Jon Bonné: The New California Wine

We resisted buying and reading this book. For a while, it was the rage on all the blogs and wine related sites that we tap into so we finally decided that a read was in order.
Jon Bonné begins his book with a short history of himself and his palate which he admits is more geared toward the European wine styles and follows up with a very short history of wine in California. In the first few pages, I got the feeling that the new can also be the "old", people like Josh Jensen and Paul Draper who have followed their own ideas of what their wines should be and have stayed their course. Indeed, Bonné is in search of these pioneers, pioneers who early on recognized or sought out the land that their chosen variety would embrace. Bonné sought out pioneers who cling to the idea that the wine is made in the vineyard and that good viticultural practices are key to making a great wine. The New California speaks of people who investigate the soils, water and sun in order to determine the appropriate variety to plant in that location as exemplified by Ted Lemon and his biodynamically farmed vineyard called Pivot near the town of Sebastopol. Bonné goes on a search for California's terroir in places such as Contra Costa County, Sonoma Coast, Sierra Foothills, Lodi, Paso Robles, and other places and gives a summary of the variety best suited for growing in those locations. The last third of the book is focused on the grape variety itself and the winemaker creating the best expression of that varietal. Its a great book to have. I intend to give it another thorough read soon.