Notes on a Cellar-Book

by George Saintsbury (Author), Thomas Pinney (Editor), Thomas Pinney (Contributor)
October 2008
First Edition
Hardcover
$44.95, £38.00 Paperback
$34.95, £30.00 eBook
$44.95, £38.00
Title Details

Rights: Available worldwide
Pages: 360
ISBN: 9780520942400
Illustrations: 26 b/w photographs

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About the Book About the Author Reviews Table of Contents Related Books

About the Book

Since its first publication in 1920, George Saintsbury's classic Notes on a Cellar-Book has remained one of the greatest tributes to drink and drinking in the literature of wine. A collection of tasting notes, menus, and robust opinions, the work is filled with anecdotes and recollections of wines and spirits consumed—from the heights of Romanée-Conti to the simple pleasures of beer, flip, and mum. Thomas Pinney brings this unique work alive for contemporary audiences by providing the keys to a full understanding of Notes on a Cellar-Book in a new edition that includes explanatory endnotes, an essay on the book's legacy, and additional articles on wine by Saintsbury.

About the Author

George Saintsbury (1845-1933) was a journalist, reviewer, critic, editor, and Professor of Literature at the University of Edinburgh. Thomas Pinney is Professor of English Emeritus at Pomona College. Among other books, he is author of A History of Wine in America (in two volumes from UC Press).

Reviews

“An indispensable read.. . . Saintsbury's thoughtful love of drink comes through clearly.”—SF Chronicle

"As much a model for wine writing as . . . an historical document revealing how wines were once regarded and how times have changed."—John Mariani Bloomberg News

"A glimpse into our viticultural past, as well as a revelation of how great wine and great literature can go hand-in-hand."—Good Wine Under $20

“If you love to drink wine, and love a good read, you have to get ahold of this book.”—Vinography

“Few wine books posses the iconic status of George Saintsbury’s Notes on a Cellar-Book.”—Wine Spectator

“There is much food for thought here, and a facinating window on another age of connoisseurship. “—Jancis Robinson Jancisrobinson.com

“Read this book twice: once without pausing to flip back and forth-you’ll be beguiled, befuddled and amused-and then once with the notes.”—The Wine News

List of Illustrations
Introduction: George Saintsbury and ‘Notes on a Cellar-Book’
Bibliographical Note
Preliminary
Note to Third Edition

I. Origins
II. Sherry and Madeira
III. Port
IV. Claret and Burgundy
V. Champagne and Other French White Wines
VI. Hock, Moselle and the Rest
VII. Spirits—Hollands and Whisky
VIII. Spirits—Brandy, Rum and Gin, with Some Exotic Things
IX. Liqueurs
X. Beer, Cider, Etc.
1.Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar-Book 32808 5:12 PM Page v
XI. “Mixed Liquors”
XII. Bottles and Glasses
XIII. Cellar Arrangements

Conclusio ad Diversos
(With a Few Barmecide Invitations)

APPENDIX: OTHER WRITINGS ON WINE AND SPIRITS BY SAINTSBURY
A Sentimental Cellar, The Yellow Book, April 1894
The Bounties of Bacchus, Athenaeum,
21 November 1919
“White,” A Scrap Book, 1922
“Obrian,” A Scrap Book, 1922
Le Temps Jadis: Wallet II, A Second Scrap Book, 1923
The Order of Drinks, A Second Scrap Book, 1923
The Qualities of Wine, Morning Post, 22 May 1923
The Cellar, The Book of the
Queen’s Dolls’ House, 1924
Le Temps Jadis; Wallet V., 90’s and Later, A Last Scrap Book, 1924

Notes
Selected List of Works Cited
Index