The author digs deep into the rich artisanal soil of Sicily's wine culture, unearthing centuries-old lineage and lore while...
An Italian-American writer embeds himself in the Sicilian wine trade for a year.
Wine Spectator contributor Camuto (Corkscrewed: Adventures in the New French Wine Country, 2008) takes an intimate journey through vineyards from Marsala to Corleone and up the slopes of Mt. Etna on the island that is said to boast as many as 4,000 grape varieties. Sleeping in rustic agriturismo lodgings and enjoying foods from the nearby farms—bright green pistachios, plump olives, cassata cake filled with sheep’s-milk ricotta—the author extracts illuminating insights from both seasoned and novice winemakers, whose methodologies range from staunchly traditional to trail-blazingly controversial, revealing vivid familial lore, historical tragedies and triumphs, technical challenges in the present and innovative plans for the future of their enterprises. Whether chatting in cavernous vat rooms filled with massive clay amphorae, the back booth of a 19th-century focacceria now under anti-mafia protection or amid craggy branches on terraced vineyards, Camuto gleans illuminating nuggets of wisdom, as when third-generation winemaker Giuseppe Tasca sums up his family's ethos: “My grandfather understood that you make wine in the vineyard…not in the winery.” Though other books offer in-depth portraits of Sicilian winemakers and their product—including Kate Singleton’s Wines of Sicily (2004) and Carlo Gambi’s photographic Journey Among the Great Wines of Sicily (2008)—by coexisting with his subject through four contiguous seasons, Camuto captures an intimate family album that eloquently details the idiosyncrasies, charisma and drive of Sicilian winemakers today.
The author digs deep into the rich artisanal soil of Sicily's wine culture, unearthing centuries-old lineage and lore while closely studying villages, vintages, vintners, vats and a few intriguing vendettas.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8032-2813-9
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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