Beyond the Grapes: An Inside Look at Napa Valley

Dust jacket notes: "California's Napa Valley has gained worldwide acclaim for the quality of its wines, and to many American Napa has come to symbolize the phrase 'wine country.' Some visitors to this verdant, enchanted area see it as a place where a peaceful lifestyle is still possible. Others view it as the home of opulence and glitz, peopled by folk more suited for features in Fortune than the Old Farmer's Almanac. It's true that lives in the Napa Valley often spring from someone's dream. But what is the reality like? In Beyond the Grapes: An Inside Look at Napa Valley wine writers Dan Berger and Richard Paul Hinkle uncork the wineries to discover the flavors of the people behind the celebrated wines they have created. Berger and Hinkle capture the essence of these special souls who came to the Napa Valley from lives as diverse as eye surgeon and auto mechanic, fighter pilot and truck farmer, rising entrepreneur and peaceful retiree. The way they interact and the tales they have to tell show that it is the growers and winemakers who make the wine industry so fascinating. Photographs by Eric Sander, taken at the 97 wineries included within these pages, bring the history, excitement, artistry, and toil of Napa Valley brilliantly to each page, taking you truly beyond the grapes."