There are 141 wine tasting rooms open to the public in California's Napa Valley, and Kushman, the TV columnist for the Sacramento Bee
, decided he was going to visit them all with Beal, an executive wine buyer for a supermarket chain, offering his expert perspective. Both men are listed as coauthors, but it's Kushman alone who narrates their tours. He offers plenty of engaging vignettes, along with practical advice—don't wear white if you haven't gotten the hang of spitting yet—and accessible mini-lectures on subjects ranging from the history of white Zinfandel to the proper technique for fermenting wines in oak barrels. The stories, originally published as a series of newspaper columns, are consistently upbeat, reveling in Napa's image as "the heartbeat of American winemaking," and even Kushman marvels at how polite everyone at the wineries is during their visits. The generous spirit extends to the detailed tasting room guide that follows the main narrative, where about the worst they'll say is that the service in a popular place gets slow during busy hours. So the ratings won't tell tourists if one tasting room is better than another, but they do offer a workable idea of what to expect at each venue. (May)
