Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California

This is an interesting exploration of Mark Anderson, the man who destroyed $250M of wine in fire by arson. His narcissism and descent into mendacity, embezzlement, and inescapable plots makes for good reading. The author has a personal connection and is able to illustrate the damage done by these crimes and the relevant local history. For me, a bit too much broader decades of commercial viniculture history fills up the middle of what could be a more focused true crime work.

Living in Sonoma, Ca across the street from a vineyard gives me a personal insight into this book. I was aware of the fire/arson committed by Mark Anderson but did not know the whole back story. In addition to getting the story about all the lives he impacted with his crime to cover up a theft of client's wines that he had been selling from his storage facility. I learned a lot more about he history of the wine business in California. For those who live in California and enjoy wine, this is a must read about one of the major industries in our state. Although nonfiction, it had the feel of a good old fashioned crime novel. I do recommend this as a quick read and an educational one as well.

A curious book. The author has her roots in the California wine country, and part of this book traces some early history of wine-growing in Rancho Cucamonga (yes, that Cucamonga) near Los Angeles. The winery her family was involved with, through various curious mishaps, had bequested a number of bottles of wine to the family. Many of these bottles were destroyed in a totally senseless, enraging crime committed by a feckless embezzler who lied, cheated and stole from many vineyards and wine collectors, and who destroyed tens of millions of dollars worth of wine, as well as a number of businesses. You want to strangle the man convicted of the crime (he ended up, some years after the book, being released because of health reasons).

Another fascinating book about wine, this one takes place in California. The main story is about the arson and the destruction of so much wine but she also gives a history of wine in California and her family's part in it. The main story about Mark Anderson and his role in wine fraud, theft and then the arson, proves once again that fact can be much stranger than fiction. Just an incredible story. Now for a glass of nice red wine!