Customer Reviews

A Cultivated Life: A Year in a California Vineyard

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Perhaps the best thing is that I am from Sonoma County where most of the events take place. The descriptions of the towns, people and the ever present vineyards really struck home. The obvious joy that the author takes in her life and the wines her family makes permeates the book. She obviously lives a life different from the average person but seems to know it and appreciate all she has. Many local people are mentioned but almost always in a positive and entertaining way. The explanation of grape growing and wine crafting made me feel that even a non-wine drinker like myself could learn to appreciate the difference between good and bad wines.

A glass of wine will never be the same for me after reading this book! I will be searching for all the delicious flavors and nuances that Joy Sterling and her family look for while turning their grapes into wine. Her wonderful and detailed descriptions show it is no easy task but takes much physical labor, creativity and attention to detail. It involves dealing with the stress of nature's moods as well as turning out fantastic meals for tons of people whether one is feeling like it or not -- all part of the business. And yet the land, lifestyle (and perks!) of living this life seem to amply repay Joy Sterling for all the hard work. I loved her tongue-in-cheek style when describing the events of her life: her father remarking on her not wanting to go to law school with the comment "I guess that means you won't be president" or she and her husband, Forrest, in evening dress, down under the table untying dusty boxes of wine glasses in which to serve their wine at a wine fair! I found this book delightful and informative and will read it again.

The book follows a year in a upscale California winery, exposing some of the details of what it's like to go through each step of the wine-making process. It also has a little of the "Lives of the Rich and Famous" to it, as well. A fun light read.

This book should be retitled "Portrait of a pompous boor." Here's a typical quote: "Father now thinks of us as landed gentry...He was wearing a Sea Island cotton shirt with a discreet 'B' monogrammed on the pocket, beige pants, his silver Iron Horse belt, and boots. I said, 'Daddy, you look like a Ralph Lauren ad.' I meant it as a compliment, but he was miffed. 'Ralph Lauren is just an imitation of people like us,' he said." I couldn't get past page 40. I would rather slit my throat than crawl through the rest of this book.

Whining pretentious "special" child of insufferable ugly american francophiles, (names dropped here), fails utterly at journalism career, but goes home to write book (more names dropped here) supposedly about the life in a vineyard/winery. Between the descriptions of her cool clothes and wonderful parties she finds a little time to run to the chais to ask her wine maker husband basic questions about wine making, that she then inserts into her partylogue as if she knows which end of a corkscrew is up. For pure unadulterated masochism try reading this out loud, preferably to someone who loves you and has a black sense of humor. If an editor has ever seen this book, I would be highly surprised.

Couldn't agree with Los Angeles more. I rarely give up on a book, but Joy Sterling is so annoyingly self-absorbed (she writes that on her wedding day no one could go out for a decent meal because most of America's great chefs were at her party) that I became too disgusted to continue. Too bad, because the story of growing and bottling wine is an interesting one, and she doesn't tell it poorly. Anyone who finds space in a book about wine to describe her own birthday as being "on the order of an intergalactic holiday," however, is drastically overestimating her audience's interest in the pretentious details of her life.