- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (Mar 12 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 037571362X
- ISBN-13: 978-0375713620
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.6 x 20.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#549,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Wine > Cellars
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Bright lights: Krug, Latour, Lafite, Montrose. Big cities: Montalcino, Hampstead, Reims, Geyserville. Welcome to Bacchus & Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar, bestselling novelist Jay McInerney's mixed four-case lot of wine essays culled primarily from his output of "Uncorked" pieces written for House & Garden magazine. Reflecting the author's wit and opinion, it's tasty and stylish stuff. And nestled between glossy pages of photos depicting, say, a 396-square-foot TriBeCa loft decorated with a pair of Eames chairs purchased at a Brooklyn swap meet for $45, McInerney's blend of self-deprecation (his "eyebrows raised and jaw dropped" when H&G editors broached his name as wine columnist) and irreverence (on straw-covered Chianti bottles: the "bong component of choice in dorm rooms around the world") is refreshing juice. Unfortunately, as a compilation, it serves more to unmask a Eurocentric name-dropper: the bon-mot-coining D2 dilettante on an expense account who got the gig because he knew the editor. It's distressing, because there's so much to like here: "A Ticket to the Veneto" is a sparkling meld of ego and yeast; questioning whether or not to cellar wine, he concludes, "What could be more all-American than instant gratification?"; and his dead-on description of a Port hangover is quintessential McInerney. But numerous repetitions, imperceptible when published monthly, irritate when separated not by 30 days but 30 pages: Sauvignon Blanc's aroma of "pipi du chat" is funny the first time you read it, less so two essays later; likewise you won't find a single California piece that doesn't contain the words "dude" or "Helen Turley." And while it's admirable to break the mould of stuffy wine writing, McInerney's a bit long in the tastevin to adopt a "Wine Brat" posture comparing, for example, Martinelli Jackass Hill Zin more to "Free Bird" than "Jumpin' Jack Flash," or describing his first sip of Mouton "like hearing Nirvana on Saturday Night Live." Blame it on the editor, or maybe it just depends on how you devour Bacchus & Me. Sipped slowly, McInerney's words taste of the passionate amateur oenophile and skilled raconteur. Gulp 'em down and the finish is of the bestselling bon vivant with a blank check. --Tony Mason
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
“Brilliant, witty, comical, and often shamelessly candid and provocative thoughts about the world of wine and many of the people who produce it.” –Robert M. Parker, Jr.
“McInerney has become the best wine writer in America.” –Salon.com
“McInerney’s wine judgments are sound, his anecdotes witty and his literary references impeccable. Not many wine books are good reads; this one is.” –The New York Times
“In the fruity, buttery world of wine writing, there’s nothing else like it.” –Atlanta Journal
“McInerney has become the best wine writer in America.” –Salon.com
“McInerney’s wine judgments are sound, his anecdotes witty and his literary references impeccable. Not many wine books are good reads; this one is.” –The New York Times
“In the fruity, buttery world of wine writing, there’s nothing else like it.” –Atlanta Journal
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Never have I felt quite so worldly as I did on my very first real date, when, after considered perusal of the wine list, I masterfully commanded the waiter at the Log Cabin restaurant in Lenox, Massachusetts, to fetch me a bottle of Mateus Rose. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Never have I felt quite so worldly as I did on my very first real date, when, after considered perusal of the wine list, I masterfully commanded the waiter at the Log Cabin restaurant in Lenox, Massachusetts, to fetch me a bottle of Mateus Rose. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your average Wine book,
By
This review is from: Bacchus & Me (Hardcover)
I'll admit it I bought this collection of wine essays because I liked the title. Also, because there was a blurb in the dust jacket about French and German wine. I began reading the chapters in order of interest, not in the order in the book. After the first essay I was blown away with the descriptions. McInerney doesn't talk about wine like the rest of them. I thought, "this guy writes so well, this is like reading a novel." Then referring to the dust jacket again I discovered he um well has experience in that area too. Despite being fun to read, McInerney packs a lot of information into each essay. This book will not tell you everything you want to know about wine - it isn't an intro to wine collecting or a reference to keep through the ages as you collect wine. It is a collection of unique musings on the wonderful subject of wine. I loved it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
One trick pony,
By
This review is from: Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar (Paperback)
Jay McInerney was one of the voices of the 1980s, the era known for its conspicuous consumption, self-absorption and decadence. With this book, he seems intent on singing the same song years after the curtain was drawn.Ostensibly, this is a book about wines -- one of my passions -- and for the first few dozen pages it appears to be just that. There are some interesting and unusual observations about wine on the pages of Bacchus & Me, and Mr. McInerney deserves credit (hence the three stars) for breaking many of the crusty and useless conventions that limit most wine literature. But the more one reads the book, the more one realizes that the chapters are less about wine than about Mr. McInerney himself. He reveals himself as a shameless name dropper, and someone most interested in repeating a half dozen humorous and entertaining observations in a variety of contexts while boasting about his fat expense account and privileged access to bottles of wine that most of us will never even see. The problem is not that these lines are uninteresting or irrelevant -- as an occasional aside they would add to the intriguing take on one of the world's most written-about subjects. But in the frequency in which they appear here they can leave a throbbing in the head like an old bottle of jug wine does, when what we really wanted was one of those fine bottles of Bordeaux Mr. McInerney seems to be in love with.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wine...by a wine lover,
By W. John Switzer (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar (Paperback)
This book is the most fun I've experienced, doing something that sounds instinctively wrong... reading about wine!McInerney is well-versed in the lore and diversity of the wine world and converts his knowledge and experience into an informative, entertaining and engrossing read. I should warn you the content is laden with McInerney's quirky sense of humor - it's not for everyone. For those who don't like smart, intelligent use of humor as metaphor, don't buy this book. For those who can handle wine with a twisted sense of humor, no matter how much you know or don't know about wine you will find value in this book. It is perfect for reading on a trans-atlantic flight (perhaps to France) or on a rainy afternoon at your place at the beach. In fact, you will read this book again and again, it's that magnetic.
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