California has become the hottest wine producing area in the world, and it happened in less than 25 years. Now the acclaimed Wine Spectator columnist and critic Matt Kramer traces the dramatic progress of the California winemaking industry--the who, how, why, what, and where. No one is better equipped to provide insight into the ways in which West Coast vintners are working to create extraordinary wines, and to explain the myriad developments in character, quality, and technology that have taken place. Kramer's book provides the first comprehensive look at how new approaches to wine making have contributed to California's current high status in the world order of wine.