Skip to main content

The Mad Crush for Foodie Reads


As we inch towards the end of the Foodie Reads 2016 Challenge, I cracked the cover on a copy of The Mad Crush: A Memoir of Mythic Vines and Improbable Winemaking by Sean Christopher Weir* for my thirty-first foodie read. Yes, I just might be able to get through thirty-eight foodie books this year. I'm going to give it my best shot.

On the Page
At less than 150 pages, this was the perfect book for me to hide from the world on a cold, grey morning. 

As resident of California's central coast, I love the vineyards and vintners of this area - from Sonoma to Santa Barbara. I was immediately intrigued when I first heard about this book. And I wasn't disappointed. 

Weir is a wonderful storyteller and his recounting the true story of the 1995 crush shows just how grueling the winemaking business is. "For the layperson, here's how red wine is made," he details. Preparation, Controls, Filtration and Bottling, Pick Grapes, Sort and Process Grapes, Fermentation, Punchdowns, Pressing, and Barreling Down. "On paper, the crush always looked like a breeze. But, in practice, it never was" (pp. 14-16).

He describes the scenes and characters in a way that make you feel as if you are there with them. describing Bill, the vineyard owner, he writes, " He wasn't the type of leader who screamed at you when you were doing something wrong. He would simply make a suggestion, empowering and inspiring you to do the right thing. ...He wasn't eager to take action and change the natural course of wine. Sometimes a wine just needed time to work out the kinks on its own. Wine is a living thing, and like all of us it goes through awkward moments and growth spurts and rebellious phases. Bill understood this..." (pg. 118).

I breezed through the book and am more than a little determined to track down a bottle of Zinfandel from Saucelito Canyon Winery. I probably won't be able to get my hands on a bottle of the 1995 vintage, but I am happy to find a new-to-me vintner that's within a few hours' drive.

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.


Here's what everyone else read in November 2016: here.

Comments

  1. Sometimes you just need to stay in bed and escape from the world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love reading about wines. I like the history of the terroir and everything that goes into them. I'm always so disappointed that I don't actually like the taste of wine.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce