Perhaps just as appropriate is “A Really Big Lunch” – Harrison’s collection of food/wine-related essays published a year after his death. It features a handful of pieces that he wrote for Kermit Lynch’s newsletter. Some excellent stuff if not quite as polished as the essays from “The Raw and the Cooked.”
in vino duplicitas - more in depth recount of 'sour grapes"
shadows in the vineyard - the extortion attempt of drc
monks and wine - a bit slow but solid read if your a history fan.
time to bring this one back to life. Anything new for a beach read ? wine/food or restaurant related.
i can read harrison’s books every year
+1
My favorite fiction reading is the latest Acker auction catalog.
I’d warmly second “Bursting Bubbles”, recommended by Michael last year.
A bit scholarly and translated from the French but full of fascinating stuff is Christophe Lucand’s “Hitler’s Vineyards”.
Bill Buford’s “Dirt” deserves the rave reviews and is full of acute observations about French food and culture (as someone who lives for much of the year in France, and who has worked in wineries there as opposed to kitchens, it’s very relatable).
Mentioned above but seconded:
Cork Dork
Billionaire’s Vinegar
Not read yet, but recommended by a friend:
Wine and War
Wine and War probably my favorite.
Billionaire’s Vinegar
Tangled Vines
In Vino Duplicitas
Noble Rot
If you haven’t read it, I think Kermit Lynch’s “Adventures on the Wine Route” taught me more about what wine is really about than any other book.
THANK YOU for reminding me to get Bill Buford’s book. After reading this piece - which I think is one of the best pieces of food writing I’ve ever read and one of the better pieces I’ve read in recent memory period - I have to pick it up.
If that interested you, try Lucand’s book!
American Rhone
Kermit Lynch - Adventures on the Wine Route
Or if you like the works of MFK Fisher, read “Provence, 1970” which is more about the evolution of the food scene from the old world post WWII to the new world in the 1970s. Fisher is a main character as are the Childs and James Beard. A tough but very interesting read.
The Bursting Bubbles book is a GREAT read. I have read it twice, such a cool flow to this book. And, would also recommend the Peter Liem book on Champagne. For a library, and especially for people who want to learn about Champagne, these two books are core.
Frank - have you read “Champagne Uncorked” focusing on history and Krug?
Definitely picking this up, seems to be an opposite take on the story of resistance?
Yes, and actually rigorously documented in the archives. The author was just elected mayor of Gevrey-Chambertin, incidentally.
The better book is John Arlott’s “Krug, House of Champagne”, which is long out-of-print but easily obtainable on Abebooks.
Thanks, will put it next in my queue when it arrives
And another booked ordered…have recently started the former, so look forward to contrasting them