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Title: The Accidental Connoisseur : An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World by Lawrence Osborne ISBN: 0-86547-633-0 Publisher: North Point Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: It's not just about the wine, is it...
Comment: At first I found myself wondering if there was enough to the idea of one man's search for his "taste" to sustain a book... and in the end, I say a resounding "yes." This is a very literate account of a very personal journey undertaken by someone who (we come to suspect) knows a LOT more about his subject than he ever really lets on. And putting aside, for the moment, the question of agreeing or disagreeing with Osborne about the over-Internationalization of the wine industry, at the end of the journey, one realizes that it it has a lot less to do with the wine than it does with the journey itself... and the variously strange, funny, bizarre, but always revealing and ultimately human interactions that comprise the journey.
The book is laugh-out-loud funny in places - and perfectly reflective of those conversations one has after a bottle or two or more of wine with accidental companions everywhere. And I daresay, should have more of.
I tend to side with Osborne (and many others) in questioning the accuracy, utility, etc. of the Parker/Spectator wine "grading" systems, which have led (as the author suggests) to the development of a single, California-driven International style whose bland sameness is a cause for alarm. Osborne raises this question, but essentially appeals to the reader to make their own determination, even as his own research into the matter reveals his own bias. I enjoyed taking this journey with Osborne... and I learned a lot along the way. Did I agree with everything here? I did not... but I'm pretty sure that Osborne wouldn't have wanted me along for the ride if I did agree (I wouldn't have been as interesting a drinking companion)... but I would have been equally unable to answer the question "What is taste?" Great question, and a great pleasure to tag along as this man tries to find an answer for himself.
Rating: 2
Summary: Pointless and Meandering
Comment: I'll read most any book about wine, but this one truly was ill-conceived and quite literally pointless. Indeed, the author effectively concludes that the whole exercise of the book makes no sense. He admits that he has learned nothing about wine during his "journey" and, hence, conveys nothing. The book also contains a host of factual errors, which were distracting until one reaches the point in the book when one realizes that there really isn't much there for these flaws to detract from - at which point you just let them pass like so much of the author's meanderings. Why was this perhaps workable first draft rushed to print? Why didn't the editors work with the author to craft some type of thesis for or framework around the all the disjointed reportage? They could have done some fact-checking while they were at it too. But they didn't. As a result, this book is really half-baked - or, if you will, not nearly fully fermented.
Rating: 5
Summary: laugh out loud funny
Comment: Very funny book, witty and generous in spirit. It has gotten rave reviews especially in the New York Times Book Review. I especially liked the lovely sections on Italy. As a Puglia fan I can relate.
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Title: Freedom Just Around the Corner : A New American History: 1585-1828 by Walter A. McDougall ISBN: 0060197897 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 28 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson ISBN: 0393051625 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Adventures on the Wine Route : A Wine Buyer's Tour of France by Kermit Lynch ISBN: 0374522669 Publisher: Noonday Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer ISBN: 0762415797 Publisher: Running Press Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: A Meal Observed by ANDREW TODHUNTER ISBN: 0375410856 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 10 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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