Food, Wine and Art, one is necessary the other two indulgences but together the three can provide some of life's greatest pleasures.

New Zealand Food Wine and Art, the book, brings the pleasure to you, to feast upon with your eyes and to stimulate your senses with its stunning photography, delicious recipes and expressions of art from some of the nations leading exponents.

The book is presented as a photographic journey - a journey of indulgence covered in 10 chapters from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South.

The chapter headings flow into the theme of the book with their poetic meter as you will see from this list.

Seafood and Sails for Northland and Auckland
Hot Spots and Cool Wines for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and East Cape
Volcanoes and Verdant Pastures for the Waikato, the Central Plateau and Taranaki
Winelovers' Wonderland for Hawkes Bay and Manawatu
Beehive and Boutiques Wineries for Wairarapa and Wellington
Chardonnay on Golden Sands for Nelson and Marlborough
Wild West for the West Coast of the South Island
Crays and Cathedrals for Kaikoura and Canterbury
Grapes and Goldfields for Central Otago and Queenstown
Rugged Scots and Bluff Oysters for Otago and Southland

As the journey takes us through each region, local wine is paired to cuisine from some of the region's best eating establishments, whether it be restaurant, hotel or boutique lodge. The photographs are mouth watering.

Artworks take many forms, from painting and lithographs to sculptures, pottery and ceramics to exquisite jewellery, representing conventional to the most wacky works that the regions' artists have created.

Appendices at the end of the book list the Artists, their agents and outlets, a Restaurant Directory, a glossary of the food terms used in the book and a recipe index.

This book is a wonderful representation of New Zealand food, wine and art and I love it.

The books credits tell us that Ian Baker shot most of the photographs although Cloudy Bay's Kevin Judd has a couple of his masterpieces included; Jeanette Cook did the text and Susan Story the recipe compilation.

I saw this book on 'special' at one of the chain bookstores for about $30, a great investment for a coffee table teaser or a gift to your wine loving friends overseas. But thanks to Neil for indulging and putting the book in my Christmas stocking.