whitefox: helping brands, thought leaders and writers create beautiful bespoke books

The challenge

Wine expert Raul Diaz is an experienced sommelier and founder of the Wine Training School, where he has trained over five thousand students. You may also have spotted him sharing his love and extensive knowledge of wine as a presenter on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. 

Raul’s book Wines & Recipes displays his vast expertise and passion through a collection of fifty hand-picked wines alongside complementary recipes, without the cliché traditions and rules often found in this genre. Since its publication, Wines & Recipes has received praise from numerous media outlets, including the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, Chef magazine and many more.

In 2020, Raul approached whitefox with the idea of creating a beautifully illustrated food and wine pairing book. Encouragement from his clients, friends and students had inspired him to write his own recipe book that put wine at the forefront. After two large UK publishers turned down the opportunity to back the book’s launch due to its unconventionality, Raul decided to pursue his unique idea and self-publish, taking complete creative control of the project with the support of whitefox’s multiple publishing services.

The solution

whitefox worked with Raul to bring his vision to life, providing services in editorial, design, print and distribution. The result was a high-quality book filled with astounding photography that enhanced the irresistibility of every wine and recipe pairing. The cover design is bold in its simplicity and effective in grabbing the attention of even the most unenthusiastic of cooks.

With the help of whitefox’s expert PR partners in creating a strong marketing and PR strategy, Wines & Recipes received coverage that created buzz and anticipation even before its launch. Raul’s original spin on the traditional recipe book proved to be a huge advantage in intriguing both readers and reviewers and standing out against the current competition. In an article for Harper’s, Raul is quoted as saying, ‘When it comes to food and wine pairing books, of which there are obviously many, they are always based on the recipe, so doing it the other way around will establish a new way to look at wine.’

The result

whitefox’s PR partners ensured Wines & Recipes secured coverage across the very best of food-and-drink media, and in no time Raul’s delicious recipes and their perfectly paired wines were splashed across the Telegraph, the Guardian, The Caterer and Waitrose Drinks magazine, which declared it ‘the ultimate wine and food pairing book’. 

Glowing reviews for Raul’s book were everywhere after its publication. Legendary wine expert Steven Spurrier showered the book with praise: ‘Glancing through the recipes one is transported to its home country and through his choice of wine one is already there, glass in hand, knives and forks at the ready. In this busy world, wine and food remain one of the surest, most dependable pleasures that life has to offer. This book opens the door in a mouth-watering manner.’

Wines & Recipes received a double-page spread in the Sunday Telegraph, scattered with Raul’s iconic recipes and photography to give readers a taste of the book, and was also selected to feature in an article in the Guardian, which explored books that perfectly combine wine and food.

With the help of whitefox, Raul was able to publish a book that he truly believed in and which has helped to expand his business, drawing more attention towards his expert wine training workshops and inspiring others to delve deeper into their love of wine. Although the pandemic prevented various opportunities to toast Wines & Recipes’s publication, Raul has taken advantage of the situation to successfully sell his book directly via his website and is finally having a much-deserved launch party.