A Tale of Two Valleys: Wine, Wealth and the Battle for the Good Life in Napa and Sonoma

by Alan Deutschman

Book Overview

It's Napa versus Sonoma, and the antics are rampant When acclaimed Vanity Fair journalist Alan Deutschman came to the California wine country as the lucky house guest of very rich friends, he was... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767907043
• ISBN13: 9780767907040
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great read! With only one questionable item........

The book is GREAT! I have visited Napa and Sonoma frequently since 1968 and Alan tells this absorbing story in a facinating and entertaining way.Only problem I have personally is his assessment of "Baron" Hazrathy. WHO convicted him of embezzelment? He was vindicated and his cost of the trip to Eurpoe to bring back great vines was NEVER reimbursed as promised by the CA legislature....which seems to indicate this austere body was as duplicitous then as they are now!

Bacchanalian Excesses

Deutschman's book artfully chronicles the misadventures of "typical" Northern Californians in their native habitat. They're all here: the iconoclastic hippies, annoying activists, groovy corporate dropouts, disgustingly rich tech geeks, tyrannically earnest organic farmers and insufferable oenophiles. He pulls back the curtain on these spoiled, pampered, pompous, self-indulgent Northern Californians and their -OK, I'll admit it-utterly charmed, fascinating lives.

juicy grapes and juicier gossip

This book is so awesome! I'm not normally drawn to non-fiction titles, and I was worried that a book about wine would be stuffy. But it's so not! Reading A TALE OF TWO VALLEYS is like watching a juicy episode of your favorite reality TV show, only better, because with this classy book in hand there's no need to be embarrassed. AND this book even gave me the courage to drink my tacky white zinfandel with pride. All wine is good wine, and this book is a delightfully fruity swallow!

A sumptuous book.

I've always loved visiting Napa and Sonoma valleys. They're on my short list of the most beautiful places in the world. Yes, they're a bit dusty and dry, but that's what you need for good wine. This book tells the story of the people who live in the valleys. I think some may think that the book is a bit gossipy, but that's only because it tries to really tell us about the people. They are quite human and very driven. The book tells us about the battles over the chickens the in the town square, the battles over the price of land, the fights over who builds the biggest home, and the list goes on. Along the way, Deutschman tells us little things about the people that keep the book real. Robert Mondavi, for instance, had a backache one year at the big charity auction and this kept him from playing to the crowd as he had in the past. This insight can only come from a truly sensitive writer who is committed to helping the readers see people as they are. We should be thankful that he's given us this chance to travel to wine country, if only for a few hours.

amusing look behind the scenes

Janet Maslin's review in the New York Times called this book enjoyably wry and amusing and compared it to a young Tom Wolfe, and she's got a point. The book is light and entertaining, a compelling fast read filled with colorful characters. There's the man who spends $500,000 on a single bottle of wine, and the vintner with a barnful of vintage Porsches, Ferraris, and Bentleys on his Napa "farm," and the community activists who fight so that dozens of chickens can wander freely through the town square in Sonoma. The book gives an eye-opening insider's look at the wine country and shows what visitors rarely see when they come for a day of wine tasting or a weekend getaway at an inn or resort. The tone is humorous and bemused but the book also raises real issues about growth and development and direct democracy and how can we try to preserve the natural beauty and character of a place as more people flock to live there and threaten to ruin it.