If you love wine and the joy and connection that comes from sharing it with friends and family, this book is for you. Sippin' on Top of the World is filled with 88 inspirational wine passages―"Sips"―describing benefits of wine in your lifestyle, in moderation and balance, inviting you to be in this moment: celebrating life, promoting healthy living, enhancing food, and engaging spiritual lessons from the vineyards. Many Sips include material for toasts, identified by bold italics, and questions inviting further reflection, conversation and questions of your own.
| |||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
“ Like the writer, I too have experienced "Sippin' on top of the World" savoring a glass of wine with friends on top of a mountain peak just climbed! ”
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Dr Mike
Format:Paperback
Sippin' on Top of the World is an entirely different approach to wine-- it looks at the intersection of wine and spirituality. The approach is really not denominational or even overtly religious; David White aims to bring a spiritual awareness to the entire experience of wine--from growing and harvesting to the very act of drinking the wine and experiencing the complexity of sensations with it. And at the same time he shows how wine enhances the meaning of a special event even further.
There will probably be a lot of "a-ha!" moments for readers-- recognizing what they've already experienced themselves without being fully aware of it. Read this and you will find yourself being much more "in the moment" the next time you pick up a glass of wine.
There will probably be a lot of "a-ha!" moments for readers-- recognizing what they've already experienced themselves without being fully aware of it. Read this and you will find yourself being much more "in the moment" the next time you pick up a glass of wine.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Tim Noonan
Format:Paperback
Wine really is a nexus that links us with nature and each other. Drawing us to the literal and figurative beauty of making and savoring wine, David White suggests that wine is about community - it emerges from creative and patient teamwork and finds its purpose fulfilled in helping to create moments that bond people in special ways - celebration, romance or reflection.
Many of us can appreciate David White's call to stop for a moment - step aside from our too busy, too frantically paced, stress-filled lives - and take time to sip a glass and talk with friends. This book sets forth a collection of "Sips" - observations matched with open-ended questions. These can be points to reflect upon individually or used as conversation starters. In this day of 140-character twitters, I appreciate the tips and encouragement to really converse with friends, new and old.
After reflecting upon the "Sips," I realized I was drawn to the Wine Country myself for many of the literal and metaphoric reasons David White points out. Foremost is the snapshop of beauty created by man working with nature to produce a product that is both pleasurable and a piece of art, ancient yet modern. By living here, one can take in the rhythm of the wine-making process from planting to vine maturity to pruning, crush, fermentation, storage and uncorking. Hidden behind the beauty and process are analogies for life lessons - the 88 "Sips" described in this book, presented with a challenge to not only ponder the ideas but to put metaphor into action. Like the writer, I too have experienced "Sippin' on top of the World" savoring a glass of wine with friends on top of a mountain peak just climbed!
Many of us can appreciate David White's call to stop for a moment - step aside from our too busy, too frantically paced, stress-filled lives - and take time to sip a glass and talk with friends. This book sets forth a collection of "Sips" - observations matched with open-ended questions. These can be points to reflect upon individually or used as conversation starters. In this day of 140-character twitters, I appreciate the tips and encouragement to really converse with friends, new and old.
After reflecting upon the "Sips," I realized I was drawn to the Wine Country myself for many of the literal and metaphoric reasons David White points out. Foremost is the snapshop of beauty created by man working with nature to produce a product that is both pleasurable and a piece of art, ancient yet modern. By living here, one can take in the rhythm of the wine-making process from planting to vine maturity to pruning, crush, fermentation, storage and uncorking. Hidden behind the beauty and process are analogies for life lessons - the 88 "Sips" described in this book, presented with a challenge to not only ponder the ideas but to put metaphor into action. Like the writer, I too have experienced "Sippin' on top of the World" savoring a glass of wine with friends on top of a mountain peak just climbed!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By R. Scharman
Format:Paperback
What the world does not need is just another "wine book" - you know, recipes, food and wine pairings,varietals, vineyards, pretty pictures - you get the idea. This is a book about many of life's journeys with wine and the spiritual components that go with it for most of us who enjoy wine. You don't have to read the whole book to appreciate the nuggets within. It's a good read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Michels
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
David White notes that wine has been a tool since ancient times for marking occasions and making them sacred. Wine is spiritual not only because of alcohol's effect but because of the ways people ritualize and appreciate drinking it. Wine brings us into the moment, encourages us to notice small details: taste, color, smell, packaging... wine connects us to one another. And thus a good deal about connections, about mindfulness and living in the moment, and about spirituality can be learned from wine and observing the customs connected to wine.
