North American Pinot Noir (ISBN 0520241142)

Straight forward without the BS:
This book gives a very good description of pinot in the USA. It cuts through all the stereotypes assoiciated with growing and making pinot noir, and gives warm-climate growers a second look.

Excellent resource:
As a part-time wine instructor and wine enthusiast, I'm always looking for good resources to share as well as for my own use. This book is simply outstanding: the writing is clear, there is more information than you could ever possibly use, but you don't feel like you're drowning in irrelevant junk. Bravo!

Ever Since Sideways:
Ever since the movie "Sideways," it's been easy to love pinot and to know why. Like the movie's characters, pinot noir (the grape) is unpredictable, occasionally brilliant, often bad and otherwise given to fits and starts of temperment and quirkiness. John Haeger's "North American Pinot Noir" is the backstory. From the grape's historic evolution (probably in Burgundy) to it's spread through North America's most marginal winelands, the pinot story on our continent is one of renegade artisinal winemakers living and dying with fickle vintages and improvised technology and, ultimately, winning the grudging respect of Burgundy's barons. This encyclopedic account starts with the plant, it's natural history (habits, pests, preferences and all) and progresses all the way through it's best products -- the wines themselves. The tasting notes are extensive and regrettably bounded in time, but they offer acclaim to some great vintages and some great vintners. As the book ages, the notes themselves will only serve to remind most of us of what we missed. But as a survey of pinot's great American terroirs and their beautiful fruits, the book confers rich knowlege and a deep sense of why this grape matters. The book is the University of Pinot Noir. For graduate school, find a place that you like -- Dundee HIlls or Santa Maria Bench -- and proceed to the advanced seminars they offer.

Great stuff...:
Great stuff. Good information - BUT, what has been of the most use to me is the maps - I've used it in many presentations...tremendous information, looking forward to the new addition.