My book, The Booklovers' Guide to Wine has evolved out of those classes and explores, not only the history, culture and cultivation of wine around the world and through the ages, but it also explores wine's relationship with literature and includes the pairings of certain grape varietals with some of my favorite writers.
The Booklovers' Guide to Wine may be purchased at any fine bookshop, such as Books & Books, or online at any of the following addresses:
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/hgolajc
ISBN: 9781633536067
ISBN-10: 1633536068
Publisher: Mango
Publication Date: September 19, 2017
Pages: 392
Language: English
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SELECTION OF RECENT REVIEWS
(The Booklovers’ Guide to Wine) “It's amazingly
comprehensive. It was a good read for me as a wine enthusiast but for a novice
it would be a heck of a resource. I really like the structure of the chapters.
.... Overall, a solid wine book and the compilation of information must have
taken a heck of a long time to put together. The history and context is
awesome. The details on varieties and wine regions is amazing.”
Chris O’Shea: Editor/ Writer. The Unfussy Wine
Enthusiasts. Nov. 11, 2017
Irresistible: Wine is for Booklovers
The second new book is Patrick Alexander’s The
Booklovers’ Guide to Wine: A Celebration of the History, Mysteries, and the
Literary Pleasures of Drinking Wine. Every glass of wine tells a story and so it is no surprise that people
who love books and stories are drawn to wine. Patrick Alexander seems to be the
perfect guide for booklovers who want to enjoy wine even more through
story-telling.
Alexander is a literary guy (he has also written a book
on Proust) who developed the wine appreciation curriculum at the University of
Miami and eventually took his signature course to a local bookstore, where it
has been a hit (and where Proust book sales coincidentally zoomed). Now his
course is available to the rest of us through this book.
Two things set Booklovers’ Guide apart. The first, of
course, is the emphasis on
story-telling. While the topics and organization are fairly conventional, the
choice of stories to illustrate different points plus the wonderful writing really
bring familiar topics to life. I have read dozens of wine guides over the years
and I can’t think of one that is so much fun. Simply irresistible!
Alexander’s literary references are the second
distinctive factor. His abundant quotes from famous authors are clever and
really made me think. And the chapter on wine grape varieties — where grapes
are compared to famous authors — is both fun and informative.
>>><<<
So here are two valuable books — well written,
informative, and utterly engaging. Lewin appeals more to the head (like
Bordeaux, they say) and Alexander to the heart (like Burgundy?). Indispensable
and irresistible: I like them both and recommend them to you with enthusiasm.
Mike Veseth: The
Wine Economist. (October 24, 2017)
Eve’s Wine 101: Review: The Booklover’s Guide To Wine. Posted on: 10/27/2017
Okay all of you “book club” people, I know the real
reason you meet: to talk about a book, yes, but while being well lubricated by
fine wine, food and friends. So this book, The Booklover’s Guide To Wine by
Patrick Alexander is just perfect for your next meeting, eh? Let me share a few
pairings, and a bit of historical information, that I picked up from
Alexander’s book, at nearly 400 pages and his sixth to author so far.
Authors Paired With Varietals: I kind of expected some
scientific approach to how to pair wine and books, but that was definitely not
the case. Just like with your book/wine clubs it’s all about what you just
might happen to crave while reading Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William
Shakespeare, Harper Lee and F. Scott Fitzgerald, to name a few.
I really don’t want to give it away – as you should just
buy the book to see – but Austen with Chardonnay and Dickens with Cabernet pair
well, because they both “have a universal appeal.”
Another interesting pairing is Alexander’s idea that
authors, and some of the characters, have become winery or wine namesakes.
Alexander cites Carl Doumani, former owner of Stag’s Leap Winery and now the
owner of Quixote, for naming an organic Petit Syrah Sancho Panza and his
Cabernet Sauvignon Quixote, important characters from the classic novel Don
Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
What Else You Will Learn
From the preface through to the epilogue readers will
learn everything from why the author has a dislike for wine critic Robert
Parker that is completely logical yet surprising, basics on how to taste wine,
read labels, naming different varietals, how to make wine, why sweet wines are
popular, the connection between religion and wine, the difference between an
American’s understanding of wine and that of a European’s in relation to
terroir, what the 100 year war did to the wine industry, why the opinions on
wine are so subjective and finally, why Alexander is “never happier than with a
glass of wine in one hand and a good book in the other.”
From The Author
My book evolved out of the twelve-hour wine appreciation
program I originally developed for the University of Miami and which I have
been teaching here in Miami for the past six years. The book, like my program
covers all the usual aspects of the grape but with particular emphasis on the
history and the culture of wine, from Noah’s first vineyard to the arrival of
Two-Buck-Chuck. I compare the concepts of terroir and varietal, and discuss the
difference between New World and Old World wines. I also explore the reasons
that England, a small wet, offshore island with no significant vineyards,
should have had such an unparalleled influence on the world of wine. But what
makes my book especially unique is its emphasis on the literary aspects of
wine.
Throughout the ages, wine and literature have been
closely connected. Whether we refer to the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare, John
Keats or Marcel Proust, great literature is always filled with references or
metaphors for wine. Mitchell Kaplan, the legendary founder of Books & Books
– and co-founder of the Miami Book Fair – suggested the idea of pairing my
favourite writers with my favourite wines. An inspired suggestion that resulted
in a pairing of the Albarino vines of North Eastern Spain with J.R.R. Tolkien,
or Chenin Blanc with Rabelais, not to mention the wines of Grüner Veltliner
with The Good Soldier Švejek stumbling through our pages.
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification
from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a "certification in
first globally-recognized course" as an American Wine Specialist ® from
the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET,
was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette
for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can
email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also
seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com
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