D2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020NO MATTER HOWdisruptive the Covid-19
pandemic has been, the publishing industry
continues to churn out books exploring
wine and spirits from every angle. Here are
five of the best from 2020, and one from 2019
that was too good to omit.
Many good books have been written
about Bordeaux, but few have been as
timely or as comprehensive as “Inside Bor-
deaux: The Châteaux, Their Wines and the
Terroir” (BB&R Press, $80) by Jane Anson.
Ms. Anson, a columnist for Decanter
magazine, has lived in Bordeaux since 2003
and seems to know every square inch of it.
What makes this book different is her focus
on what’s under the surface.
For generations, Bordeaux and Bur-
gundy have presented two rival paradigms
for organizing and understanding a wine re-
gion: Bordeaux has focused on producers,
essentially brand names, while Burgundy
has concentrated on place, or terroir.
Over the last 30 years, the rest of the
world has come around to Burgundy’s way
of thinking — that where the grapes are
grown is as important as who is making the
wine. With little focus on grape-growing,
Bordeaux, for many consumers, came to be
seen as archaic, even irrelevant.
Yet Bordeaux itself has been rethinking
its approach, training its eye more and more
on topography, soil, bedrock, drainage and
all the other elements of terroir. Ms. Anson’s
conceit is to approach Bordeaux from a ter-
roir perspective, with a deep dive into the
underlying geology of the region, which
turns out to be much more complex than is
often imagined.
Working with a scientific consultant, Cor-
nelis van Leeuwen, a viticulture professor,
she presents her findings clearly and con-
cisely, aided by illuminating maps and
graphics and gorgeous photographs.
The book has much more to offer: suc-
cinct introductions to all the well-known
major regions, as well as to lesser-known
areas that can be sources of good values.
Ms. Anson’s profiles of producers are exten-
sive and opinionated, rendered with gentle
understatement.
Best of all is how contemporary this book
feels. Climate change is ever-present, as is
her emphasis on the growing number of
producers who have turned to organic or
biodynamic farming.
Bordeaux will never be a cutting-edge,
avant-garde region. Still as a historic center
for fine-wine production, it did not deserve
to be dismissed. Ms. Anson has done an ex-
cellent job of laying out not only Bordeaux’s
continuing effort to demonstrate relevance,
but also its timeless appeal.IN THE LASTyear, a dark side of the wine in-
dustry has been revealed, particularly with
widespread allegations of sexual har-
assment at the elite Court of Master Som-
meliers, and reports about pervasive racial
discrimination in the business at large.
With her harrowing yet gripping memoir,
“Wine Girl: The Obstacles, Humiliations
and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Som-
melier” (Ecco, $27), Victoria James offers
her personal testimony to the grim chal-
lenges faced by women in an industry lubri-
cated by alcohol and dominated by men.
Seeing Ms. James today, as the consum-
mate beverage director and partner at Cote,
a critically praised Korean steakhouse in
the Flatiron district of Manhattan, one
could not imagine the hardships she has en-
dured both personally and professionally.
From the age of 13, when she began her
career as a server at a New Jersey diner,
through her teens, when she started work-
ing at restaurants in Manhattan, through
becoming a sommelier at the tender age of
21, Ms. James has navigated a horrifying
professional path.
She has been raped more than once, she
writes, groped and manipulated by superi-
ors and customers, called a prude when she
refused sexual advances and a slut when
she gave in, demeaned and made to feel
worthless. And for what? Long hours and
low pay.
She grew up no stranger to adversity. Her
family was impoverished. As she tells it, her
mother was absent, and her father rigid and
tyrannical as he slowly immersed himself in
alcohol and gambling. She and her siblings
learned self-sufficiency out of necessity.
What saved her from darkness was both
a fascination with wine and a series of men-
tors who taught her, among other things,
that hospitality was essentially a form of
self-care: If you can find something to love
in others, you can learn to love yourself.
Ms. James is a graceful, evocative writer
who is able to convey trauma in nauseating
detail yet without wallowing in pain. This is
a story of determination and resilience that
will resonate even with those not fascinated
by food and wine.
No matter how damaging her experi-
ences, she is able to find love and reconcilia-
tion, along with a professional stature that
is the antithesis to all she endured. After her
trials, it’s a huge relief for readers.
