Napa Valley: The Land, the Wine, the People Reviews

Before you buy this book... buy yourself a coffee table, for that is where it will proudly reside.

If you like to crash on your comfy couch, sip a coffee and flick through the pages of a wine book that accurately depicts a region, then Charles O'Rear's - Napa Valley, The Land, The Wine, The People - is the book for you. Charles O'Rear's life and subsequent publications spawned from a National Geographic assignment that sent him to Napa almost thirty years ago. His latest offering will take you behind the scenes and into the vineyards of the regions wine industry. Through his lens, O'Rear offers us a chance to see what many of the local tours do not offer.

His photography documents the people as well as the land, behind the scene shots of wine makers at work and unique portraits of over sixty of the land's independent growers. Each subject is dealt with in detail capturing every step of the daily goings on in the Valley. His talent showcases the individual aspects of each winery whether it is arrangement of the barrels, collection of corkscrews or tasting of the wines.

Portraits depict weathered faces, the generations of workers that come in all shapes and sizes to produce some of the planets finest New World wines. Quotes from poets of yesteryear, a foreword from Robert and Margrit Mondavi and an occasional, succinct essay from writer Janice Fuhrman breath further life into the book, inspiring you to trade that coffee for a glass of wine.

Charles O'Rear's - Napa Valley, The Land, The Wine, The People is a great casual read that will allow you to witness the alchemy, passion, places, faces, seasons and celebrations that make Napa Valley.