Russ Kane of Houston, author of The Wineslinger Chronicles: Texas on the Vine, published last month by Texas Tech University Press, will visit with guests and sign books on Fri., Apr. 13, and Sat, Apr. 14, at the Lubbock Arts Festival, as well as at the festival's Premiere Night, Thurs., Apr. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Kane’s book will be available for sale throughout the festival, along with other Texas Tech University Press books in the press’s “Literary Arts Bookstore” display in the festival exhibit hall.
Kane will also sign books Fri., Apr. 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at the South Plains Mall.
In his search to define Texas terroir, the sense of place manifest in wines of the Lone Star State, Kane earned the nickname “Texas Wineslinger” from an Australian wine writer after comparing the big red wines that originate from the red sand and porous limestone common to both the Texas High Plains and Australia’s Coonawarra wine region.
Kane’s reflections in his book include explorations of Spanish missionary life and the sacramental wine made from Texas’s first vineyard as well as the later contributions by German and Italian immigrants. He also relates stories of modern-day growers and entrepreneurs who overcame the lingering effects of temperance and prohibition—forces that failed to eradicate Texas’s destiny as an emerging wine-producing region.
What critics have said: “Doc Russ is the kind of guy who can mix blues, barbecue, and Barbera in a truly Texan way, and as he writes I can smell the mesquite smoke, hear the wailing guitar and chew the High Plains ripe red fruit.” —Oz Clarke, author of Pocket Wine Book and 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide
“On his blog, VintageTexas.com, and now in The Wineslinger Chronicles, Russ Kane is our faithful guide across the wild frontier of Texas wine. . . . Settle by the campfire, pour yourself a Texas-sized glass, and let Ol’ Russ tell you a story.” —Dave McIntyre, Washington Post wine columnist and co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com
Russell D. Kane divides his time between Houston and Fredericksburg, Texas. A technical writer whose research spans three decades and has garnered two awards for writing excellence, he has covered Texas wines and cuisine since 1998.
For more information about the book, visit http://ttupress.org/books/releases/spring-2012/the-wineslinger-chronicles-cloth
