Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition

506 Pages·2009·8.37 MB·English

by  Kevin Zraly

WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
Complete Wine Course
25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
Complete Wine Course
Kevin Zraly
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This 2010 edition is dedicated to Robert Mondavi who not only led Napa Valley and California on the road
to great wines but also had a tremendous influence on wine and winemaking throughout the world. Without
his vision there probably would not have been a need for this kind of wine book. His energy, passion,
commitment, and foresight, not only in winemaking but in combining wine with food, music, and art, paved
the way for Americans to enjoy wine.
A special thanks to Robin Kelley O’Connor who traveled around the world with me in 2008 and 2009.
His wine knowledge, tasting skills, and driving (car) stamina made this 25th anniversary book complete.
The signatures on the endpapers represent some of the owners of wineries, vineyardists, winemakers, and
marketing and public relations professionals whose help was invaluable to me.
I welcome questions and comments. Please visit my Web site, www.kevinzraly.com, for updates and
wine news.
STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
© 2009 by Kevin Zraly
All rights reserved
STERLING ISBN 13: 978-1-4027-9040-9
STERLING eBook ISBN: 978-1-4027-9040-9
For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and corporate purchases, please contact
Sterling Special Sales Department at 800-805-5489 or [email protected].

PHOTO & ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Vineyard near Beaune, Burgundy © Charles O’Rear/Corbis
Insets: Wine tasting © Owen Franken/Corbis;
Vineyard near Savigny-les- Beaune, Burgundy © G. Bowater/Corbis;
Château Beycheville, Bordeaux © Adam Woolfitt/Corbis
Grapes on the vine in Napa, California © Morton Beebe/Corbis
Vineyards and fields in Chablis © Owen Franken/Corbis
Napa Valley vineyards © Charles O’Rear/Corbis
Braune Kupp vineyard, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany © Charles O’Rear/ Corbis
Vineyard at Volnay, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy © Charles O’Rear/ Corbis
Cellar at Château Mouton-Rothschild © Charles O’Rear/Corbis
Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, Napa Valley © Jim Sugar/Corbis
Vineyards, Barolo, Piedmont © John Heseltine/Corbis
Barrels of Port, Dow & Co. warehouse, Oporto, Portugal © Charles O’Rear/Corbis
Grapes, Avignonesi Winery, Tuscany © Bob Krist/Corbis
Red wine and cheese at fireplace, © Ina Peters/istock
How Do We Smell?, illustration adapted by permission from Tim Jacob, www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob
In 2010, I am celebrating my 34th anniversary teaching the Windows on the
World Wine School. It all started in 1976 when Windows on the World, the
restaurant on top of One World Trade Center, opened. We were a private lunch
club, and I was asked to put together a six-week wine course as a club activity.
We started off with only twenty people, and I taught the first class and the last
class; the other four classes were taught by prominent wine writers. To this day,
I have vivid memories of the great wines that we poured for that first class and
the “happy” response of the students.
In fact, the club members were so happy with the wine school that they started
asking if they could bring friends. By 1979 there were more friends than club
members attending the class. The growing interest in wine was becoming
obvious. In 1980 we opened our first classes for consumers. To date, more than
nineteen thousand people have graduated from the Windows on the World Wine
School. Many of my students have found their passion with wine—opening
retail stores, restaurants, and wine bars. Some have started importing wine and a
few have even started their own wineries.
Since my teenage years, wine has been my passion. In 1970, as a nineteen-
year-old college student, I got a job as a waiter at a restaurant to pick up some
“beer money.” The restaurant received a four-star rating from The New York
Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne and the owner asked me to take over the
bartending duties. (Luckily for me, back then the legal age to drink was eighteen
in New York State.) I started studying about beer, distilled spirits, and wine,
learning as much as I could. Within six months my interest in wine became an
obsession. I quickly switched from Budweiser to Bordeaux. I read every book on
wine I could find, and I visited all the wineries in New York. (I couldn’t yet go
to California—the drinking age there was twenty-one!)
A local college contacted the restaurant, suggesting a wine-and-cheese course
for their adult-education program. So in 1971, at twenty years of age, I taught
my first wine class. I continued to teach this class throughout college, and I was
beginning to sense that wine appreciation was going to become a major area of
interest in America.
I eventually graduated with an education degree and, combining that with my
passion for wine, the Wine School for me has become the best of both worlds.
After thirty-nine years of teaching about wine I am still fascinated by the subject,
intrigued by its complexities, and “thirsty” to learn more with every new vintage.
I would like to thank all of my graduates for supporting my passion.
This book is dedicated to everyone who has a passion for wine, from the grape growers
to the winemakers, from the buyers and the sellers to, most important, the wine
consumers.
May your glass always be more full than empty.
Contents
Introduction
PRELUDE TO WINE
White Grapes of the World
Red Grapes of the World
Questions
CLASS ONE: THE WHITE WINES OF FRANCE
Questions
CLASS TWO: THE WINES OF WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND NEW
YORK;
THE WHITE WINES OF CALIFORNIA
Questions
CLASS THREE: THE WHITE WINES OF GERMANY
Questions
CLASS FOUR: THE RED WINES OF BURGUNDY
AND THE RHÔNE VALLEY
Questions
CLASS FIVE: THE RED WINES OF BORDEAUX
Questions
CLASS SIX: THE RED WINES OF CALIFORNIA
Questions
CLASS SEVEN: THE WINES OF SPAIN AND ITALY
Questions
CLASS EIGHT: CHAMPAGNE, SHERRY, AND PORT
Questions
WINES OF THE WORLD: AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, GREECE,
AUSTRALIA,
NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA, CHILE, AND
ARGENTINA
Questions
THE GREATER WORLD OF WINE
The Physiology of Tasting Wine
Matching Wine and Food with Andrea Robinson
Wine-Buying Strategies for Your Wine Cellar
Frequently Asked Questions About Wine
Windows on the World
A Personal History
Afterword
Looking Back, with Gratitude
Selected Glossary