2012 wine books – America

By Paul O'Doherty. See our guide to 2012 wine book reviews.

Soft Soil, Black Grapes
The Birth of Italian Winemaking in California
Simone Cinotto
New York University Press
£23.99/ $39

The immigrant story of bringing viticulture to the New World is a big theme this year, with a number of books extolling the virtues of Old World runaways building new lives in the Americas around viticulture and winemaking. This is no different, focusing on the Italians who made it to California. Italians such as the Gallo brothers, who've made such a name for themselves as winemakers in a world...