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Book Review - 'Red, White, and Drunk All Over' by Natalie MacLean

Written By: Kasey Carpenter on Thursday, July 3, 2008

Natalie Maclean's take on the wine life, complete with intriguing anecdotes and quotes.

"Red, White, and Drunk All Over" is reviewed by Kasey Carpenter

Call it a memoir, an autobiography of sorts. Natalie MacLean has been around when it comes to the world of wine and writing, winning four James Beard Journalism Awards and contributing to any and all manner of food and wine publications.

But this isn't some self-indulgent "look at my charmed life" read, "Red, White, and Drunk All Over" has a lot of honesty woven in the narrative, much of which I don't think was meant to be, but it is so great to see. I was surprised at her almost prima-donna-like reaction to having to carry some pails in a storied vineyard to help the winemaker, a privilege most would jump at. But even more glad at the honest self appraisal and inclusion of the incident in her own work. Or how she handles criticisms not necessarily aimed at her, but at wine writers in general, to her face. All great reactions to read, given the context of the book, the industry, and who is leveling the sights.

The book itself is broken up into chapters that deal with lessons learned from all corners of the wine world, from THE winemaker for DRC, to the goofy greatness that is Randall Grahm -- they all offer Natalie, and by extension, us, some pretty profound thoughts on the production and enjoyment of wine.

The first few pages are, in my opinion, the biggest hurdle. Borderline chic-lit verbosity and overuse of the trusty thesaurus (something all of us do at times when describing wine) sent up red flags, and had me calculating how many pages of this I was going to have to wade through, but fortunately it was just the one passage. Hindsight makes me think it was intentional, as we all tend to "build up" our first wine moments, and attach words to them that we didn't even know existed at the time.

This book skims the surface as far as a technical read is concerned, and for those seeking hard core tasting notes and data, look elsewhere, that is not the intention of this book thankfully. Educational yes, but entertaining first. It is simply a great collection of encounters with people in the wine world that most of us would love to have access to, and Natalie shares that with us, in a clever and engaging manner.

One of my favorite passages (tied for first with any quotes from Randall Grahm) is the chapter "Purple Prose With A Bite" where she offers her own take on the whole Parker vs. Robinson throw down of a few years ago, all centered, or at least sparked by, a single bottle of 2003 Chateau Pavie. MacLean does a wonderful balancing act between the two dissenting views that serve to magnify the polarity within the wine business itself, and ultimately to bring us all back to earth, safe or otherwise, in the knowledge that wine is an art form and is so subject to interpretation, tastes, whims, moods, context, etc...

The most thoughtful line in this book deals with the influence of Parker: "Some vintners feel it's not so much Parker himself they're trying to woo, as the consumer tastes he represents. In their eyes, his reviews just reflect the ratcheting up of our entire sensory environment, from spicier sauces on food to bigger special effects in the movies." Amen.

Despite the allure to do so, she never sides with one or the other, but allows both their voice, reason for being. I for one, was pleased and impressed with this passage of the book, and made for some thought provoking discussion amongst the tasting group.

While this may never be required reading for the MW programme, it is still required reading for any and all who enjoy wine, and more importantly, the people behind it.

Well done.

Buy "Red, White, and Drunk All Over" at Amazon.com

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Wines Featured In Book Review - 'Red, White, and Drunk All Over' by Natalie MacLean

Chateau Pavie 2003 Blend
Region: Europe > France > Bordeaux > St Emilion

  

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