The Vintner's Table Cookbook

This assured, unassuming cookbook provides an appealing, low-key introduction to pairing wines with food, as well as some recipes that are terrific in their own right. Evely, chef at Simi Winery, arranges foods by the kinds of wines that best complement them: so the chapter ""Sauvignon Blanc"" offers Garden Salad with Goat Cheese and Sun Gold Tomatoes; ""Chardonnay"" proffers Chicken and Spinach Pasta with Pancetta and Tarragon. Only wine varietals (i.e., no brand-name wines) are referenced. Each chapter also includes a list of what Evely labels ""Chameleon Recipes"": Turkey Chili Mole is initially matched with rose and blush wines, and then recommended again in the Cabernet Sauvignon chapter, as is Salmon Grilled in Fig Leaves and Tuna with Lavender. A helpful introductory section includes a ""Wine Aroma Wheel"" that neatly illustrates some wine maven terms for various tastes (pungent, woody, caramelized, etc.). The section on analyzing recipes that use wine, in which Evely chooses a few random recipes and then walks readers through the steps of pairing them with wine, is particularly valuable. A handful of sample menus and a warning about certain foods like artichokes that present special problems round out this practical reference for the wine-service novice. (Jan.)