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Product Description
Amazon.ca
Subtitled "Conjuring a Vineyard Three Thousand Miles from Burgundy," this is a delightful account of the author's experiences growing wine grapes in Prince Edward County of Ontario. The county offers a limestone-based soil typical of certain areas of France, ideal for growing the Pinot Noir grape, which is used to make red wine. Also, the presence of Lake Ontario nearby ensures less severe winters. Heinricks, a Toronto journalist, decided to move to Prince Edward County with his family after realizing vineyard land in the Niagara region had grown too expensive. The author is a bit of a fanatic (the good sort), willing to throw his entire being into his pet project: for example, using a pick and shovel to dig holes in the shallow limestone soil and grafting thousands of rootstock himself for planting.
Heinricks writes well and gives the reader a strong taste of his sense of excitement, including a fair bit of history on the area. He starts each chapter with a quote from local poet Al Purdy (and includes several visits with Purdy). Essentially, however, this is a tale of one man's battle against the elements for love of the grape. It's all about work and weather: "a brief span of three or more days can combine the weather of all four seasons." The obstacles to success are legion: insects, diseases such as phylloxera, pests from voles to robins, and the wind-borne insecticide of his neighbors drifting into his vineyard. But in the end, the reader gets the feeling Heinricks will succeed and has thoroughly enjoyed the struggle. --Mark Frutkin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“An outstanding memoir.… Topping this book would be a difficult act.… How an intellectual threw his shoulder behind the plough and created a credible vineyard in the place of scrub brush is a lively and exciting tale.… Pain, loss and humiliation are strong themes in A Fool and Forty Acres, yet it is a terrifically engaging success story.– It’s the author’s knack for storytelling and his unbridled love of the challenge that make this a wonderful contribution to the growing literature of life on the land.”
–Marianne Ackerman, The Gazette (Montreal)
“This delightful book is not only a viticultural primer, but a personal memoir, local history and geographic study of a fascinating microclimate. Most of all, it’s a celebration of wine in all its myriad splendour.… The book is as informative as it is entertaining. A reader learns a great deal about wine – including its history – seemingly by accident, so accessible is Heinricks’ approach to the topic.”
–Robert Reid, The Record (Kitchener)
“If this book were a wine, it would be something sparkling but robust, full of local flavour.… Through this impressionistic tale, even a wine or vine neophyte can easily imbibe all kinds of viticultural lore and information.…Heinricks writes with deft pacing, a sense of humour and an eye for telling details.”
–Andrew Vowles, Hamilton Spectator
“Absorbing reading both from the viticultural point of view and the historical. I started to read the book and was 40 pages into it in no time at all.… I consider this a super book, and you do not need to be a wine expert to read it."
–Malcolm Anderson, The Gazette (Montreal)
“[A] deft memoir of a life given over to the grape's dominatrix demands.”
–John Allemang, Report on Business magazine
“An absorbing glimpse into the intricacies and toils of creating a vineyard from scratch. Plus a vivid, living history of Ontario's Prince Edward County, the achingly pastoral peninsula that juts into Lake Ontario just west of Kingston.… Heinricks is studious, thoughtful and forthright, with the ability to write very well.… Often I recalled the long, richly detailed pastoral works of Thomas Hardy.”
–David Lawrason, Globe and Mail
"We've never met Geoff Heinricks, but he's a hero for turning his back on the bright lights and following his heart.… Heinricks' story of trying to create a world-class vineyard out on Lake Ontario, while keeping marriage, sanity and four kids together, is a lot of fun."
–Toronto Star
“There are few books on growing grapes quite like A Fool and Forty Acres. Maybe Marq de Villiers’ The Heartbreak Grape comes close.… You really don’t have to know a floraison from a vendage to enjoy this book. It is a universal read filled with humour, intelligence, wonderfully drawn characters, and an extraordinary sense of place. And after you read it, lift a glass of superior Ontario wine in salute. It’s that good.”
–Andrew Armitage, The Sun Times (Owen Sound)
From the Hardcover edition.
–Marianne Ackerman, The Gazette (Montreal)
“This delightful book is not only a viticultural primer, but a personal memoir, local history and geographic study of a fascinating microclimate. Most of all, it’s a celebration of wine in all its myriad splendour.… The book is as informative as it is entertaining. A reader learns a great deal about wine – including its history – seemingly by accident, so accessible is Heinricks’ approach to the topic.”
–Robert Reid, The Record (Kitchener)
“If this book were a wine, it would be something sparkling but robust, full of local flavour.… Through this impressionistic tale, even a wine or vine neophyte can easily imbibe all kinds of viticultural lore and information.…Heinricks writes with deft pacing, a sense of humour and an eye for telling details.”
–Andrew Vowles, Hamilton Spectator
“Absorbing reading both from the viticultural point of view and the historical. I started to read the book and was 40 pages into it in no time at all.… I consider this a super book, and you do not need to be a wine expert to read it."
–Malcolm Anderson, The Gazette (Montreal)
“[A] deft memoir of a life given over to the grape's dominatrix demands.”
–John Allemang, Report on Business magazine
“An absorbing glimpse into the intricacies and toils of creating a vineyard from scratch. Plus a vivid, living history of Ontario's Prince Edward County, the achingly pastoral peninsula that juts into Lake Ontario just west of Kingston.… Heinricks is studious, thoughtful and forthright, with the ability to write very well.… Often I recalled the long, richly detailed pastoral works of Thomas Hardy.”
–David Lawrason, Globe and Mail
"We've never met Geoff Heinricks, but he's a hero for turning his back on the bright lights and following his heart.… Heinricks' story of trying to create a world-class vineyard out on Lake Ontario, while keeping marriage, sanity and four kids together, is a lot of fun."
–Toronto Star
“There are few books on growing grapes quite like A Fool and Forty Acres. Maybe Marq de Villiers’ The Heartbreak Grape comes close.… You really don’t have to know a floraison from a vendage to enjoy this book. It is a universal read filled with humour, intelligence, wonderfully drawn characters, and an extraordinary sense of place. And after you read it, lift a glass of superior Ontario wine in salute. It’s that good.”
–Andrew Armitage, The Sun Times (Owen Sound)
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not so foolish after all.,
This review is from: A Fool And Forty Acres: Conjuring A Vineyard Three Thousand Miles From Burgundy (Paperback)
This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anyone who brings a dream into fruition (pun intended) deserves much praise. The writing style is humorous, and engaging. He makes the everyday sights of the County into something special and even magical, especially as he describes them through his young daughter's eyes. Each time Heinricks strays into too much information, he brings you back to a deep and profound appreciation of the richness and historicity of the County. As one who is seriously contemplating, and counting the cost of starting a vineyard in Prince Edward County,I found the information extremely useful.
An engaging read for lovers of vineyards, pioneering and Prince Edward County.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious,
By
This review is from: A Fool And Forty Acres: Conjuring A Vineyard Three Thousand Miles From Burgundy (Paperback)
A dissapointing read. The author writes in a most boring and tedious style.
Rather than being an entertaining story the book is loaded with (irrelevant) history of the locality he lives in .... I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. A waste of money.
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