Category Archives: Book Review

Hungry for Wine

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CHuygheWith Thanksgiving only a few days away, there are a flurry of features on what are the best wines to drink with the holiday meal.

While those in the industry are less likely to turn to such columns for advice, it is still a topic for conversation as was evidenced during a recent French Wine Society webinar. Among the declarations of bottles being served were the usual food-friendly suspects of Pinot Noir and Riesling.

The subject of the webinar, Forbes’ wine columnist, Cathy Huyghe, declined to answer as she is currently traveling and would be on the road for the holiday and thus unsure what wine would end up in her glass.

No one thought to ask her what she might have selected if she were planning to dine at home, but it would be a good bet that Cathy would use the occasion to open bottles that inspire her to stay Hungry for Wine, the title of her new book. She is also a big proponent of drinking up those “special” wine bottles now rather than waiting (and perhaps missing out) by saving them for a “special occasion” as is the case in her cautionary story in Chapter One.

In the book, Huyghe tells the story of wine – through a different lens than most. Instead of writing detailed tasting notes that conform to a particular format or simply writing about a particular producer, Huyghe shares her vinous experiences within a different context – a true hunger for wine and how it is made.

In general, her writing is fresh and engaging, albeit a bit precious at times. She speaks to the reader slightly more than I would prefer, a habit she likely picked up from her days writing the blog 365daysofwine in which she would “take” the reader with her to tastings and events throughout Boston and elsewhere.

Although the distraction momentarily brings me out of the story, this is a minor quibble and perhaps as much a praise of her writing in that I truly enjoyed reading her stories and didn’t want to be interrupted from the plot.

As any wine journalist is bound to do, Huyghe finds wine stories in the likeliest places: Italy, Spain and California, to name a few. But, more intrepidly, she also finds some in the unlikeliest places such as Syria and Turkey.

Moreover, her stories are at once political, financial and social providing a unique, yet important, perspective from which to view the grape to glass journey.

It’s Complicated… but does it have to be?

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Each year, dozens of high school and college teams gather together to compete in building complex machinery to complete simple tasks. This national competition, held in celebration of cartoonist Rube Goldberg, encourages the creation of far-fetched contraptions to accomplish straight-forward tasks such as hammering a nail or turning a page.

See the Rube Goldberg website for this and other images.

These machines take a circuitous route to getting things done, instead of simply moving from Point A to Point B, there are quite a few stops along the way.

In the context of the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, such round-about, comical approaches can be a lot of fun, but why do we seem to take a similar tack when explaining simple concepts about wine to our students?

As a refreshing antidote to encyclopedic tomes, Tom Stevenson has written “a [wine] book for people who don’t want to read about wine.” Stevenson’s newest book, Buy the Right Wine Every Time, The No-Fuss, No-Vintage Wine Guide, offers a simple, straightforward approach and focuses on wines that are generally inexpensive, widely available and consistent from year to year.

This is a distinct departure for Stevenson, who is well known for writing the (encyclopedia tome and) go-to-guide, World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparking Wine. Presumably much more at home drinking the likes of Bollinger and Taittenger, for this project, Stevenson found himself tasting Barefoot and Turning Leaf and seems to be impressed with these and several other big brands.

The first part of the book emphasizes wine by style, while in the latter section (referred to as the “A-Z of wines”), individual wines are listed alphabetically (naturally) with a few key elements included:

  • What is it?
  • What does it taste like?
  • If you like this, then try with confidence…

The very first entry in this section is the Adami Prosecco Bosco del Gica, which Stevenson rates as Recommended. (His other ratings are To Die For and Highly Recommended). As a consumer-oriented wine book, I would say it is Highly Recommended.

Interestingly, or at least of interest to me as a wine educator, while the label clearly indicates that the wine is Prosecco Superiore DOCG (and not just Prosecco DOC), Stevenson makes absolutely no mention of this fact in his text.

And, in the wine style section, none of the wines listed include the appellation or even country of origin. Truly a case of less is more.

Truthfully, having worked with the Prosecco Superiore consortium, I feel a duty to explain and clarify the differences between the two, but in all honestly, does the average consumer really care as long as the wine tastes good (to them) and fits within their budget? As much as I hate to admit it, the answer is no.

Yet, I do not advocate for a full abdication of complex principles; merely, for the use of clear explanations when they are necessary and appropriate. In this regard, detailed dissertations on appellation laws might be best left for trade training, but significant concepts that link wine and place should be explored, keeping context and audience in mind when guiding such conversations.

Similarly, at a recent seminar on “Why Terroir Matters,” author and educator Marnie Old questioned whether we should be using the term terroir with consumers, noting that discussions of “dirt” tend to turn people off.

In response, Bordeaux merchant and estate owner, Edouard Moueix suggested that, “[Terroir] is a term that was invented to describe something that can’t be easily defined,” but was adamant that terroir is indeed vital to the dialogue on wine. Instead, he proposed that we need to do a better job illuminating this term for consumers to help them understand how terroir distinguishes one wine from another in its identity as well as to clarify that it does not, in fact, mean “dirt.”

Admittedly, a tall order, but as a wine educator I am up for the challenge. What do you think?

Cooking by the book

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Like anyone else who’s ever gone away for more than a week, I came home to a lot of mail… most of it junk. But, having forgotten the promise made by a friend, I found a pleasant surprise amid the bills and circulars — a new cookbook. In fact, there was not just one, but two cookbooks waiting for me upon my return.

Now, I already have a lot of cookbooks. No, not as many as those folks who wax poetically that they’ve been collecting cookbooks since the year of the flood and have subsequently had to build a special wing on their home just to shelter them. But, enough that I don’t really need another cookbook; especially since lately I seem to use online recipe sites more frequently than reaching for one of my printed tomes. Yet, there they were.

