* DRINK BOOK OF THE MONTH! * -- Brunello di Montalcino (UC Pr.)

1. BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO; understanding and appreciating one of
Italy's greatest wines (University of California Pr., 2012, 300 pages,
ISBN  978-0-520-6564-6, $39.5 US hard covers) is by Kerin O'Keefe who
writes about Italian wine for Decanter and The World of Fine Wine.
Previously, she had written "Franco Biondi Santi; the gentleman of
Brunello".  It's in two large parts – the basics of the region and the
grape, the birth (1865 at Greppo by Santi), and how the control came
about, the scandal of 2008 regarding over-cropping and blending, the
development of Rosso as a quicker maturing wine. The second part
concentrates on the 60 or so leading producers by the six subzones,
with names and addresses, websites, phone numbers, etc. A third,
smaller, part features other wines of the region and local cuisine
(with a description of typical dishes). There is also a vintage guide,
some fact sheets ("Brunello at a glance"), glossary, and a
bibliography.
Audience and level of use: wine lovers, especially Brunello fans.
Some interesting or unusual facts: Brunello estates are tiny – 22% have
less than 1 hectare of vines, 29% have between 1 and 3 hectares.
The downside to this book: Rosso di Montalcino (scattered through the
book) was not indexed.
The upside to this book: a good example of a single (and singular)
region book.
Quality/Price Rating: 91.