Showing Tuscany and Its Wines by Hugh Johnson

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