Untrodden Grapes [Hardcover]

Ralph Steadman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

From Chile to California, South Africa to Alsace, Ralph Steadman has seen the best of the world's wine-producing regions. On a search for the unique and original, he meets Aurelio Montes, the Chilean winemaker who planted syrah vines on a rocky, south-facing hill in order to "steal the wild complexity of the mountain's soul." In Spain, he learns of the white chalky soil called albariza that produces the sherry of the Jerez region. In California, the author describes crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, driving up into Marin County, and meeting enthusiastic winemakers whose vineyards sit precariously on the San Andreas fault. As the journey continues on through Burgundy, Champagne, and Sicily, Steadman brings the landscape and its people to life with pictures and prose.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Steadman, illustrator of several of Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo narratives, also has a reputation in the world of wine—which is no contradiction, as he thinks of himself as "a romantic and a lifetime supporter of the maverick tradition in all fields of human activity." In this volume, which follows his well-received Grapes of Ralph, he wanders to notable vineyards in California, Chile, Spain, France, Italy and South Africa for a look at their grapes and wine-making techniques. Steadman chats with the owners, eyes their dogs, tastes their wines and takes notes, which frequently meander into fond digressions on unusual oenophilic practices. Still, it's Steadman's sketches that make the book: vertiginous mountain vineyards; splotchy caricatures of idiosyncratic vintners; lumpy, mustachioed villagers (male and female); even a brief album of wine dogs, "grand cru mutts." Although he's designed many wine labels himself, Steadman's no label snob; indeed, he rails against "the rigid aristocracy of fine appellation" and misses the "good, bad old days" when you could decant a nice Roussillon into your own jug straight from a pump at the wine cooperative. Readers dithering over the right bottle to surprise a wine-loving friend with might do better to shop at the bookstore for a Steadman instead. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Steadman's utterly distinctive drawings are the stars of his eccentric book about the world of wine, which his curmudgeonly prose just complements. Though hardly for the chardonnay- or merlot-swilling masses, the book does include a step-by-step how-to on making champagne and a careful description of how each year's sherry is mixed with some from earlier years to smooth and refine the marketable product. How-to's and why-for's aren't really Steadman's meat, however. He is interested in the offbeat and overlooked: wine made by old hippies who ignore wasps flying about the outdoor vats, or by reckless Chileans who hang the vines off cliffs, or even by himself, as he dabbles in grape growing in England (no wonder he's cranky about chardonnay). Illustrations of vineyards capture the strange beauty of vines thwarted from their natural, rampant leafiness and crowded into trellised rows, but more memorable are muddy dogs met in vineyards from France to California and caricatured vingerons hard at work. Not to be missed: the saga of the scandalous red wine Cardinal Zin. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151011672
• ISBN-13: 978-0151011674
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #769,205 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

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again - brilliant!, December 23, 2005

By 

Margaret Schneider "Pro Web Head" (South Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Untrodden Grapes (Hardcover)

Steadman has outdone himself with this latest book of narrative and artwork. You will be taken on a tour of the wine producing areas of the world, portraying the author's love of the drink. Each story is highlighted with artwork as further interpretation. I especially enjoyed the account of a bottle of wine's ability to transform a mountain of greasy fish, chips and extra peas at a local chip shop to a culinary masterpiece. The writing is honest, expressive, humorous and straight-forward. Those who appreciate a witty turn of phrase will be delighted. Those too drunk on wine to notice will wonder why they feel suddenly lighter.

The artwork is quintessentially Steadman. If you are not familiar with his work, you need to be sure to approach this book with an open mind - as it is not for the faint of heart. Figures can be what some would describe as ugly - maybe even grotesque, there are great splatterings of ink and often quite a bit of mayhem. But, the overall effect is intoxicating with rich colors and visually shocking contrast.

I have collected and appreciated Ralph Steadman's work for over 20 years now, and like any good wine, he just keeps getting better.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A coffee table book you'll actually read cover-to-cover, October 16, 2006

By 

David A. Chambers "Dave the Wine Merchant" (San Francisco, Anderson Valley, Sierra Foothills) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Untrodden Grapes (Hardcover)

Few people today remember that Ralph Steadman grew to fame for his Gonzo art that complemented some rather famous Gonzo journalism. Today, his is arguably best known for his art that complements wine bottles, as well as a number of wine books published over several decades.

In Untrodden Grapes, his latest book, we get to read and see a number of small wineries through his artist's eyes. Focusing on small but premium producers (hence the title) from around the world, Ralph intersperses his personal editorial on the state of today's wine world along with descriptions and renderings of what he's seen.

A great read for wine lovers, and well worthwhile for anyone who enjoys the intersection of memorable art and great writing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Thrilled I Got a Second One!, February 5, 2008

By 

M. Jones "scooter" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Untrodden Grapes (Hardcover)

This was almost too good to be true -- a new book and FAR less than what I would have paid in a book store.