The Great Wines of America by Paul Lukas

I am currently reading The Great Wines of America by Paul Lukas. It is subtitled The Top Forty Vintners, Vineyards, and Vintages. I was curious as to what Paul Lukas thought was the top forty in America because that cannot be an easy choice to make. A quick look at the Table of Contents will be enough to tell you which forty the author chose. The list of the forty best is arranged in alphabetical order. At first, I disagreed with some of his choices, but after I read his reasons, I think I understand how Lukas made his choices. The selection includes people who were pioneers either of a region, a variety of grape, or a method of sales. The book was published in 2006 and it is showing some of it's age. For example, I really liked the the story about Patrick Campbell and Laurel Glen Vineyard, but when I went to their website, I learned that he sold his vineyard. I enjoyed reading about Calera, Chateau Montelena, Joseph Phelps, Quilceda, Rafanelli, Ridge, and Rochioli. I remember visiting Rafanelli in Dry Creek Valley some years ago. The visit was by appointment only and we needed to get a code to get into their gate. Pat Rafanelli let us taste their Zinfandel and Cabernet sauvignon, both wines were well made. The winery is a family run business. When Lukas writes about a certain region, he also includes other wineries and vintners of note in that region. The chapter on Rafanelli mentioned Grady Wann, who was my instructor when I took the UC Davis online course! We also visited Rochioli in the Russian River Valley a few times. In the chapter on Rochioli, Lukas mentioned Dehlinger. Shout out to Eva Dehlinger! I still have a few more wineries to get through since I am only on the "R"s. It's a good book to read at night to get inspired and fall into a deep slumber from the exertions of the day.