Book Review: Mini-Review

The Wine Roads of Texas: An Essential Guide to Texas Wines and Wineries

Maverick Publishing Company, 201 pp., $18.95 (paper)

OK, right up front: I'm throwing so-called journalistic objectivity out the window. I've learned a great deal about wine from Wes Marshall's "Liquid Assets" column right here in the Chronicle, and I'm an unabashed fan. And I find his new guide, The Wine Roads of Texas, to be a little gem. Make no mistake: This book isn't for wine snobs; it's a layperson's guide to enjoying the exploration of both Texas wines and the wineries where they're made. In his breezy, conversational style, Marshall gently educates and entertains, but never intimidates.

If you thought Texas winemaking was confined to the Hill Country, you were wrong. While the second-largest wine region in the nation is indeed right in our own back yard, Marshall covers the wineries all over this state: from Del Rio to Dallas, from Fort Stockton to Fort Worth. He's traveled to all of them -- tasting their wines, exploring their environs, providing travel and tasting advice, and recommending nearby lodgings, restaurants, and attractions. Simple hand-drawn maps and suggested tour routes are included. In addition to the wine and travel information, Marshall has done a splendid job of capturing the stories told by the winemakers -- some heartwarming, some heartbreaking -- describing both the romance and the sobering hard realities of the wine business.

People have been making wine in Texas for a long time (the first vines were planted by Spanish missionaries near El Paso in the 1600s), and it's an idea whose time has come (see The Wine Spectator, Nov. 30). In Robert Mondavi's introduction to Marshall's book, he says that what's happening today in Texas reminds him of Napa Valley in the Sixties. It behooves us all to feel proud and to take full advantage of the developing wine riches surrounding us. Marshall's book will guide you there.