The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization by Alice Feiring
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the wine companion to Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma."
Feiring goes into great detail the difference between technologically made wine and naturally made wine. While consumers become more aware of how their food is grown, processed, packaged, and shipped, most are still oblivious to the ways winemakers, especially New Word winemakers, can manipulate to an excessive degree. I like the idea of listing all ingredients on a label, just as with food:
Grapes, 90% cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Syrah (although the label will read Cab Sav)
Industrial Yeast, Genetically Modified strain: ML01
Tannin powder
Tartaric Acid powder
Enzymes
Glycerin
Gelatin
Velcorin microbial
Sulfur
OR
Organically Grown Grapes
Wild or Natural yeast (found both on the grapes and in the cellar)
As Feiring states, "just be honest."
For anyone who claims to care where their food comes from, this is an absolute must. Wine and food are inseparable partners, demanding an equal integrity.
A personal note: As a former wine industry member, this book took me down a short memory lane - wineries I've been to (with thick black mold growing on the cellar walls), wines I've loved, my first taste of La Tache, that 1976 Lopez de Heredia on my 30th birthday (a winery now run by two sisters), and various characters both disguised (not to me!) and obvious. I really enjoyed this.
View all my reviews.
A personal note: As a former wine industry member, this book took me down a short memory lane - wineries I've been to (with thick black mold growing on the cellar walls), wines I've loved, my first taste of La Tache, that 1976 Lopez de Heredia on my 30th birthday (a winery now run by two sisters), and various characters both disguised (not to me!) and obvious. I really enjoyed this.
View all my reviews.
