A Life Uncorked

by Hugh Johnson

Book Overview

Hugh Johnson, the preeminent wine writer of our time, now brings to his fans around the world his first major new book in a decade: this stylish, intimate, and delightfully opinionated... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520248503
• ISBN13: 9780520248502
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 8.0" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

The Ideal Wine Mentor

This book is meant to be savored. It is all things wine and the appreciation of wine. Johnson's actual presence, his life's tale wanders in and out of the narrative. We learn about his schooling, his early university days, about his wife, his early work and publications but that's just part of the beauty of reading this book. Imagine if you had a friend who not only spoke eloquently but who could talk at great lengths about a subject he held dear to his heart. Imagine this friend to be well-traveled, with many connections and stories to tell. Hugh Johnson might be that ideal friend. He doesn't talk down to the reader, he doesn't namedrop the way some wine writers do, glorifying personalities in the wine trade. Johnson is certainly living a comfortable life but his presentation of facts, experiences and meetings with great wine and great winemakers is lively and surprisingly modest. The book is divided into several sections: Prospects, Bubbly, White, Red and Sweet. Throughout these sections he explores past episodes of his life, the people he met and the wines he encountered. His style is direct, light, poetic and friendly, an approach in prose that both informs and involves the reader. You never feel like you're being lectured to, mostly that he is here to mentor, to share and express his love of the great fermented grapes of the world. I would recommend this book to all kinds of readers, especially the wine lovers. If you're starting out or know the difference between a Pouilly-Fusse and Pouilly-Fume, then read this. For wine writing, this work is a treasure. I wish there were more writers like Johnson working in the industry.

A beautiful, relaxing wine tour - through life!

I must admit that I've never followed the author's wine advice but I cut my wine teeth on his fantastic wine atlas. I bought this book on a whim and it's taken me months to drift through it - not because it's a hard read rather it's sort of a wine vacation experience best experienced without haste. If you're a wine fan who needs a vacation but can't get away; read a chapter or two and live vicariously. btw, yes, there is an oft-quoted sentence disparanging GWB and RP in the same whack. Not entirely off the mark though, is it?!

A wine lovers must have

A Life Uncorcked is a celebration of the vine. It is a fun read and very informative. I especially love his take on the current wine rating systems, finally someone with sense!

A corking good read!

I recently published a brief review of this wonderful book in the print edition of The Washington Examiner newspaper (www.examiner.com -- April 29 & 30th Weekend Edition). Here is that review: Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with world-renowned wine writer Hugh Johnson as he breezed through town promoting his new memoir on the inner workings of the wine world, A Life Uncorked. This is a deeply personal book. Yet, as Johnson admits, it is not an autobiography. Rather, this memoir is a personal journey, as much about wine as it is about his life. For Johnson, wine is essentially "a social game" not merely an interest or a hobby. Wine is "about human relations, hospitality, bonding-all the maneuvers of social life-and all under the influence, however benign, of alcohol." Who can argue with that? This social experience is richly transformative: "However good a wine may be, sentiment can make it better" and "with the right companion, a single wine can be a continuing conversation." In person, as in his writings, Johnson comes off as witty, personable, and charming, and his approach to wine is wonderfully infectious. Never one to shy from a fight, Johnson (a Brit) takes issue with Robert Parker, the preeminent American wine critic. Johnson criticizes Parker's wine scoring system, which treats wines "like American high school students"-50 points just for showing up, 60 = dreadful, 70 = pretty poor, 80 = not bad, etc. Johnson decries the effect this approach has had on the wine industry, where wines are Parkerized to get higher scores. Ultimately, Johnson's unpretentious and highly enjoyable attitude towards wine appreciation is compelling. As he plainly explains, "It depends on whether you see wine primarily as a drink or as a recreational substance. In a drink you look for something refreshing and satisfying without too loud a voice, not too intrusive on your food or your thoughts each time you take a sip." So take a page from Hugh's book, and enjoy a jolly good read with glass in hand.