organized Crime and Malivoire. All but the last, notably, are the offspring of Brandever, a Vancouver design house that has garnered numerous international awards.
In fact, the book almost begs for sidebars on Brandever and other key creative forces (Chuck House from California is another) that have breathed life into the generally banal world of wine packaging. Another shortcoming: There’s too much emphasis on the origins of the cute brand names and not enough on the artists and stylistic influences.
Wondering what to get the wealthy Bordeaux collector on your gift list but can’t find, afford or otherwise justify a $500 bottle of top-flight claret? Consider feeding his or her passion with Grands Crus Classés: The Great Wines of Bordeaux with Recipes from Top Chefs of the World ($78, Stewart Tabori & Chang). It’s a tad pretentious, yes, and its poundage could make handy winter ballast for a rear-wheel-drive Bentley. But it’s worth its weight in culinary seduction.
The 87 châteaux distinguished by the famous 1855 Bordeaux classification – Latours, Lafite and the like – are all here with photos and short histories. But the big draw is the food, which includes creations from Spain’s Ferran Adria, Denmark’s Rene Redzepi, Italy’s Luisa Marelli Valazza, South Korea’s Hyo Nam Park and Thomas Keller from the United States.
Some of the dishes, each with a full-page photo, resemble abstract art or jewellery, and the cooking directions can read like the maintenance manual for an Airbus 380. But some seem surprisingly realistic for the home cook. I’m tempted to take a stab at Hong Kong chef Wai Kwan Chui’s Tenderly Braised Beef Flank even if I can’t afford a mature vintage of the suggested pairing, Château Langoa Barton. Who knows, a Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon from British Columbia might work just fine.
Other noteworthy books include:
Opus Vino, ($85, DK) Jim Gordon, editor of California-based Wines & Vines magazine, has compiled concise descriptions of more than 4,000 wineries written by a small army of experts. A handy reference for the wine geek.
Billy’s Best Bottles: Wines for 2011, Billy Munnelly ($19.95, billysbestbook.com) More than 300 lively recommendations, most of them widely available and between $10 and $16, from Canada’s most joyously unpretentious palate.
The 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO 2011, Rod Phillips ($19.95, Whitecap) Ottawa-based Mr. Phillips offers a five-star rating system on wines sold in Ontario, grouped by region.
