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Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 3:03:56 PM

jhannah27

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From: Anaheim, CA
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I don't know if this has been discussed here before, but I have read several books on wine, winemaking, wine makers, histories of wine regions, etc. recently and I was just curious to see what others thought about these books, and/or if there are any suggestions on what I might want to read next. Here is what I have read...

Red, White, and Drunk All Over

This one is pretty funny and I liked the author's writing style, but the wine knowledge is definitely directed at newcomers.

House of Mondavi

Not finished with this yet, but so far TONS of fascinating information about the establishment of the Mondavi empire, the Napa Valley as a top wine region in the world, and the general madness that ensues when family members fight for control of the same industry.

The Tale of Two Valleys

My least favorite of the three, this one has some amusing tales about Sonoma and Napa, but ultimately it focuses on how great Sonoma is for its desire to remain "small town" oriented and not let the big companies or the nuvo-rich move in with their huge houses, gawdy wineries, and lavish hotels, while chastising Napa for letting this happen. While I agree with the assessment, I prefer visiting Sonoma over Napa, I was hoping for a much more objective look at the two valleys, their histories, and how they differ despite only being separated by a small mountain range. But what you get is very jaded, and ultimately the book loses focus as it finishes with a drawn-out story about Sonoma City Council races and City measures being voted on to maintain the "small town" integrity. ZzZzZzZz...I'm falling asleep just thinking about it.

(My apologies for the link to amazon.com, it was just the easiest link I knew of with descriptions of the books...I promise I am not trying to up their sales

)

< Message edited by jhannah27 -- 8/25/2008 3:07:49 PM >

_____________________________

"Quickly! Bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."
Aristophanes 450 - 385 b.c.

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 3:05:06 PM

RoundersRob

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From: Santa Cruz, CA
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I am reading Billionaires Vinegar right now and it is really great and written in the style of a great mystery novel, despite being pretty much all factual.

(in reply to jhannah27)

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 3:17:47 PM

fingers

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From: Santa Ana, CA
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Just finishing the Mondavi and thoroughly enjoyed the soap opera. "Falcon Crest" now makes total sense! The books also a great overlap with Judgement of Paris, the inspiration for the "Bottle Shock" movie.

Another thread:

http://www.cellartracker.com/forum/Wine_Books/m_20257/tm.htm

has some other good rags

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 3:30:04 PM

jhannah27

Posts: 521
Joined: 6/9/2008
From: Anaheim, CA
Status: online

Judgment of Paris was next on my list.

From what I have read, while the story behind Bottle Shock is that of the Judgment of Paris book, they are actually producing a movie that is directly based on the book. Apparently there is a big bruhah about the competing movies.

Since we are talking about Wine in Media. Has anyone seen Bottle Shock yet?

< Message edited by jhannah27 -- 8/25/2008 3:32:53 PM >

_____________________________

"Quickly! Bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."
Aristophanes 450 - 385 b.c.

(in reply to fingers)

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 9:03:27 PM

Paul S

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I like Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route. Really, really opiniated, but a real cracking read.

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/25/2008 9:14:41 PM

jhannah27

Posts: 521
Joined: 6/9/2008
From: Anaheim, CA
Status: online

I am good with opinionated as long as there is direction and point. Opinionated can be good as long as the author stays on point and doesn't lose sight of what he/she is trying to convey. That's where "Two Valleys" lost me. It almost seems the author forgot what direction he was going in and just started writing about whatever peaked his own interest. Unfortunately, this wasn't something that interested me.

_____________________________

"Quickly! Bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."
Aristophanes 450 - 385 b.c.

(in reply to Paul S)

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RE: Books on Wine - 8/26/2008 3:40:47 AM

NiklasW

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Joined: 10/13/2007
From: Finland
Status: online

I read "Reflections of a Wine Merchant" by Neal I. Rosenthal earlier this year. A fun read if you want to know what it's like being an American wine merchant in Burgundy and northern Italy.

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RE: Books on Wine - 12/3/2008 8:14:58 AM

wadcorp

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Joined: 10/29/2008
From: Kansas City, MO
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quote:

ORIGINAL: RoundersRob

I am reading Billionaires Vinegar right now and it is really great and written in the style of a great mystery novel, despite being pretty much all factual.

Was going to start a new thread, but did a Search to make sure the topic had not come up before.

I agree, RoundersRob. The Billionaire's Vinegar is a great read. Had a blast all the way through, even though it's full of heavy-duty information. The history of Thomas Jefferson's involvement with wine was wonderful. Tracking the search for the providence on the bottles was some great sleuthing. And a great deal of humour as people who should know better do idiot things such as break über-expensive bottles at public functions.

Read it on our trip to France back in June. Could barely put it down.

.

_____________________________

"Wine is light held together by moisture."
— Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

(in reply to RoundersRob)

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