Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage [Paperback]

Dorothy J. Gaiter (Author), John Brecher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2003

Love by the Glass is a captivating memoir by the authors of The Wall Street Journal’s weekly “Tastings” column, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, who have merged their journalism careers with their love of wine. She grew up in the all-black environment of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, and he was raised in Jacksonville, where his was one of a handful of Jewish families. Follow Dottie and John from their June 4, 1973, meeting in the newsroom of The Miami Herald to their first “Open That Bottle Night,” which put them on the road to becoming full-time wine columnists. From the André Cold Duck that accompanied their first date to the bottle of Taittinger Champagne smuggled into the delivery room to wet the lips of their newborn second daughter, lovers of books as well as lovers of wine can now join the wine world’s favorite couple as they embark on the ultimate quest for the perfect grape.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dorothy J. Gaiter and her husband John Brecher are best known for their Wall Street Journal wine column, "Tastings," a passionate yet practical guide to their favorite subject. Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage is their marriage-and-wine memoir, an account of the couple's life together in terms of the bottles they discovered, shared, and enjoyed (or didn't) over time. If readers learn less than they should about the pair when their glasses aren't raised, they are nonetheless treated to a fascinating (as well as useful) investigation of a growing education and the bottles that fueled it.

Chapters are named for the couples' progressive wine discoveries, from the "rudimentary" (André Cold Duck, enjoyed on their first date) to the diversely more evolved (for example, a "magnificent" Gevrey-Chambertin Gérard Quivy provided in a basement shop in Burgundy). Other discoveries are delightfully serendipitous (like a "small" but delicious Collery brut champagne, enjoyed at the launch of the pair's wine Web site). In the process, readers follow the intertwining lives of the love-at-first-sight couple--he, from one of a few Jewish families in Jacksonville, Florida; she, African American and raised in the environment of Florida A&M University--as they blend burgeoning journalism careers with their love of wine. Emblematic of this ever-evolving infatuation, and a narrative high point, is the couple's maternity ward visit to wet the lips of their newborn second daughter with Taittinger champagne. Thus wine and love are once again mutually measured in a book all devotees of the grape, and of the couple who so plainly elucidate its mysteries, will want to read. --Arthur Boehm --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Authors of the Wall Street Journal's "Tastings" column about wine, husband and wife John Brecher and Dorothy J. Gaiter have also teamed up to write their memoir, Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage. Gaiter, who's black, and Brecher who's white, grew up in segregated Florida towns and met at the Miami Herald. With warmth and humor, they recall their courtship and wedding, the arrival of children and their long careers as journalists. All the important life passages, from a new job at Newsweek to the birth of their daughter, are marked by memorable bottles, and the couple describes how they went from enthusiasts to collectors to critics.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (January 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812966864
• ISBN-13: 978-0812966862
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and life with some wine along the way, January 15, 2002

By 

Laura Wolff (Ferguson, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage (Hardcover)

Dottie and John, as readers of their column in the Wall Street Journal inevitably call them, have written a book that's about life and love that sometimes made me laugh so hard that my 10-year-old wanted me to read whatever it was outloud. And sometimes, what was happening to them hurt and I felt pain not just for them, but for anyone who could be in that situation, whether it was struggling with infertility or dealing with the losses of Sept. 11th. Wine is usually something that people think of in terms of exclusivity. Only "some" people can know enough or afford enough or truly appreciate it. Their gift is their ability to bring a sense of the universal to things that often separate us. They build bridges between people, which they seem to have done quite naturally in their relationship. Race, religion don't seem to inevitably separate people in the story of their life. Instead, it's just like different vintages and varieties, to be sampled, celebrated and enjoyed for their own intrinsic merit.

I was a non-wine drinker when I started reading their column in the Wall Street Journal. Now as my bottles collect along with some cherished memories, I feel like they've introduced me to new life adventures that are available to anyone--this book, even while it looks back, is a great continuation of that journey.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good wine, good people, March 29, 2002

By 

Douglas E. Welch "New Media Consultant" (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage (Hardcover)

Just finished this excellent memoir by the authors of The Wall Street Journal's 'Tastings' column.

While the authors do talk about wine a lot, it is truly a story of their lives and relationship long before they began writing about wine for a living.

An excellent and quick read. Gaiter and Brecher are a wonderful couple, if a bit "precious" at times. I have seen them on [a television program] on occasion and was charmed by their love for wine and their desire to make it understandable to all. Wine is truly an obsession for them, but we can all learn from their obsession without taking it to that level.

I highly recommend reading their "Tastings" column in the Wall Street Journal each Friday. It contains more information on particular wines and recommendations.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Story Told Through Wine, January 21, 2002

By 

Barbara Nowak (Franklin, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage (Hardcover)

I just finished reading LOVE BY THE GLASS. It's one of the best books I've ever read -- not one of the best wine books, not one of the best autobiographies -- just one of the best books. The stories (about Dottie and John and about famous and not-so-famous winemakers) are endearing and poignant and drove me to deplete the better part of a box of kleenex. It simultaneously took me back to my own wine roots in the 70's (Mateus, Gallo Hearty Burgundy) and gave me a history of wine in America. More than anything else, LOVE BY THE GLASS is a sweet and compelling story told through wine of two people you'd like to have as friends.