About Books
Book reports by Bob Foster,
Edited and reprinted with the kind permission of "California Grapevine"
In Search of Bacchus: Wanderings in the Wonderful World of Wine Tourism
George M. Taber Scribner, New York; 2009
When this book arrived for review, I was expectant. Its author, George Taber, had written two topnotch books, one on the tasting in Paris where California wines beat the best of French wines, and another on the battle over the use of corks. Both were well written and to the point and read like good novels. Sadly, this book does not live up to Taber’s earlier works.
He visited twelve of the world’s best wine making regions and then wrote about each, giving the stories of some of the men and women who helped develop them. He describes each region, its land and its grapes and its major tourist attractions. Sections are often included on places to stay or dine. But the chapters seem unconnected–there is no central theme, no commonality of experiences. Each chapter devoted to a region is long and detailed, followed by a very short chapter documenting the author’s own personal travels and experiences there. These companion chapters are frustratingly short and cursory. For example, in Napa Valley Taber visited both Whitehall Lane and Pine Ridge. His comments focus almost entirely on the cost of a tasting and whether or not one receives a wine glass to take home as part of the tasting fee. When Taber does talk about the wines he tasted, he mentions three and just calls them “great.”
If you were about to visit one of the twelve wine regions in the book, the overview chapter might help you set the stage for your trip, but this book lacks the depth and insight of Taber’s earlier works.
Recommended if you plan to visit these regions soon
When the Rivers Ran Red: An Amazing Story of Courage and Triumph in America’s Wine Country
Vivienne Sosnowski Palgrave McMillan (St. Martin’s Press), New York; 2009
Most of us American wine lovers have a general notion about Prohibition’s impact on the wine industry: wineries closed; good wine grapes were replaced by lesser, thickskinned varieties; the industry had to start all over after Repeal. But the story is more complex. In this topflight work the author goes into detail about Prohibition and its impact on Napa and Sonoma Counties, interweaving her history of the industry as a whole with wonderful stories of individual wineries and their owners.
Sosnowski carefully documents how our local wineries coped with Prohibition–by hiding from it, adapting to it, or partially ignoring it. Her story of wineries working with bootleggers is enthralling. The book’s title is derived from the sudden arrival of federal agents at the Foppiano winery, who then forced it to empty all its wine, some 140,000 gallons of dark red, into the Russian River. As the wine moved downstream turning the river red, scores of Sonoma County citizens began filling themselves and various containers with the wine, an impromptu festival that went on for hours.
Prohibition became the law of the land thanks to political chicanery. Because the 18th Amendment was not selfexecuting and required enabling legislation, Congress passed the enabling Volstead Act, vetoed by President Wilson in October 1919. Efforts to override his veto led to a vote in the House of Representatives on a Thursday. Earlier that week, supporters of Prohibition realized that most of the opposition “wets” were out of town and planned to return later for the key vote. Without notice, the “drys” called up the override and passed it.
Although the author carefully chronicles the San Francisco earthquake, I wish there had been more discussion of the devastation in Sonoma County and its wine industry, as this area was much harder hit by the quake than San Francisco. It is interesting to note that so much wine was destroyed by the quake, prices immediately jumped.
An absorbing tale well told, with great footnotes, index and historic photographs.
Highly Recommended
Uncorking the PastThe Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages
Patrick E. McGovern, University of California Press, Berkeley; 2009
The author works as the Scientific Director, Bimolecular Archeology Laboratory for Cuisine and Fermented Beverages and Health, University of Pennsylvania Museum. He is certainly qualified to discuss the role wine and other alcoholic beverages have played in various cultures of the world.
McGovern offers the intriguing hypothesis that since virtually every civilization has used wine or some other alcoholic beverage in its medicinal, religious, or funereal aspects, there may be something about these beverages that has played a key role in the development of these cultures. The pattern is so strong, McGovern theorizes, that the consumption of such beverages may be part of human nature.
To support his thesis the author carefully presents the latest archeological research from Asia, Europe, and Africa. He begins by noting that each of these regions found ways to make alcohol beginning with discoveries of fermented honey, fruits, and grains that lead to the perfection of various elaborate means to produce, store, transport, and consume its treasured alcoholic beverages. McGovern details the latest findings and then explains their impact on our knowledge of that area’s history and its cultures. He challenges many existing theories, including the idea that life in the Americas came via the Bering Strait and Alaska.
The material is highly informative and challenging, however, the book is densely written and requires detailed concentration. This is not a light read because the book is filled with a wealth of interesting but often quite technical information.
Very Highly Recommended
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