This is White's central lesson, and it's delivered simply and gently, in smalls sips, as it were, in this book. Sippin on Top of the World is a collection of short mediations connecting wine (and all the ritual pleasures and fellowship that go with a good bottle) and spirituality (also rooted in ritual, in memory, and in camaraderie).
To someone with limited experience of either wine or spirituality, the book will not be intimidating. It seeks rather to debunk myths and to open the world of wine and of the spirit to anyone and everyone. To readers already passionate about wine, White's book will remind them of the great richness and variety connected to rituals of the vine.
White writes in an informal, conversational style that's easy to read, and he follows each "sip" (usually a mediation of about a page) with questions for dialog and space to make notes in the book.
The book feels a bit like a beginning... it invites meditation and reflection, but it hardly exhausts its subject. It is White's first book, however; so there may be more to come. Certainly as a tasty, complex, rich sip, this work whets the appetite!
This is White's central lesson, and it's delivered simply and gently, in smalls sips, as it were, in this book. Sippin on Top of the World is a collection of short mediations connecting wine (and all the ritual pleasures and fellowship that go with a good bottle) and spirituality (also rooted in ritual, in memory, and in camaraderie).
To someone with limited experience of either wine or spirituality, the book will not be intimidating. It seeks rather to debunk myths and to open the world of wine and of the spirit to anyone and everyone. To readers already passionate about wine, White's book will remind them of the great richness and variety connected to rituals of the vine.
White writes in an informal, conversational style that's easy to read, and he follows each "sip" (usually a mediation of about a page) with questions for dialog and space to make notes in the book.
The book feels a bit like a beginning... it invites meditation and reflection, but it hardly exhausts its subject. It is White's first book, however; so there may be more to come. Certainly as a tasty, complex, rich sip, this work whets the appetite!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By R. Berman
Format:Paperback
I just finished reading "Sippin' on Top of the World" by David White. What a delicious pleasure. I've always loved wine but now I'll appreciate every sip of wine and life even more.
This is a thoughtful, moving and inspiring book that goes beautifully with food for thought. I intend to revisit it time and again.
Someone should bottle it.
This is a thoughtful, moving and inspiring book that goes beautifully with food for thought. I intend to revisit it time and again.
Someone should bottle it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A. Crowe
Format:Paperback
As a winemaker, I am often reminded of the connection between wine, humanity and spirituality every day! As I drive through vineyards, pick a grape or watch the seasons change in the Napa Valley I frequently stop and reflect on my place in nature and my place in the world of wine.
How wonderful that David White has written this book to bring everyone (no matter where you live or work) a bit of the wonder and the beauty of wine. Though non-denominational (and not even really religious), the short written stories, or "sips," are sure to make you ponder "life the universe and everything" as you reflect on your glass of wines.
I really appreciate how Mr. White and his contributing authors invite us to make the everyday moments of our busy lives more meaningful and to seek out greater community and connection with our neighbors, whether in wine country or around the world.
How wonderful that David White has written this book to bring everyone (no matter where you live or work) a bit of the wonder and the beauty of wine. Though non-denominational (and not even really religious), the short written stories, or "sips," are sure to make you ponder "life the universe and everything" as you reflect on your glass of wines.
I really appreciate how Mr. White and his contributing authors invite us to make the everyday moments of our busy lives more meaningful and to seek out greater community and connection with our neighbors, whether in wine country or around the world.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous to slip in and sip from this book
Sippin' on Top of the World takes you into reflection and conversations about life. Consisting of 88 thought-provoking questions followed by pithy, humorous, and inspiring... Read more
Published on January 22, 2010 by S. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is the perfect accompaniment to wine and friends?
In the spirit of full disclosure... I am the contributor of three of the 88 "sips" in the book.
That said, I had no idea when I agreed to participate, just how this profound,... Read more
That said, I had no idea when I agreed to participate, just how this profound,... Read more
Published on July 13, 2009 by Steven M. Russon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spiritually uplifting!
What a wonderful book to ponder life, joy and wine! I really enjoy reading the "sips" and relating them to my own life and dreams. Read more
Published on July 10, 2009 by Lynn Feingold Michalski
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must read
A must read for anyone who has ever considered, or discussed, or argued the mysteries of life over a glass of wine.
Published on July 8, 2009 by Erik L. Preminger
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wine is a connection to ourselves and to each other
David White brings a message about 'living in community', celebrating our relationships and our blessings in his refreshing new book, Sippin' On Top of the World. Read more
Published on July 6, 2009 by Doug Ramo
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
