The New California Wine

Praise

“Bonné’s intelligence and knowledge are on full display in this book. There is no better guide to delicious wines from California.”
—Edward Behr, The Art of Eating

“A wonderful, engaging read…a great gift for any wine lover”
—S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times

“The New California Wine delivers some of the most insightful wine writing you’ll read anywhere. This is the real skinny on cutting-edge California wine from somebody who’s on the ground, knows his stuff, and could care less about offending the Establishment.” 
—Matt Kramer, author and columnist for Wine Spectator

“Jon Bonné brings a clear-eyed perspective to California; this book offers a fresh look at a mature wine culture heading in surprising directions. Its new leaders are all here; its old scams get some brusque treatment, too. Essential, pithy, easy reading.” 
—Hugh Johnson, author of The World Atlas of Wine
 
“An impeccably timed, beautifully written book chronicling a profound generational shift in California winemaking. Required reading for any sommelier, retailer, or consumer who’s left California behind for other pastures—it’s time to come home!” 
—David Lynch, owner/wine director of St. Vincent Tavern and Wine Merchant and author of Vino Italiano
 
“An incisive assessment of the California wine industry: its current state, fascinating history, and future in the hands of a new generation of winemakers.” 
—Paul Draper, winemaker at Ridge Vineyards
 
“There are few greater authorities on California wine than Jon Bonné. Dispassionate but engaged, enthused but objective, Bonné brings a forensic rigor to his work. But The New California Wine is no textbook, in spite of its comprehensive scope. Instead, Bonné’s narrative moves at a rattling pace, delving into California’s colorful past and vividly describing its future. A must-read for anyone who is serious about the state’s wine.” 
—Guy Woodward, former editor at Decanter
 
“A gutsy, inspiring book driven by the same ideals as the movement it has so gracefully defined. Not only has Bonné delivered one of the most important and relevant books on California wine ever written, he’s also redefined our notions of the wine book. The New California Wine is at once a manifesto, a guidebook, and a narrative peek inside the motives and methods of California’s new avant-garde.” 
—Talia Baiocchi, editor-in-chief, Punch

“Big, jammy, oaky, buttery? Guess again. Bonné, the San Francisco Chronicle‘s wine editor, turns expectations of California wines on their head, profiling new producers, growing areas, and approaches to winemaking that are yielding all sorts of exciting bottles. Brisk, elegant, steely and most of all, nuanced—with this seminal account of a vinicultural revolution, these are the adjectives with which we will now be describing the Golden State’s wines.” 
—Betsy Andrews, www.saveur.com

“As wine editor of The San Francisco Chronicle, Mr. Bonné has been positioned perfectly to observe the profound pendulum swing in style and attitude that has occurred among California winemakers over the last decade. While “revolution” may be too strong a term if simply tracking public tastes and sales figures, it nonetheless captures a sense of mental liberation among winemakers and consumers freed from a stultifying, dominant style that Mr. Bonné labels “Big Flavor.'”
—Eric Asimov, www.nytimes.com

“Jon Bonné’s new book is a wonderful, engaging read with a cast of characters who think outside the box, care about sustainability and have a strong curiosity and work ethic.” 
—www.latimes.com

 “A Favorite Cookbook of 2013”—KCRW

“Beyond its strong storytelling, Bonne’s book offers an history lesson and a practical guide to the new stars, from Paso Robles syrah to a “neo-Friulian” white blend from Napa’s Massican that “sums up all the changes from California.” Not surprisingly, it contains no chardonnay.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer