Love, love this review from Halifax Magazine wine critic Danny Hewitt! I’m so glad that at least one person gets my humour!
Library of the grape
By Danny Hewitt
October 2011
I’ve been passionate about books since I was a child, so it makes sense that I love books about wines. I’ve read everything from an Australian wine comic book to several wine encyclopedias.
As with most other large-scale topics, the number of printed books available on the topic of wine is huge. The most enjoyable wine books are often ones that tell a story about a winery, or the beginning of a region’s wine industry. Many wine stories involve luck, hard work and determination. Some, like Wine & War (by Don and Petie Kladstrup) tell fascinating stories about partisans hiding caches of valuable French wine from German invaders in the Second World War.
But most wine books are educational—reference books for questions on wine or for food pairing guides. With Nova Scotian wine writer Natalie MacLean releasing a new title on October 25, this seems an ideal time to review some wine books. Read on for a review of her new title and two valuable references that won’t go amiss in a grape lover’s library.
Unquenchable
A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines
Doubleday Canada, By Natalie MacLean
Natalie MacLean writes for the wine-loving masses through her unpretentious and down-to-earth style, no doubt rooted in a Nova Scotian upbringing. She grew up here and her mom still lives here, although MacLean and her family are now located in Ottawa. Like many of us she stumbled into wine, well… because she liked to have a few drinks after work. Her folksy style is a pleasant and charming contrast to the encyclopedic tone of many wine books.
Almost unheard of for wine books, it has laugh-out-loud funny sections as she describes globe trotting in search of “great value” wines. Her behind-the-scenes encounters with the people who create, market and sell wine are both humorous and educational. At the end of each chapter, she recommends wines and foods pairings. I recommend the book highly.
