Assouline Publishing

The great wines captivate like lovers with their harmony and complexity and especially their rarity. But what are the greatest among them? In this compact volume, international wine expert Michel Dovaz identifies the finest wines of our times and recounts how they came about. From the legendary 1900 Chateau Margaux to the blockbuster 2008 Pol Roger Champagne, the exceptional wines are mainly French, but also include vintages from Germany, the United States, Australia, Italy, and now South America. Dovaz provides an informative overview of viticulture for each region, addressing the myriad factors that affect the quality of wines from year to year: land, climate, soil, grape varieties, harvest time and conditions, fermentation, and aging. In the following, newly expanded section, Dovaz lists the best vintages by year. Each entry features a detailed description of the wine itself, as well as an enlightening discussion of the vineyard s history and the specific conditions that led to superior vintages. They are paired with practical pricing information as well as photographic spreads that will provide enthusiasts and collectors with a fuller understanding of these favored wines within the historical and social context of their times.

Jackson Pollock the artist needs no introductionbut perhaps lesser known is Jackson Pollock the gardener, baker, and dinner-party host. From starters and entrees to side dishes, breads, and desserts, Dinner with Jackson Pollock features more than fifty recipes collected from handwritten pages scrawled by Jackson; his wife, artist Lee Krasner; his mother, Stella; or traded among their many friends in the town of Springs on Long Island, interspersed with Jackson s masterworks, still lifes of the Pollock-Krasner home, and beautiful photographs of each delectable recipe, plus delightful tales from Jackson and Lee s family and local friends, for a truly unique and insightful portrait of a great American artist."

The third in master mixologist Brian Van Flandern s series of award-winning books, Celebrity Cocktails shares cocktail recipes associated with great Hollywood stars, from Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor to Charlie Chaplin and Dean Martin. With easy-to- follow instructions, tricks of the trade, and gorgeous photography, this chic volume is a must-have for every sophisticated host and aspiring mixologist and might even inspire you to come up with your own cocktail!"

The home of the pope and the seat of the Holy See, the Vatican is a unique entity, a sovereign city-state that shelters some of the world's most sacred treasures within its hundred and ten acres. The story of this hallowed ground is inextricable from the history of the Catholic Church. But this book reveals that the Vatican is also a tiny living city of many facets, some of them little known. Vatican expert Dominique Chivot follows the journeys of countless pilgrims and cardinals, tracing their footsteps beyond the plazas, basilicas, and museums to unlock the secrets of Vatican City. Chivot recounts papal history in great anecdotal detail, highlighting the legendary reigns of popes from St. Peter to John Paul II, and illuminating masterpieces of architecture, painting, and sculpture executed by artists such as Bernini, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

As King Francois I once said, "Paris is not a city, it's a world." Long after the swarming crowd has deserted it, after the hum and buzz of traffic has subsided, Paris still resonates with a discreet life of its own. Working before sunrise and after sundown, photographer Jean-Michel Berts has created these dream-like black-and-white images, including Montmartre and the banks of the Seine. Following the Grands Boulevards and the footprints of Baudelaire, Brassa-, and Huysmans, the deserted streets of Paris take on a poetic, ethereal quality. Featuring beautiful text by the French novelist Pierre Assouline, this book is a moving homage to the city of lights. Each print is given ample breathing space in this volume, whose opulent trim size befits the spectacular quality of the shots.

In this stunning new addition to the Assouline Ultimate Collection, Enrico Bernardo, the world's best sommelier, dreams of the perfect cellar filled with the most important wines of the twentieth century: The Impossible Collection of Wine. Weighing the virtues of rarity, terroir, taste, and historical mystique, Bernardo's is a list any connoisseur could only dream of. In these pages, Bernardo celebrates the most exquisite vintages from around the globe-from the 1928 Krug Collection Champagne to the 1951 Penfolds Grange Bin 95 to the 1973 Stag's Leap Estate Cask 23- inviting the reader on journey through history to savor an impossible collection.