When it comes to American wines, California gets the lion’s share of publicity, yet the East Coast also offers the serious wine connoisseur a real treat.
Wine and food writer Marguerite Thomas visits East Coast vineyards from New England to Virginia in “Wineries of the Eastern States” (Berkshire House Publishers; $17.95). Part of Berkshire House’s Great Destinations Series, the book features the top 130 (of more than 500) Eastern wineries.
Complete travel information is included, such as descriptions of nearby lodgings and restaurants. Thomas also tells where to buy Eastern wines and offers suggested day trips. Wineries are listed alphabetically by state. Handsome locator maps are also featured, a boon and great planning device for anyone who wants to see at a glance the distance between individual wineries.
Dixieland
The latest addition to Globe Pequot’s Discover Historic America Series is “Dixie: A Traveler’s Guide” by Sara Pitzer ($15.95). Covering 11 states south of the Mason-Dixon line, Pitzer describes everything from plantation homes, Civil War battlefields and reenactments, African-American museums and historic sites and other aspects of Southern living.
The design is clean, and the writing crisp. Interspersed throughout are interesting sidebars that help capture the flavor of the South.
Other titles in the series are “The Mighty Mississippi,” “Colonial America” and “The Wild West.”
Best of Ireland
“Egon Ronay’s Guide 1996 Ireland” (St. Martin’s Griffin; $18.95), the guidebook of choice for business and sophisticated leisure travelers, contains information on more than 600 hotels, restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts, pubs and cafes in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
As always, the guide is attractively designed with easy-to-read listings and color photos. The concise but enlightening descriptions form the crux of the book, of course. Opinions are fair, yet honest. If the critics don’t like what they see, they say so.
Entries also include such travel essentials as price, type of food and hours of operation. A reader-friendly chart at the book of the book lists the establishments according to county as well as hotels with sporting facilities.
Family adventures
“Fodor’s Family Adventures” by Christine Loomis ($16) describes more than 200 family-friendly activities throughout the U.S. and Canada, including canoeing, cattle drives, dogsledding, kayaking, rock climbing and sailing.
Loomis is the travel editor of Family Life magazine. With her expert advice–she is the mother of a family of travelers–parents will have at their fingertips all the information necessary to decide what sort of adventure suits their needs and interests.
All age groups are covered in the guide. Each chapter discusses child-specific concerns, including advice as to what kind of special equipment to purchase. Loomis recommends a number of family-friendly outfitters and the best trips for each age group. The author is careful to emphasize age-appropriate trips too. Some activities, for example–such as kayaking, cattle drives and dogsledding–are not for young children.
Loomis points out that you don’t have to be a first-class athlete to enjoy the great outdoors. “Roughin’ it” is clearly a personal choice, not a requisite.
More new titles
In an effort to make their guidebooks increasingly reader-friendly, Ulysses Press has opted for a sleeker and smarter look. Now even the most obscure places will be easier to find. Thus, new releases from Ulysses include two updated and completely redesigned titles, “Hidden New England” by Susan Farewell and “Hidden Pacific Northwest” by John Gottberg ($16.95 each). Also available from Ulysses is the first edition of “Hidden Maui” by Ray Riegert ($12.95), which includes information on the nearby islands of Lanai and Molokai.
New titles from the Rough Guide include “The Rough Guide to Costa Rica” ($15.95) and “The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok” ($14.95).
