A rich, lively history of brewing in Wisconsin’s capital city and the creative people who brought it to life.Wisconsin has long been known as “The Beer State,” and the history of its capital city brims with stories of brewing innovation—from the city’s earliest beer-makers and long-forgotten farmstead breweries to today’s experimental microbrewers and enterprising taprooms. In A Keg of Their Best: Brewing in the Beer State Capital—From the Beer Baron Era to Mod...

On October 12, 2005, a massive fire broke out in the Wines Central wine warehouse in Vallejo, California. Within hours, the flames had destroyed 4.5 million bottles of California's finest wine worth more than $250 million, making it the largest destruction of wine in history. The fire had been deliberately set by a passionate oenophile named Mark Anderson, a skilled con man and thief with storage space at the warehouse who needed to cover his tracks. With a propane torch and a bucket of ga...

Over the past 40 years craft-brewed beer has exploded in growth. In 1980, a handful of "microbrewery" pioneers launched a revolution that would challenge the dominance of the national brands, Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, and change the way Americans think about, and drink, beer. Today, there are more than 2,700 craft breweries in the United States and another 1,500 are in the works. Their influence is spreading to Europe's great brewing nations, and to countries all over the globe. In

The New York Times–bestselling history of the rise of California's wine country and its most famous vintners—from the author of Napa at Last Light.James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires....

The New York Times bestselling author of Napa tells the captivating story of how the Napa Valley region transformed into an extraordinary engine of commerce, glamour, and an outsized version of the American dream—and how it could be lost—in “a strong plea for responsible stewardship of the land” (Kirkus Reviews).Not so long ago, wine was an exclusively European product. Now it is thoroughly American; emblematic of Napa Valley, an area ide...

Discover how a little girl raised on a dairy farm grew up to become the first woman ever to have an exhibition of their entire life’s work at the Museum of Modern Art in this addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Who Was series.Georgia O'Keeffe is famously known for her colorful, large paintings of flowers, but this artist's portfolio expands far beyond Jack-in-the-pulpits. In this book, young readers will learn about O'Keeffe's childhood in Wiscon...

Grab your glass and take to the wine trail with food genealogist Sherry Monahan as she traces the roots of "California's Vines, Wines & Pioneers." While cowboys and early settlers were writing the oft-told history of the Wild West, California's wine pioneers were cultivating a delicious industry. The story begins when Franciscan missionaries planted the first grapes in Southern California in 1769. Almost a century later, news of gold drew thirsty prospectors and European immigrants to Cali...

The beautifully illustrated homage to the art of beer—and the design that makes it stand outThe craft beer boom of the last decade has led to an explosion of new breweries. In such a crowded market, how do you make your beer stand out from the crowd? For many of the best brewers, the secret is to have an eye-catching design, something that reflects the quality of the product within and the values of the brewer who made it.Based on the hugely popular blog,

Charting the birth and growth of craft beer across the United States, Tom Acitelli offers an epic, story-driven account of one of the most inspiring and surprising American grassroots movements. In 1975, there was a single craft brewery in the United States; today there are more than 2,500. This entertaining and informative history brims with charming, remarkable stories, which together weave a very American business tale of formidable odds and refreshing success.

"Delve[s] into a colorful past . . . Stories of early taverns and saloons, religious zeal, prohibition and the roots of the current craft beer boom." — A tlanta Journal ConstitutionAtlanta is a unique southern city known for its vast diversity and fast-paced lifestyle. Rarely is it associated with a rich beer and brewing culture, but not for a lack of one. From Atlanta's first brewery in the 1850s to the city's Saloon Row and the ...

Think of Kentucky and several images come to mind: sports, bluegrass, Churchill Downs, and yes, bourbon. There is a sobering reality in that bourbon has made the greatest impact among those industries that best symbolize the state. Kentucky bourbon is distinguished from others for its secret family recipes, limestone-filtered water, climate, and of course, Kentuckians' work ethics and pride. No matter if your preference is Maker's Mark or Jim Bean, or whether you use it for sipping, dippin...

For more than 150 years, Finger Lakes Wine Country has played a major role in American wine history. At its heart are the four deepest Finger Lakes, part of a group of 11 long, narrow lakes in central New York. There, nestled among Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes, farmers began planting vineyards in the 1830s. In 1860, the Pleasant Valley Wine Company became America's first bonded winery, turning Keuka Lake into a busy shipping hub for fresh grapes and award-winning champagnes...