Over the next few weeks, I'll be spotlighting gifts for the wine lover. Every Monday I will hopefully be able to give you ideas for the oenophiles in your life. The book Wine Across America: A Photographic Road Trip was brought to my attention a few weeks ago, and I've been waiting for the perfect time to write about it. Photographed and written by the husband and wife team of Napa Valley wine photographer Charles "Chuck" O'Rear and wine writer Daphne Larkin, the book took two years to complete and features 300 photos from wineries in all 50 states. Photographs depict all aspects of winery life and bottling including the vineyards, harvests, celebrations, wine labels, winery doors, and grape leaves, as well as portraits of winery owners, winemakers, and workers. If you have ever wanted to go on a road trip, in my mind this would be the ultimate adventure.

In addition, a selection of 60 photographs from the book will be on exhibit at COPIA, The American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts, through next spring. Chuck and Daphne were available on November 9th to sign books at the opening of the exhibit, and will return on November 30th for the COPIA Members' Holiday Sale event.

About the Exhibition
WINE ACROSS AMERICA
A Photographic Road Trip
November 10, 2007 - June 2008

About the Authors:

CHARLES O'REAR, a former National Geographic photographer, has photographed seven books about wine and wine regions around the world. He lives in Napa Valley, California, where the roots of today's modern American winemaking were planted.

DAPHNE LARKIN is a writer specializing in the wine industry. She is a former United Nations journalist, reporter for Newsweek, television news writer, and senior vice president of corporate communications for a Fortune 500 corporation. She lives in Napa Valley, California.

The book retails for $35 and is published by Wineviews Publishing.