Customer Reviews

Vineyard Tales: Reflections on Wine

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Gerald Asher's book is approachable and a joy to read, yet reveals a glimpse of the scholarly depth of his knowledge of food and wine. It is not full of vintage charts, wine reviews, buying suggestions or other mundane (and otherwise ubiquitous) information; rather, it is a charming collection of experiences and history, of wine regions and their principal characters and vineyards. This book is a wonderful complement to anyone's food and wine book library - no matter how large or small.

Full disclosure: Gerald is a friend, and I can assure you that the previous reviewer's understanding that he is not stuffy or pretentious is absolutely accurate, and this fact comes out in the most natural way in the book.

I was prepared to find a dull book. So many wine books are that way. This is an entertaining collection of short stories about making wine, eating food, walking in the vineyards all over the world. It is a history of wine without being boring at all. I started reading it randomly and found that I forgot I read a particular story a few weeks ago because Asher tells such a good tale

This book is a collection of wine tales. Each of them could stand by itself as a refreshing piece to read. The virtue is that the collection of tales approach wines from the way we remember wines: time, ambience, location and a bit of history of the place. The writer lets you know what he likes and why he does! It is a perspective useful when you are able to find some of the wines that are discussed and taste them. If you know that the overwhelming taste of OAK is not a sign of aging potential, this book is for you!

This book is a compilation of twenty-nine "Gourme"t articles. Asher writes about wine in Crete, France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, California, Oregon, Washington and Long Island. In each article, the wine is placed in the region's history and culture. The articles also cover a wide range of subjects, including matters of taste, pairing wine and food, old wine books in English, French wine drinking traditions, decanting, and Asher's personal memories of wines.

Asher writes in a clear, poetic style; this is certainly one of the most beautifully written books on wine in English.

Example: "A glass of good wine does not need to be picked apart or burdened with jargon. It will find its echo among old memories (and sometimes anchor a new one). Smell and taste, with a tug at emotions, always pulls the past into the present, the there and then into the here and now. Somewhere in that there and then are familiar faces, snatches of happiness, half-forgotten stories and glimpses of places now far away."

Robert C. Ross 2007 2008