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Steve Slatcher
Wine guru
1047
Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:51 am
Manchester, England
Steve Slatcher wrote:I agree almost completely with the more factual bits of your description of the book, and I too managed to read it quickly. But I am not sure he was actualy on a mission to track down rare wines and grapes. My impression was that they were wines he happened across over several years of press trips. If I were tracking down rare stuff, I would have ignored GV and Prosecco, and headed further east in Europe - for example.
Where we differ most though is that I did not really enjoy the book, but that is of course just a personal opinion. I would have preferred something with more structure, even if not exactly a reference book - though to be fair the style was signalled in the book's subtitle. If anything, I thought more conserative winelovers might enjoy the book more than me.
Steve Slatcher
Wine guru
1047
Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:51 am
Manchester, England
Steve Slatcher wrote:I agree almost completely with the more factual bits of your description of the book, and I too managed to read it quickly. But I am not sure he was actualy on a mission to track down rare wines and grapes. My impression was that they were wines he happened across over several years of press trips. If I were tracking down rare stuff, I would have ignored GV and Prosecco, and headed further east in Europe - for example.
Where we differ most though is that I did not really enjoy the book, but that is of course just a personal opinion. I would have preferred something with more structure, even if not exactly a reference book - though to be fair the style was signalled in the book's subtitle. If anything, I thought more conserative winelovers might enjoy the book more than me.
Steve Slatcher
Wine guru
1047
Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:51 am
Manchester, England
kasey.dubler wrote:All this talk convinced me to buy the book and it was just delivered this morning. I now have big plans for the weekend of laying in my hammock in my back yard reading this book and drinking some Teran, Sciacarello and Ramisco just to get in the mood...
TomHill wrote:Received my copy of this new book, Godforsaken Grapes by Jason Wilson last week. Started reading it today and wound up getting sucked in to reading for several hours, jumping around from chapter to chapter.
This is not a dry documentary book on obscure grape varietives to be used as a reference. It is written in a narrative style, much like NealRosenthal's "Reflections of a Wine Merchant" or Kermit Lynch's "Adventures Along the Wine Trail". It recounts his interactions w/ numerous people over several yrs as he tracks down obscure and not-so-obscure (like Gruner Veltliner or Blaufrankisch) varieties and the people behind making those wines. Lots of familiar names in there.
This is an entertaining and absolutely fascinating read. Especially for somebody like myself who long ago blew off the Cabernet/Chard/PinotNoir paradigm. I think even those who have no interest in these obscure grapes will also enjoy reading it.
A very highly recommended read.
Tom
TomHill wrote:TomHill wrote:Received my copy of this new book, Godforsaken Grapes by Jason Wilson last week. Started reading it today and wound up getting sucked in to reading for several hours, jumping around from chapter to chapter.
This is not a dry documentary book on obscure grape varietives to be used as a reference. It is written in a narrative style, much like NealRosenthal's "Reflections of a Wine Merchant" or Kermit Lynch's "Adventures Along the Wine Trail". It recounts his interactions w/ numerous people over several yrs as he tracks down obscure and not-so-obscure (like Gruner Veltliner or Blaufrankisch) varieties and the people behind making those wines. Lots of familiar names in there.
This is an entertaining and absolutely fascinating read. Especially for somebody like myself who long ago blew off the Cabernet/Chard/PinotNoir paradigm. I think even those who have no interest in these obscure grapes will also enjoy reading it.
A very highly recommended read.
Tom
After this got lost in my pile of books to read, I picked up where I left off and finished the last half in a week.
This book is a terrific read. Not a reference book on obscure grapes, but just a terrific narrative read, like KermitLynch/NeilRosenthal's books. Jason can really spin a yarn.
Of course, if you drink nothing but DRC/ScreamingEagle; this book will not interest you.
Now starting WinkLorch's book on Jura wines.
Tom
TomHill wrote:Now starting WinkLorch's book on Jura wines]
Robin Garr wrote:TomHill wrote:Now starting WinkLorch's book on Jura wines]
Looking forward to the TomHill review!
Jim Grow wrote:Having gotten deeply into Chateauneuf du Pape in the last few years, I saw a mention by RMP of a book on the subject by Harry Karis and his son Phil released a decade ago. Any opinions/recommendations about this book?
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