- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (14 Sep 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1840002743
- ISBN-13: 978-1840002744
- Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 22 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 477,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tiring, it would seem, of wine encyclopaedias and buyers' guides, Hugh Johnson has turned his hand to pornography. For what else can one call this ravishing volume, manifestly designed to excite sensual pleasure? Tuscany and Its Wines is a sumptuous, first-class guided wine tour of this beautiful, ancient region. Perhaps as much as anywhere else in Europe, Tuscany has retained aspects of all epochs of its history, as far back as the pre-Roman Etruscans and possibly earlier. However, as Hugh Johnson points out, until only a generation or two ago, the wines (and, to some extent, the food) of the region was without ambition and pretty rudimentary. Now, though, Tuscany produces some of the greatest wines in the world and the overall quality is rising all the time. There could not be a more exciting time to accompany Hugh Johnson on his travels. Beginning in the north, he explores the Arno valley from Florence to the sea; then moves south to Chianti, Siena and the Maremma. These Arcadian landscapes inspire a wonderfully warm and erudite commentary, encompassing not only the wines to be found along the way, but history, culture, food and manners. Illuminated by Andy Katz' luscious photographs, Tuscany and Its Wines is a distillation of everything that, for many people, makes Tuscany a paradise on earth. --Robin Davidson
Product Description
Hugh Johnson teams up with one of the finest landscape and travel photographers, Andy Katz, to create the essence of Tuscany, its history, culture, landscapes, towns, villages, people and cuisine - and, above all, its wines, vineyards and winemakers. Hugh's treatment of this many-faceted subject is perfectly crafted and attuned to the mood which is set by the 100 sparkling images it accompanies. Tuscany and its Wines is for everyone enthralled by the unique Tuscan marriage of light and landscape, wine and food, vines and olives, beauty and history. - An irresistible portrait of Tuscany's culture, history, landscapes, people, foods and, above all, the wines. - Combines the inspiring words of Hugh Johnson with the vibrant photography of Andy Katz. - Captures Tuscany's magic from dawn to dusk in all seasons, with illuminating appreciation of all its towns.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
While the pictures are nice and there's plenty of them, I was somewhat disappointed with the narrative part. I checked the table of contents before buying and it seemed to be quite detailed but there is no in-depth information.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Following a trip to Tuscany in the Summer of 2001, I felt I had to know more about the history of the wines. Thanks to this book I have been able to relive my holiday and at the same time been able to find my favourite wines.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
More photographs than in-depth information
28 Mar 2001
Format:Hardcover
There's no doubting Hugh Johnson's position as one of the leading wine writers (and appreciators) of our time. This book is a little misleading however, for it is not the in-depth exploration of the Italian wine explosion one expects from Johnson's past works. This book focuses more on Andy Katz' exceptional photographs of one of the lovliest wine regions of the world. Johnson's prose is an homage to Tuscany more than a technical exploration of just what has caused the stunning advances is the region's wine production over the past 20 years. Johnson gives insights into many fine properties, but if you're expecting an expansion on Johnson's encyclopedia of wine's Tuscan entry you will likely be disappointed. Think of it more as a heartfelt appreciation of Tuscan wine and culture -- it's almost poetic in its mesh of prose and photography.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
good pictures, poor text
30 Mar 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
3 stars is the average between 1 star for the text, and 5 stars for the pictures. Don't get me wrong Hugh Johnson is a good writer and very knowledgeable about French, but what about Italian wines? I just wanted to warn any potential buyer that this is mostly pictures (very beautiful indeed), as the text is very brief and not particularly well researched.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Beautiful book for the wine tourist
17 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a homage basically to the history, culture, landscapes, villages, people, cuisines, wines, vineyards and winemakers of the lovely Tuscan region of Italy. Taking these multi faceted subjects and winding his lovely prose with Andy Katz beautiful photography of the region , Hugh Johnson has created a splendid work.
The first 22 pages cover the history of wine and grape in the Tuscan region. The detail as fine as the scent, shape, size and blending of various grape to produce wines of higher quality and overcome certain flaws with certain varieties of grape have are prominant in this chapter. Its like a short synopsis of the wine making art of the region couple with a brief history of prominant names associated with wine in Tuscany followed by some lovely verse on the landscape, soils, weather etc thrown in.
Once past that opening chaper each Tuscan wine region is explored in a formula that takes the reader on a journey: First the landscape is poetically introduced, followed by descriptions of the leading wine making towns/villages of that region, where their history and architecture - with emphasis on the key restaurants, wineshops, lovely Villa's and churches etc unique to that area - feature prominantly in the prose before the history of the wine and vineyards for that area is covered.
Regions covered include: The Arno Valley, South of Florence (Chianti Country), Siena, The Tuscan Coast (Maremma).
The end chapters offer a selection of the quality Tuscan wines to be found in each region before the book rounds off with a description of the 16 grape varieties grown in the Tuscan region and the other places that grape is popularly grown in and around Italy.
The book is more a celebration of a major wine growing region than a discussion of individual wines in detail. The photography is absolutely gorgeous whether it be a photo of a bunch of grapes hanging from the vine or a panning shot of vineyards trailing down hills or a shot of a villa on a hill or piazza at night. The attention to detail is brilliant. The authors words are penned in a way that is both informative, lucid and absorbing.
All round a lovely book for the wine lover to own.
The first 22 pages cover the history of wine and grape in the Tuscan region. The detail as fine as the scent, shape, size and blending of various grape to produce wines of higher quality and overcome certain flaws with certain varieties of grape have are prominant in this chapter. Its like a short synopsis of the wine making art of the region couple with a brief history of prominant names associated with wine in Tuscany followed by some lovely verse on the landscape, soils, weather etc thrown in.
Once past that opening chaper each Tuscan wine region is explored in a formula that takes the reader on a journey: First the landscape is poetically introduced, followed by descriptions of the leading wine making towns/villages of that region, where their history and architecture - with emphasis on the key restaurants, wineshops, lovely Villa's and churches etc unique to that area - feature prominantly in the prose before the history of the wine and vineyards for that area is covered.
Regions covered include: The Arno Valley, South of Florence (Chianti Country), Siena, The Tuscan Coast (Maremma).
The end chapters offer a selection of the quality Tuscan wines to be found in each region before the book rounds off with a description of the 16 grape varieties grown in the Tuscan region and the other places that grape is popularly grown in and around Italy.
The book is more a celebration of a major wine growing region than a discussion of individual wines in detail. The photography is absolutely gorgeous whether it be a photo of a bunch of grapes hanging from the vine or a panning shot of vineyards trailing down hills or a shot of a villa on a hill or piazza at night. The attention to detail is brilliant. The authors words are penned in a way that is both informative, lucid and absorbing.
All round a lovely book for the wine lover to own.
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