Author
Natalie MacLean: an accredited sommelier and Canadian journalist
Back Cover
” Award-winning writer Natalie MacLean’s engaging wit, investigative curiosity, and sharp eye for the zany obsessiveness of wine lovers has made her online wine newsletter Nat Decants one of the most popular in North America. In Red, White, and Drunk all Over, her first book, Natalie sweeps readers behind the scenes of the international wine world, exploring its history, visiting its most evocative places and meeting some of its most charismatic personalities.
Natalie travels to the ancient vineyards of Burgundy to uncover the secrets of the ‘heartbreak grape’ – pinot noir- from which are made some of the most coveted and expensive wines in the world, and to the labyrinthine cellars of Champagne to examine the myths and the mystique of the luxury bubbly and the grandes dames who made it the drink of celebration the world over. She pulls on sturdy boots to help with the harvest at the vineyards of iconoclastic Californian winemaker Randal Grahm, and goes undercover as a sommelier for a night in a five-diamond restaurant with a wine list as thick as a telephone directory. She looks at the influence of powerful critics, notably Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson; invites readers into her dining room for an informal wine tasking; and compares notes with novelist Jay McInerney at a bacchanalian dinner in New York City. As funny and engaging as she in knowledgeable, Natalie will make you laugh-and teach you a few useful things, too, such as how to choose the best bottle of wine in a restaurant if your partner wants fish but you’re dying for a rare steak, and why it is usually not a good idea to order ‘just a glass of house wine'”
Our Thoughts
And this is why second hand book stores are the best! I bought this for 4 dollars, and I feel like I learned hundreds of dollars worth of knowledge about wine from the cultivation to pairing with meals. I certainly have a new appreciation for wine and the hard work that goes into producing the fantastic drink, and I loved the way Natalie told specific stories about vineyards in the regions we all know. It made wine seem less a lofty luxury and more like the life’s work of interesting and likeable people. Her writing is so descriptive and paint incredible pictures of the most beautiful vineyards and the most interesting characters who produce wine. Normally I like to pass on books after I read them, but I might actually keep this one for myself! It feels like it will come in handy after dry January (which currently feels endless).
Les Bookworms Pod 