A Hedonist in the Cellar

Posted on 16 May 2017 by Jay McInerney

In the two decades since Bright Lights, Big City reinvigorated contemporary fiction, Jay McInerney can claim a great many accomplishments, including the mantle that Salon has given him The best wine writer in America Of his previous collection, Bacchus and Me, Robert M Parker, Jr., concluded Brilliant, witty, comical, and often shamelessly candid and provocative And The New York Times added McInerney s wine judgments are sound, his anecdotes witty, and his literary references impeccable Not many wine books are good reads this one is In A Hedonist in the Cellar, he gathers than five years worth of essays and continues his exploration of what s new, what s enduring, and what s surprising, giving his palate a complete workout and the reader an indispensable, idiosyncratic guide to a world of almost infinite variety Rieslings from the Finger Lakes, Armagnac from Gascony, powerhouse amarones from Valpolicella, the most fearsome critics in England, chocolate friendly bottles from all over the globe, new developments in Chile and Argentin these are only some of the delights now ready to be savored in a collection driven not only by wine itself but also the people who make it and those whose enjoyment is matched by their curiosity.Full of terroir and flavor, svelte personalities, and keen insight into the trade, these are irresistible essays for anyone enthralled by the manifold pleasures of wine. New Download eBook A Hedonist in the Cellar Author Jay McInerney – kino-fada.fr Instagram Twitter FacebookPinterestWhen I was younger, I didn t like wine My young adult self took great pride in the dropped jaws that ensued when I said, smugly, I don t like wine Not even white Ew, no That smugness quickly disappeared when the listener inevitably, equally smugly, said, Well, you re too young to appreciate wine It s an acquired taste Later, as I got older, I grew to enjoy...I came away with a list of wines to try, but the book is dated and I found the tone and style tiresome after a while But I m not a huge McInerney fan to start with.Great stories about the characters that create the world s best elixir Also, informative for those of us that tend to drink the same varietals all the time What a great job Jay McInerney hasWriting stellar is superb and will make you beeline for the wine shoppe.Verdict is still out on McInerney I guess he has been drinking wine for the last 15 years instead of writingbooks.This was a great collection of columns There were a few that I skimmed over, but for the most part, I really enjoyed each one I liked the variety of focus on different aspects of wine, from grower, to maker, to reviewer, to expert I made a list of places to visit, and hope to be able to try some of the wines reviewed I a...Amusing read and learned about some producers and nice experiences.On the purchase of my flat last year, after renting 20 places in 18 years including 6.5 years in one place , an ex girlfriend gave me Jay McInerney s book, A Hedonist in the Cellar She was overjoyed to find a book this bookman had not read, and one so appropriate to my newest passion in life, wine McInerney is perhaps best known for his book Bright Lights, Big City, something everybody my age was reading in college, and then watching the movie version of starring Michael J Fox However, McI On the purchase of my flat last year, after renting 20 places in 18 years including 6.5 years in one place , an ex girlfriend gave me Jay McInerney s book, A Hedonist in the Cellar She was overjoyed to find a book this bookman had not read, and one so appropriate to my newest passion in life, wine McInerney is perhaps best known for his book Bright Lights, Big City, something everybody my age was reading in college, and then watching the movie version of starring Michael J Fox However, McInerney is also the wine columnist for American magazine House Garden, and Hedonist in the Cellar is a collection of some of those columns I find his novel muchaccessible than his wine writing, however, I did learn a lot if I skimmed past the details of vintages and domaines I believe that wine writing at its worst uses floral and excess verbiage, whereas at its best it simply says, an excellent dry red, good with pasta, serve at degrees C Honestly, do I need to know anythin...Soon after I started reading this book, I was marveling over how enjoyable I found it I don t actually know all that much about wine other than that I like drinking it So the various descriptions didn t really conjure up memories of flavors for me And I realized very quickly that I wasn t going to be able to use the book as an educational tool, or interactive experience, because most of the wines he writes about simply aren t to be found here, at least not in the stores I generally frequent Soon after I started reading this book, I was marveling over how enjoyable I found it I don t actually know all that much about wine other than that I like drinking it So the various descriptions didn t really conjure up memories of flavors for me And I realized very quickly that I wasn t going to be able to use the book as an educational tool, or interactive experience, because most of the wines he writes about simply aren t to be found here, at least not in the stores I generally frequent So why on earth would it be entertaining to read short essays about various obscure types of wine And yet it was McInerney has a wonderfully readable prose style It s not exactly evocative it s not that you can actually taste what he s describing at least I couldn t but it s somehow a lot of fun anyhow What does come across is his personality He seems like a guy I d enj...Collections of essays like this are bound to be uneven, and this one is no exception This is reallyof a 3 1 2 star rating As other reviewers have pointed out, the strongest parts of the book are the first three chapters where his focus is on wine regions His discriptions of these places and their wines are witty, engaging and highly entertaining.Like the hillsides and valleys vines seem to love, the lowest part of the book is the middle, part four, in which he talks about wine personali Collections of essays like this are bound to be uneven, and this one is no exception This is reallyof a 3 1 2 star rating As other reviewers have pointed out, the strongest parts of the book are the first three chapters where his focus is on wine regions His discriptions of these places and their wines are witty, engaging and highly entertaining.Like the hillsides and v...

English
16 May 2017

Jay McInerney