Customer Reviews

Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

There's plenty to dislike about this book.

First is the style: it's written in the third person, as if by some distant friend of the authors, and that's a highly debatable choice for two people who are zealous advocates for wine being best experienced as an intimate personal event. Then, apparently in recognition of the fact that the 3rd person style has its limitations in this context, the authors throw in occasional personal asides in italics, adding an element of inconsistency on top of their initial poor choice. (A much better style would have been, say, the joint author style used in "All's Fair," the book that James Carville and Mary Matalin did together several years ago). It's thus almost hard to believe that these two are the esteemed writer/journalists that they claim to be...which, in turn, brings up another problem with the book: there's a typical baby boomer self-centered, self-congratulatory note here in a text that doesn't need it. Also in the stylistic department: the end of the book seems awfully rushed. After a leisurely pace through most the book, within the space of a couple pages at the end, the authors breeze through Martha Stewart, the dot-com bust, their decision to give up the traditional careers they started, and 9/11/01.

On top of this, at least some readers are sure to find that the authors really are the wine snobs that they so often claim not to be. They admit, after all, to being Central Park West, East Coast, yuppy liberals who love eating at chi-chi restaurants and living close to the edge of their means while traveling the world. Oh, and for liberals who might be inclined to love the authors all the more because of all this, keep in mind that the authors barely explain their life decision to work for capitalist tool "The Wall St. Journal."

I'll be darned, then, if I didn't enjoy every single page of this fantstic and wonderful book (much as I love John & Dottie's regular newspaper column). It seemed so honest and intimate. I literally laughed and cried while reading this book. I don't want to say much more, except read it yourself.

And here's a fun tip for how to read the book: while you would do just fine to read it piecemeal (Chapter 1 here, Chapter 7 there, Chapter 4 later), read it cover to cover without thinking about it too much (i.e., without concentrating on gleaning every wine tidbit from every page). Then, go back when you're done, and look again at the chapter headings, each of which is titled after a wine. Then scan each chapter again to see where that wine fits into the story told in the chapter.

Peppered with fun anecdotes from nose to finish and delivered in a lean and direct journalistic style, this book will teach the beginner lots about wine, but perhaps a little bit more about John & Dottie's intimate details than we need to know. It is nonetheless a charming, informative, and engaging book, even providing the odd moment of humor, drama, and social comment.
The authors succeed admirably in their main mission, which is to show how passionate they are about wine and encourage readers to find the same passion in themselves. In the process, John & Dottie provide a unique insight into their own career paths from which all young journalists can benefit -- even teetotallers!
The book's only drawback is shared by even the finest wines: taken to excess it can cause headaches and occasionally even mild nauseau. This may be due to the high sugar content in John's musings about Dottie.

Even though I am not very interested in wine, I am a dedicated reader of Dorothy and John's weekly column in the Wall Street Journal. Their writing is wonderful, but it took me about a year to figure out that the column is really about life and that wine is just a vehicle for them to write about other things. (Those of you who listen to Car Talk on NPR might think of it as a comedy show that just happens to use cars as an excuse to be on the radio; this may be analogous.) When I figured this out, I sent mail to Dorothy and John at the Wall Street Journal, and I got an e-mail back from John in about 3 minutes saying in effect "Yes, you've figured it out; we use wine as a way to write about what's really important in life."

Some of the most moving things that I have ever read were in their columns. I have found myself crying profusely at least three times while reading their wine column, and I'm not someone who cries very often, especially about wine. :-)

As the previous reviewer notes, this isn't just one of the best wine books or the best autobiographies - this is one of the best books I've ever read.

When I got my copy of Love by the Glass, I think I was expecting a little less about love and a little more about what was in the glass. But just because I didn't anticipate this charming and inspiring love story doesn't mean I didn't thoroughly enjoy it.

Though I have been a fan of Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher's Wall Street Journal wine column for the last couple of years, I only knew the bits and pieces about their personal lives that I had gathered from reading their Friday installments. But while the column is about wine and it includes small asides about the couple's lives, this book turns the formula around and we find out much more about the writers in a lovely story where wine is an important but junior partner.

Each chapter is named after a bottle of wine that they enjoyed at that point in their lives, and a reader knowledgeable about wine will recognize that as their taste in wine became more sophisticated their bond to each other was becoming more profound.

The book is a light read -- please don't expect a meaty, intellectual tome -- but that's a big part of its charm. Fans of Ms. Gaiter and Mr. Brecher's column with immediately feel at home with the book's unpretentious and elegant prose, and anyone who picks it up should find him or herself immediately immersed in a story as simple and well made as some of the surprising wines they discover early in the book.

My husband and I are devoted readers of Dorothy and John's weekly column in the Wall Street Journal, so I bought him (and, well, me too) the book for Valentine's Day. However, grieving over the recent, sudden death of a beloved young niece and unable to sleep, I grabbed the book before he had the chance to read it. What I found in its pages was not only the elegant writing I've appreciated all along from Dorothy and John, but a spirit of love and life that I found immeasurably comforting and joyful. It is a MUST READ for anyone who believes in love, in hope, in the joy of living. It is a treasure, and I hope the first of many more from this delightful and admirable couple.

I finished this wonderful book yesterday afternoon and couldn't bring myself to begin anything else...what a pleasure in the middle of such a long siege of depressing literature (the Correction) or sheer pedagogy! I've been a long time fan, and always grab for the Fri Journal;so, when I saw this on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, I grabbed it without thinking about it...what a delightful payoff! They've got such a terrific story to tell, and set a beautiful example for the rest of us who might, otherwise, fall into nightly drinking as pure habit. When is volume 2?!

Gaiter and Brecher have employed their love of wine as a wonderful frame for the warm and touching story of their lives together. Both are people of incredible accomplishment who share their experiences and appreciation of wine in an uncomplicated, unpretentious, and understated fashion. While what they share about their evolving interest and expertise in wine is interesting, it is their own personal chronicle that is fascinating.

This is a wonderful book for the neophyte/developing devotee of wine. They frankly point out their initially pedestrian taste in wine, and their continued willingness to try seemingly unsophisticated, "fun", or inexpensive wines. I experienced some mild nausea reading what a wonderful principled paragon of good journalism the "Wall Street Journal" represents (in light of its editorial page); however, its credibility jumped in my estimation while reading this book due to the admiration I developed for them and their advocacy of the paper. This book challenged my assumptions, in that the seeming journal of the privileged features a wine column ideal for the needs of regular people.

"Love By the Glass" is a practical guide to savoring wine that doubles as a touching memoir. It is not a great book or a connoisseur's guide, but definitely is a fun and worthwhile read.