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I read both Tasting Pleasure and Red, White and Drunk All Over. I found Robinson to be well-written in her usual British reserved and self-deprecating style and enjoyed getting the behind-the-scenes view of her wine writing over the years. Most interesting to me was learning about the British wine trade. Because of their early and famous relationship with Burgundy and Bordeaux, Port, Cognac and Sherry, I had assumed that the Brits were well ahead of the US in wine sophistication. I now know that wasn't exactly the case.
I did get a little tired of reading of all the tastings of rare and fabulously expensive wines I will never be able to afford to try. However, I enjoyed reading the book so much that I now have her titles on food and wine pairing and the demon alcohol on request at the library. (I have some of her reference books on my shelves and read her column in the SF Chronicle.)
Natalie Maclean's book turned out to be better than I anticipated after reading the opening paragraph with the self-consciously sensual description of tasting the Barolo. Her storytelling was quite enjoyable most of the time, but she regularly lapsed into coy stances and purple prose wine descriptions. I also found some of the information imparted in the stories to be confusing, if not outright wrong. In the wine shop, an unhappy customer is told that Pinot Noir always smells like "barnyard" and Cabernet is recommended as something she will like better. I always thought barnyard aromas came from brettanomyces, not from a grape variety.
posted 11 months ago. ( reply )
