To a wine connoisseur, wine is an essential part of a special meal; so look to a wine cookbook directory resource for assistance when planning your menu. Cookbooks are the key to creating diversity. If you are in the wine or restaurant business, it is imperative to your business's success that you offer variety.

With the Internet, it's easier than ever to search for a wine cookbook provider. Cookbooks give you ideas, but they also help you develop your own unique recipes. In many ways, mastering classic recipes is the best foundation for training. When searching for wine cookbook information, remember the following:

1. See if you can get a little extra from your cookbook. Some offer accompanying recipe CDs for online convenience.

2. Don't be afraid of including old fashioned recipes in your menu selection. Many tried and true recipes are favorites when prepared well.

3. The cookbooks that you choose should reflect your skill level, your schedule, and your budget.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Pick wine cookbook recipes that reflect the style of your establishment

With so many wonderful recipes out there, it's tempting to choose all that look appealing. However, make sure the recipes you pick reflect the character of your establishment and the foods you serve. Guests have expectations when they select a restaurant, so unless you're confident you can pleasantly surprise them, don't add recipes that challenge your restaurant's concept.

I recommend: Cooking With Wine by Fiona Beckett and William Lingwood features dishes such as smoked duck salad with pinot noir dressing, and rigatoni with sausage, eggplant, and zinfandel sauce. The Wine Lover Cooks With Wine: Great Recipes for the Essential Ingredient by Sid Goldstein and Paul Moore offers an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary recipes, such as adobo-grilled filet mignon, coq au vin, and tequila-and-sherry-marinated prawns diablo.

Review recipes in each wine cookbook and make sure the ingredients are easy to find

There's nothing better than a unique recipe with a unique taste. But if producing such a wine requires ingredients that are difficult to get, it may not be worth it. For this reason, you may want to steer away from cookbooks with recipes that require hard-to-find herbs and spices, or certain seasonal or regional ingredients.

I recommend: The Great Little Food With Wine Cookbook by Virginia Hoffman and Robert Hoffman provides wine pairing, buying, and ordering information, in addition to extensive wine recipes. This pair also wrote Cooking With Wine, a substantial collection of recipes and pairing tips. Wine Lovers' Desserts by Jennie Schacht, Mary Cech, and Frankie Frankeny features recipes like buttermilk panna cotta with fresh peaches, tropical fruit crèpes, and pumpkin pots de crème with candied pecans.

Continue to update and enhance your wine cookbook collection

You may assume that you have a pretty substantial cookbook collection, but recipes are continuously enhanced and updated. Stay abreast of the newest creations on a regular basis, but don't forget the classics.

I recommend: The Wine Enthusiast Magazine Wine & Food Pairings Cookbook; What to Drink with What You Eat; and Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food are all highly regarded wine pairing cookbooks.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Join an association or club for wine lovers to find wine cookbook list of recommendations, recipes and other information.