Terroir Tales: The summer of the wine book....a couple of thoughts

Seems like there are quite a few wine books that have just hit the shelves, in the same sort of model as Kermit Lynch's "Adventures on the Wine Route", a book that I did quite enjoy and have now read twice. While Kermit's book contained some marketing propaganda, it also had some very vivid and memorable scene constructs where I could paint a mental image of the scene. One of the things I like so much about travelling to France is that it is different.....unapologetically different. You have special moments where you think "that's SO french", and that makes the trip for me. Kermit's book had a few moments that made me think the same way and therefore I was really drawn to the book for that experience.

So I bought 3 new books - Neal Rosenthal's book, Alice Feiring's book and Sergio Esposito's book. Neal and Sergio are importers, Alice is a writer.

The first one I read was the Sergio Esposito book "Passion on the Vine, a Memoir of food, wine and family in the heart of Italy". I really liked this book. Much in the way that Kermit's book gave me that "French" feeling, this book gave me an "Italian" feeling. I've never been to Italy (other than passing through) - an omission I must remedy soon. However, I picked up some of the things that seem uniquely Italian in the book...Large dinners, family, simple fresh ingredients a sense of history, and a love for living and experiencing each moment. Several moments made me smile, and I buzzed through the book very quickly. Definitely one I'd recommend to people who might share the same thoughts on the value of culture and tradition.

Then came the Alice Feiring book "The Battle for Wine and Love or How I saved the World from Parkerization". I know Alice's vinous preferences and agenda from posts on Wine Therapy.

and I do share a number of her feelings on wine styles and the direction of the "wine industry" today. The Dard & Ribo love I'm not so sure about - since it seems all of mine have been cooked in transit to Boston - and bottles sampled in France have struck me as decent, but not other-worldly.

Anyway, I didn't really like Alice's book. It consists of a bunch of stories/anecdotes from her personal experience, learning about the wine world. But if I had to pick a word to describe the book, it would be "whiney". She tells some funny stories, but at the end, I didn't feel like I had taken anything away from the book other than a laugh or two.

Next up, Neal Rosenthal.

Comments

I just received the Feiring and Rosenthal books. I'll comment fully after I have read them. A brief skim of Alice's was mostly insufferable - not a promising sign.

Posted by: David Bueker | May 28, 2008 at 07:13 PM