A brash but charming and fact-filled book for increasing one’s wine knowledge.
A cheeky guide to wine that covers basic terminology as well as descriptions of obscure grapes around the world.
In an introduction, certified sommelier Amon notes that he’s a wine obsessive, and he even takes credit for starting the wine industry in Bhutan, “just because [he] thought it would be cool if they made wine there.” He shows off his extensive knowledge in the 52 chapters of wine recommendations in this book, which is intended to turn any reader into the “de facto” sommelier of their social circle. In each recommendation, Amon offers a punchy introduction to clarify the different official appellations of the wine at hand—which is helpful in France and Italy, where wine names and regions are especially complicated—and then offers a section on why, for him, this wine is “Dope AF” (“Why Aglianico is Dope AF,” and so on). Certain wines end up requiring multiple sections, such as the two-part section titled “Champagne. You’re Doing It Wrong…” in which Amon offers some convincing arguments against recognizable but overpriced brands, such as Veuve Cliquot. Rieslings, pinot grigio, sauvignon blancs, and the mysterious term tannins also get double-chapter treatments. Amon uses these expanded sections to take deep dives into common but often misunderstood terminology, but he also provides more advanced readers—“Wineaux,” as he lovingly calls them—with information about several less-known types of wine: Xinomavro from Greece, the Italian riesling Timorasso, the German pinot noir Spatburgunder, and White Riojas, among many others. As he summarizes: “The world doesn’t need another oaky Chardonnay, people.”
Amon’s brief chapters are very informative, as in a quick guide to food pairings, which offers a succinct analysis of acid, fats, tannins, and proteins. He also peppers in bits of history and geography, as when he recounts the story of the Portuguese region of Madeira during the American Revolution in a quick aside. Overall, this light, fast-paced guide gives readers an enjoyable way to absorb wine facts. However, the author’s particular brand of humor may not appeal to everyone. His coarse language and slang do make the subject feel accessible; fans of the late, great foodie and cookbook author Anthony Bourdain will surely see his influence in Amon’s writing: “I am aware that Savennieres has one of those little French accent thingies over the ‘r,’ ” the author notes at one point (although it’s actually over the second E). “But I am not going to try to hunt through the ‘insert character’ function.” However, offhand references to Amon being “a baller” on Lake Como or impressing sommeliers at fancy dinners don’t land as well, and they play into an aficionado stereotype that he otherwise seems eager to challenge. His writing is most enjoyable when he fully commits to his giddy excitement about wine, as in a “freestyle” rap on Riojas: “I’m gonna grab the mic and start to flow and show ya / A Dope AF delicious wine that’s known as White Rioja.”
A brash but charming and fact-filled book for increasing one’s wine knowledge.Pub Date: April 9, 2021
ISBN: 979-8-73-402506-2
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
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