Yet, what sticks is how shameful and de-
grading the hospitality industry has been
for women. Journalism has exposed many
examples, but Ms. James’s book makes us
feel in our bones what it’s like to be victim-
ized.PAPPY VAN WINKLEis the world’s most
sought-after bourbon, a cult whiskey forwhich fans happily pay hundreds of dollars
a bottle, if they can find it.
It’s easy to imagine a book that tries to
analyze or celebrate its allure in whiskey
terms — complexity, smoothness, the mas-
tery of the distillers and so on. The superb
“Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bour-
bon and the Things That Last” (Penguin
Press, $27) by Wright Thompson is not that
book. It’s not really about bourbon at all.
Whiskey is a recurring thread, of course,
spoken of and consumed with love and rev-
erence. But mostly, like drinks at a bar, it
serves to facilitate the conversation about
Mr. Thompson’s real subject: fathers and
sons, legacy and responsibility, craftsman-
ship, failure and the power of mythology, es-
pecially as it envelops Kentucky and the
South.
The central figure is Julian Van Winkle
III, the grandson of a Kentucky bourbon pi-
oneer and the son of a man who, perhaps
unavoidably, lost his grip on the family be-
quest and died relatively young. By way of
luck and no small amount of struggle, he
found himself able not only to resurrect the
Van Winkle name but also to earn unexpect-
ed riches for his family as Pappy became
fetishized around the world.
As it happens, Mr. Thompson, a senior
writer with ESPN and himself a Southerner,
is contemplating his own family issues. His
beloved father, too, died young, and over the
course of the book, he and his wife are
awaiting the birth of their first child.
Reflecting on the history of his own fam-
ily and of the Van Winkles, he meditates on
the nature and value of traditions, on how
ancestral voices, though physically gone,
can still reach across the years. Fine
whiskey, it turns out, also transmits mes-
sages from the past and spans generations.
Mr. Thompson is a keen observer, with an
eye and ear for detail and nuance. He’s writ-
ten a warm and loving reflection that, like
good bourbon, will stand the test of time.ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BOOKSthat success-
fully explain German wine have been ex-
ceedingly rare. “The Wines of Germany”
(Infinite Ideas, $40) by Anne Krebiehl ad-
mirably fills that void.
Ms. Krebiehl, who was born in Germany,
lives in London and has earned the hard-
won credential Master of Wine, published
this book late last year, but it is so desper-
ately needed and insightful that I decided to
include it in this 2020 roundup.
In clear and easy-to-follow language, Ms.
Krebiehl outlines the history of German
wine, along with its major grapes, regions
and producers. For those baffled by Ger-
man terminology, she explains the origin of
the important terms and where German
wine laws are heading.
Discussions of German wine inevitably
focus on riesling, but Ms. Krebiehl’s graspextends to the other, less-celebrated varie-
ties that Germany, with style and distinc-
tion, has made its own. Her discussion of
producers is illuminating, and her recom-
mendations are astute. If you love German
wine, or are at all curious about it, this is the
book for you.THE WINES OFSicily, and of Mount Etna in
particular, have been among the most in-
triguing discoveries in the last 20 years.
Now comes “The New Wines of Mount
Etna: An Insider’s Guide to the History and
Rebirth of a Wine Region” (Gemelli Press,
$33) by Benjamin North Spencer.
Mr. Spencer was a winemaker in Califor-
nia who married a Sicilian woman. In 2012,
the couple moved to Mount Etna and
founded a wine school there. This book
would serve as a fine textbook.
In straightforward prose, Mr. Spencer
traces the long history of making wine
within the eruption zone of an active vol-
cano, and the industry’s modern incarna-
tion as a source for gorgeous reds and sa-
vory whites. He offers tips for exploring the
Etna wine region and an extensive guide to
the producers working there.
It may not be possible for Americans to
visit Sicily for some time, but this book
makes for excellent armchair traveling.AMERICAN PRESIDENTS HAVEbeen written
about from almost every angle. Here’s a
new one. “Wine and the White House: A
History” (The White House Historical As-
sociation, $55) by Frederick J. Ryan Jr. ex-
amines each president’s taste in wine and
how it was served under his administration.
Mr. Ryan, a wine aficionado who also hap-
pens to be the publisher and chief executive
of The Washington Post, worked in the Rea-
gan White House. He saw up close how wine
was treated and the role it played, whether
at intimate gatherings or extravagant state
dinners. He also observed the diplomat-
ically tricky decisions of which wines to of-
fer at which functions.
