"I want my wines to tell a good story. I want them natural and most of all, like my dear friends, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue,” says Alice Feiring. Join her as she sets off on her one-woman crusade against the tyranny of homogenization, wine consultants, and, of course, the 100-point scoring system of a certain all-powerful wine writer. Traveling through the ancient vineyards of the Loire and Champagne, to Piedmont and Spain, she goes in search of authentic barolo, the last old-style rioja, and the tastiest new terroir-driven champagnes. She reveals just what goes into the average bottle—the reverse osmosis, the yeasts and enzymes, the sawdust and oak chips—and why she doesn’t find much to drink in California. And she introduces rebel winemakers who are embracing old-fashioned techniques and making wines with individuality and soul.
No matter what your palate, travel the wine world with Feiring and you’ll have to ask yourself: What do i really want in my glass?
What's All the Fuss About?
I just finished reading Ms. Feiring's "The Battle for Wine and Love." I loved it. I belong to a wine group that has been blind tasting wine since the 1970's. Over the past few years, we've all wondered, sometimes out loud, why gifted, talented and experienced (some more than others) tasters so often are unable to identify the grape varietal or blend. Ms. Feiring's book, in a well-balanced manner, offers many explanations. Locally, we've found that our beloved fruit, Pinot Noir, has become so extracted and over-oaked that we don't know what the hell we're tasting. There are, however, many local wine makers that get it - as does Ms. Feiring. The thought of a global palate, just like having all of our food taste identical (or nearly so) is just plain wrong. Cheers to Ms. Feiring for her passion, honesty and integrity.
Customer Review: Love/Hate Relationship With This Book
I first found out about this book from reading an article written by the author that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. In it, she seemed on the warpath, ready to offend anyone and anything as a means to get people to read her book to see what her outrageous statements were about. Myself, I thought this woman who criticized winemakers for manipulating wines into big, huge, bold styles in order to please Robert Parker and thus sell more bottles was guilty of the same thing, making outrageous statements and trying to create controversy in order to sell copies of her book.
However, I did agree in principle with what she was saying, that too often these days wines are manipulated into something that tries to please the consumer and they are losing their individuality. So I bought the book. Amazon's price makes it too attractive to pass up.
Pros: Ms. Feiring writes very well. She takes the reader around the globe in her adventures as we meet various winemakers on both sides of the fence, as she advances her argument against over-manipulation. I think most readers would be pretty surprised to find out what goes on in a lot of wineries in order to achieve the sort of wine they want to sell. It's a topic that does need to be more publicized.
Cons: Ms. Feiring sounds like she's taken out a contract on Robert Parker. She is so anti-Parker that it threatens the credibility of the book. She also tries to paint everything in black and white, as in small, family, old-fashioned winemakers = good guys and big, corporate, technology-utilizing winemakers = bad and evil guys. It's the same as people who automatically slam big corporations simply because they are big. She also tries to combine her romantic life with her discussion of the wines and I felt this added nothing to the book. In fact, I got tired of hearing about "Owl Man" and the others and was thinking, who cares?
If you can get past the chip (or boulder) that the author seems to have on her shoulder, this book is well worth reading. It will influence the way you perceive the next glass of wine you drink, as well as all the rest of them.
Click For More Details
Margarita Mix Wine Nuts have a clean, fresh, sweet lime taste and finish with the delicious taste of margarita. Serve with drinks or alone. This non-alcoholic snack appeals to all people who like sweet, salty items and to peanut lovers. Margarita Mix Wine Nuts Won BEST New Snack item at Kosherfest. The best new kosher products of the year have been selected by an independent panel of judges in the Kosherfest 2003 New Products Competition. All Natural, Gluten Free, Certified Kosher. 
