Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar

I must confess that I picked this book up only because I recognized the author’s name and knew that I was long overdue to read something of Jay McInerney’s. He’s a local boy – and one who enjoys a possibly worldwide reputation thanks to the likes of Bright Lights, Big City.


I read a few pages and decided I’d give it a go. Jay’s style, while not singular, is quite amusing. He writes like a very gifted kid, though also like one who’s not overwhelmed with his own genius (no names, please).


Since I pay my rent and my kids’ tuition with the money I make from the business Jay writes about in these pages, I suppose I know a little about the business. I also spent a decade of my “professional student” career in Europe – show more specifically, in Switzerland; Austria; Italy: (then) West Germany; the (then) Soviet Union; and Spain – and was able to sample a variety of Old World wines.


Just short of a year ago, I read a little thing titled Wine (All-in-One) for Dummies – yes, all 600 pages of it. And, given my employment, I probably now read a little something about wine every day.


All of that said, I can easily recommend this book, whether to the neophyte or to the experienced connoisseur, as a worthwhile read. The former will find it educational; the latter will find it, at the very least, entertaining. McInerney touches upon the history, geography and topology of the wine-making and –drinking business just enough to render the book educational – and does so in a kind of wine-spritzer style to render the subject entertaining. If you have to start anywhere in this continually evolving world of wine, this is as good a place as I can imagine to get your feet wet and your palate titillated.


If I have any criticism at all (and this frankly doesn’t count as a valid criticism, given the subject-matter and its requirements), it’s that the book seems just a tad dated. But in some sense at least, books about wine – just like books about gardening or cooking – never age out. And although this book may well be a mere collection of essays written over months or years for the likes of House & Garden, Jay McInerney’s prose doesn’t age out either. Unlike many of the wines he describes, he’s good to go – right now.


RRB
10/30/14
Brooklyn, NY show less

Absolutely delightful collection of essays about wine. Made me wish I drank!