Some presidential wine habits have been
well covered in the past, like Jefferson’s
connoisseurship and Nixon’s infamous ploy
on the presidential yacht of reserving the
finest Bordeaux for himself, the bottle con-
cealed in a towel, while offering plonk to his
guests. Less known were the high wine bills
of James K. Polk, the 11th president; the re-
juvenation of the White House cellar after
Prohibition under Franklin D. Roosevelt; or
Lyndon B. Johnson’s policy of serving only
American wines at state functions, a
custom that presidents, with the exception
of Nixon, have stuck to ever since.
Connoisseurs may sneer at some of the
wine selections, or take issue with the or-
nate glassware employed at the White
House. Nonetheless, this glossy, abun-
dantly illustrated book will enhance any
coffee table.THE POUR ERIC ASIMOV[email protected]. And follow Eric
Asimov on Twitter: @EricAsimov.
In five of the best books
exploring wine and
spirits from 2020, and
one too good to omit
from 2019, writers go
inside Bordeaux,
Germany, Mount Etna
and the White House;
turn a gaze on fathers
and sons; and reveal
some harrowing
experiences of a woman
in an industry dominated
by men.TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMESTerroir, Travel and Trauma
Standout looks at wine, spirits
and the hospitality industry.
HEADLINER Bixi
Serena Bass, the caterer and chef who, for
many years, has turned out the food of
Italy at Lido, a brick-walled corner spot in
Harlem, now looks to Asia with Bixi. It’s
her newest venture with Susannah Koteen,
who is an owner of both restaurants, and
it’s a few doors south of Lido, making it an
easy commute. Ms. Bass, who will continue
to oversee both kitchens as executive chef,
is working with the chef de cuisine, Franco
Ayala, to offer pan-Asian plates like Japa-
nese yam tempura, short rib fried dump-
lings with scallions, tandoori chicken (or
tofu for vegetarians), pork belly banh mi,
five-spice baby back ribs and, for dessert,
tempura bananas. She is also responsible
for the restaurant’s stunning décor, with a
room done in deep coral and accented with
teal velvet. Socially distant seating is lim-
ited to about 12 for now, with another 10 or
so seats outdoors. There will be a backyard
garden in the spring: 2164 Frederick Doug-
lass Boulevard (116th Street), 917-409-0570,
bixiharlem.com.
OPENINGNice DayThis is a second pivot
for Junzi Kitchen, after its suc-
cessful start with Nice Day, an
American-Chinese concept in
Greenwich Village. In the Bryant
Park location where Junzi
Kitchen has an experimental lab,
this branch of Nice Day will
serve only takeout and delivery,
no on-premises service: 135 West
41st Street, 917-336-2260,
eatniceday.com.MiznonThis Israeli restaurant
group has opened another outlet
for its mostly Israeli-style fare. It
replaces Belcampo, a restaurant
and butcher in the Hudson Yards
building that is dedicated to
shopping and dining: 20 Hudson
Yards, Fourth Floor, miznonnyc
.com.FrancieThis brasserie-style
restaurant in a repurposed lime-
stone bank building is serving a
menu that leans toward luxury
with lobster ravioli, dry-aged
crown of duck for two, and côte
de boeuf, also for two. Less im-
posing are prawns with sauce
gribiche, and heritage pork with
cabbage and cherry peppers.
The space, with an open kitchen,
is designed by Glen Coben, and
the chef Christopher Cipollone,
formerly of Piora in the West
Village, is in partnership with
John Winterman, formerly of
Bâtard. Unlike many of the
restaurants opening these days,
which prefer to be considered
neighborhood spots, this one is
not shy about wanting to be a
destination. (Opening by Fri-
day): 134 Broadway (Bedford
Avenue), Williamsburg, Brooklyn,
franciebrooklyn.com.CHEF ON THE MOVEFranklin BeckerThis chef and
restaurateur will be conducting
an online class on latkes on the
eve of Hanukkah. It will be on
100 Pleats, a virtual cooking
platform that he helped start that
offers lessons from many well-
known chefs. Each class includes
an advance list of ingredients
and equipment so students can
be prepared to follow along:
“Let’s Make Latkes,” Dec. 9, 6:30
to 7:30 p.m., $49.99 per house-
hold, 100pleats.com/holiday.OFF THE MENU FLORENCE FABRICANT...................................................................
More restaurant news is online
at nytimes.com/food.SUSANNAH KOTEEN