The golden age of viticulture was sparked by the now-famous 1976 Paris Tasting, where a panel of French wine experts blindly compared the country's most coveted wines against the new generation of California wines, shockingly exalting the latter. Taber documents not only this historic event, but all of wine production. Sean Runnette is clearly enamored by the subject as he lends eloquent emotion to vine-to-bottle creations. But key wine-making traditions and prized varietals have customarily carried a French appellation, and Runnette does not speak these terms with a credible accent. Taber's vivid prose covers the momentous tasting and the current globalization of the industry and introduces the pioneers whose new techniques resulted in the game-changing future of California wine production.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2011
Duration: 14 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An engaging experience.
This audiobook deals with everything from the historic investments that led to world-dominating companies, such as the Chinese technology company Tencent, to predicting the products and services of the future. An audiobook of such complexity requires a narrator who can handle the task, and David Thorpe manages it admirably. Thorpe uses his masterly voice, which sits somewhere between that of a BBC World Service presenter and an easy, relaxed Home Counties accent, to guide listeners through a sea of numbers, acronyms, and terms such as YP, RPS, and market cap. Rather than simply reading, Thorpe presents the work with excitement and enthusiasm, and this enjoyment transfers to the listener.
An engaging experience.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668103425
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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