The first came to me from wine colleagues, Jeff Jensen and Mike DeSimone, by way of their publisher. Their latest book –The Fire Island Cookbook – is a collection of menus, one for each weekend of the summer, along with suggested wine pairings. Although Fire Island is the title’s stated destination, the recipes are culled from around the world and are appropriate for any summer supper – whether enjoyed in your Hamptons share, island retreat or suburban backyard.

Flipping through the book, we picked a page at random and found ourselves preparing a shopping list for seafood and sausage paella. Since it was just the two of us, we chose to forgo the other menu items and also halved the recipe regarding the rice itself, while being more lavish with the seafood. Even with the revision, it was all paella all the time for the next few meals (but, since the dish was as tasty as it was, we had no complaints). If you’ve never made paella before (I’ll admit to having been a paella virgin, myself), it is actually made just like risotto, but with a lot of flavorful spices.

We chose to ignore Jeff and Mike‘s wine pairing recommendation simply because we had a lot of wine waiting to be opened, but it’s a nice bit of information for them to have included, making it easy for the wine novice to easily find a pairing for the meal. A few weeks later, we tackled two more recipes, pulling an appetizer of grilled romaine from one meal and a Tequila-marinated steak from another, and pairing the meat with a Malbec as suggested.

The second, extremely unexpected volume was a gift from my husband. He had attended a literary event at the New York Public Library during my absence (the quintessential bachelor, no?) and had obtained a signed copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s newest publication for me, At Home on the Range.

According to my husband, Elizabeth Gilbert does not look like Julia Roberts. I know that I shouldn’t be surprised the author doesn’t resemble the actress who portrayed her in the film version of her Eat, Pray, Love book, but I am. Regardless of whom she does or does not resemble, it was apparently quite a humorous event. John Hodgman (of the Mac commercial, and, perhaps to a lesser extent, The Daily Show fame) interviewed Ms. Gilbert, but since they have been friends for years, it was more like a conversation replete with inside jokes than a usual interview.

The important gist of the discussion is that, once upon a time, Elizabeth’s great-grandmother, Margaret Yardley Potter, wrote a cookbook, which was ahead of its time with its focus on nose-to-tail eating; reliance on fresh, local ingredients (as opposed to the modern conveniences of canned or frozen items); and unusual (for the period) cuisine such as, believe it or not, pizza. Curating recipes from unlikely sources such as shopkeepers and obstetric nurses, Potter crafted a cookbook that reads more like a letter from grandma than the Galloping Gourmet, but is made all the more entertaining for this novel approach.

Having only formally discovered this piece of family heritage recently, Elizabeth has republished At Home on the Range, along with the insertion of an Introduction and a few helpful hints with the recipes. With a goal of having these recipes reach a more amenable audience than when the book was first launched, rather than profit, all proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Scholar Match. In this regard, you are helping you to feed the mind of the next generation while feeding yourself.

 

Wine Educator’s Dirty Little Secret

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The Wine All-in-One for Dummies was published by Wiley in September 2009. I’d received the review copy of the book months ago, but hadn’t gotten around to writing the review. What was the hold up? Had I stashed the book away and forgotten about it? Quite the contrary. Rather, it has been a busy season for me as a wine educator and the book has become an indispensible tool as I prepare for various events and clients.

The book, written by Ed McCarthy, CWE, and Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, differs from the previous Wine for Dummies books in that it is a compilation of five separate books, drawing on material previously published in: Wine For Dummies, 4th Edition, California Wine For Dummies®, French Wine For Dummies®, Italian Wine For Dummies®, Red Wine For Dummies®, White Wine For Dummies®, Australian Wine For Dummies®, Canadian Wine For Dummies®, and Champagne For Dummies.

With its soft cover and reasonably-sized format, it is much easier to schlep around than the Oxford Companion to Wine or other similar tome, and, as a basic refresher, it is more than capable of handling the task. Granted, this is not MW exam review material, but it does provide information on grape varieties, wine character/styles and lists of top producers from each region. In this last regard, I can check my wine selections against their list and confirm that the wines I have chosen to purchase for an upcoming event should be indicative of the region and/or the wine style I am trying to illustrate.

Mary and Ed have an engaging writing style, which, when coupled with the symbols used in the for Dummies® series, make it extremely accessible for both amateurs and professionals to use. Admittedly, as a wine professional, I am somewhat embarrassed to be seen with “for Dummies” in the title, but am careful to shield the title when carrying the book around in public. But, that being said, the title doesn’t negate the book’s usefulness, so I continue to call upon it as needed.

California wine is not just for dummies – book review

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I was delighted to have the opportunity to review the newly released California Wine for Dummies book by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan since the pair are so well respected as writers and educators.

However, I admit to a certain negative bias given that it was part of the “for Dummies” series. I had never read any of the “for Dummies” books previously distaining the assumption that a lack of knowledge on the subject made one a dummy. Moreover, I think it is somewhat insulting to address people in this manner. Accordingly, upon receiving the book, when I read the book in public (i.e. on the subway), I found myself wishing that it had been prominently marked as a “Review” copy.

Despite my predisposition toward the book, I was pleasantly surprised at its quality given the format and premise.

Ed and Mary have a great sense of humor and forthright approach, both of which are infused throughout the book. The book is really well designed with a series of icons that permits the reader to easily navigate each chapter in search of the desired information.

The book is great as a reference on California wines, but would also be useful as an adjunct to other travel resources, when planning a trip to a particular California wine region. It may also be of assistance with wine purchases with Ed and Mary’s lists of reliable wines for each grape variety and within various price bands.