Finally! A Wine & Food Cookbook That Is Balanced, Accurate and Captivating

"Oregon Wine + Food" (Figure 1 Publishing) is the book we've all been waiting for

Some months ago I was invited to preview a new wine and food cookbook and asked if I would be willing to write a blurb for the back cover. I approached this task with a few concerns. First of all, I have a meticulous eye and ravenous appetite for hunting down wine writing errors:  factual errors, omissions, misstatements, outdated statistics, hype and blather. Rare is the wine book that isn't loaded with them.

Secondly I don't use cookbooks. I love to cook. I am what you might graciously call a wing-it, experimental, let 'er rip type of cook. Open the fridge and see what falls out, then figure out how to pull it all together. Then hit the wine cellar and grab a few bottles, with little attention paid to prescribed food and wine matchups. My wife frequently says with a sigh, after polishing off one of my more successful meals, “we’ll never have this again will we….” And she’s right.

Despite my misgivings the advance peek at the book intrigued me and I did write a nice blurb for the back cover. Last week the book arrived. Written by Danielle Centoni and Kerry Newberry, it's an engaging, lively read. The brief introductions to Oregon wines, grapes and history are sketchy but accurate. There are up-to-date graphics and statistics that provide a good quick overview of the current state of the industry.

The meat and potatoes of the book are the individual profiles of winemakers paired to recipes from winery and restaurant chefs. The photos of those interviewed are credited to John and Theresa Valls, and they have done a marvelous job of capturing something special about each of their subjects. Nothing looks awkward or staged.

There is no tiresome lecturing about “proper” food and wine matches, just interesting glimpses into the people who make the wines and a little bit of background about how or why each recipe has been chosen. Overall the book does a fine job of recounting the specialness of this community of chefs and winemakers.

If I had a quibble (hey I’m a reviewer – of course I have a quibble) it would be that there are no French winemakers or winery owners included, and all but a handful of the 40 wineries are Willamette Valley properties. Picking 40 out of 1000+ means you won't make anyone totally happy, but I would have liked to see the Umpqua Valley and Rocks District AVAs get at least a shout-out, along with some missing icons such as Domaine Drouhin Oregon, the Eyrie Vineyards and Ken Wright.

I showed to book to a good friend who is a very talented amateur chef. She devoured it and chose a couple of recipes to try. Based on that small sample the food prep content was enthusiastically praised. The recipes are eclectic, with more than a few desserts included, and the emphasis is on local, seasonal ingredients.

All in all it's a welcome addition to any chef's library, and an enjoyable glimpse into the lives and passions of the current Oregon wine community.