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NAKED WINE

Name: NAKED WINE
Author: Alice Feiring
ISBN: 978-0-306-81953-7

LETTING GRAPES DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY

by Alice Feiring ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011

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Wine journalist and blogger Feiring (The Battle for Wine and Love, 2008) returns with accounts of her interviews with winemakers and with her own endeavor to make a “naked” wine (no additives or other extrinsic evils).

The author’s self-regard fluctuates. She recognizes—and enjoys—her controversial position (her blog blasts those who sully the grape), noting that she sets “forest fires of controversy.” But she can also feel frustrated, petulant and nervous; in the more self-effacing sections, both she and her text become more savory. Feiring begins with her attempt to produce a California wine that is as natural/naked as can be (she’s annoyed when exigencies force some modest compromises)—and, much later, we learn that the bottles will retail for $75-$100 apiece. In the interim, the author flies around (California, France, Spain) to interview those engaged in the quest for a more natural wine. (In an appendix, she provides a long list of common wine additives and processes.) She writes about the godfather of the movement—Jules Chauvet—and recognizes that it’s the use of sulfur (some? little? none?) that divides the wineries. Although she sometimes soars into a vinous lyricism (“There’s an emotional truth in natural wine that I can’t ignore”) or uses tasting terms that only connoisseurs can appreciate (“The Syrah had no fruit jam, but had horse sweat and muscle, zippy acidity and mint, structure and less than 12 percent alcohol”), for the most part she writes for general readers—all of whom should learn plenty. It’s sulfur that causes hangovers; there is no such thing as a perfect wine; thermovinification speeds the process; wine critic Robert Parker is annoying (an opinion she notes throughout). A text that will appeal principally to wine-lovers but will give other readers a pleasant buzz, too.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-306-81953-7

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Da Capo

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
TO FALL IN LOVE, DRINK THIS
by Alice Feiring

- BOOK REVIEW
FOR THE LOVE OF WINE
by Alice Feiring

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.