Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson

by James M. Gabler

Book Overview

Through a combination of original research, imaginative writing, and beautiful illustrations, James Gabler has captured an intimate portrait of Thomas Jefferson at leisure, enjoying two of his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0961352531
• ISBN13: 9780961352530
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Bacchus Press
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.3" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

INSIGHT INTO THOMAS JEFFERSON'S LIKES

This was given as a gift, and I've received many thanks and raves from my sister and brother-in-law about the book. Both not only are history majors, they are in a group that studies wines. They plan to use this book as a subject at their next meeting.

America's First Wine Connoisseur

Wine was a lifelong passion for Jefferson, not just drinking it, but also planting vineyards at Montecello and in his Paris garden. The book details his experiences with wine and is enhanced by vintage prints. Sixty-five pages at the back, document where the author found the information in the book (letters, books, documents). Also appended are measures for English, German, French and American wines at that time and the standardized guage for foreign wines (a pipe, a bull, a hogshead, and an ohm). The author lists the contents of Jefferson's travel box and clarifies what the items were used for. A glossary further helps the reader with unfamiliar words. An interesting glimpse into the passion of an interesting man.

The pursuit of happiness

The preface to Passions quotes John F. Kennedy's toast to a group of Nobel laureates that "this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered together in the White House -- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." James Gabler's unusual biography pays tribute to Jefferson's palate as well as his mind. Certain to succor the most serious oenophiles, it contains encyclopedic data on Jefferson's cellar and interesting trivia on the era's wines, many of which were far more distant in evolution from their modern incarnations than is often supposed. Moreover, by documenting the passion with which Jefferson devoured the world's great wines, Gabler offers an engaging perspective on the genius Jefferson manifested in all of his pursuits. Passions depicts Jefferson at leisure and does not emphasize his career as statesman except when necessary to develop the narrative. Nor does it address the controversy over Jefferson's moral character ignited by his complicity in slavery, a pointless debate which lamentably fixates modern revisionists. But despite its limited scope, in offering a more vivid account of Jefferson the man, Gabler's research probes certain mysteries about Jefferson's public life, particularly the question why, following his legendary work as a founding father of the nation, his Presidency was less successful. Gabler's Jefferson is a loner whose widowing as a young man left him heartbroken and somewhat estranged from the nation he sired. He sought comfort in a sort of exile across Europe, never quite establishing a home but immersing himself in the best of what its cultures offered. From Gabler's account, one surmises that Jefferson could have retired happily in that fashion but returned to Washington when duty obliged him to serve as Secretary of State, and then as President.Gabler's final chapters describe with mouthwatering clarity a series of dinners which Jefferson hosted in the White House for friends and fellow statesmen, which he funded personally despite his dwindling wealth. He served wine after dinner, but the meals retained about them some elements of the colonial frontier, with cider or porter's ale accompanying the food. At one such dinner, an invitee expressed surprise at receiving an invitation requesting the "favour of his company" on behalf of "Thomas Jefferson," rather than "the President of the United States." As such details suggest, these chapters are interesting evocations of a time when Americans' aversion to the trappings of entrenched power remained visceral. Gabler's accounts of these evenings also leave one warmed that a man so monumental as Jefferson seemed most content gathered around a table with old wine and old friends.

A Combination of Two Passions

To the Jefferson buff and wine fanatic, this book is a rare treat. I ordered it after spending a long weekend touring the Virginia wine country and Jefferson's Monticello. What an interesting read - meticulously researched and well-written, the author is commended for taking a potential dry subject and bringing it to full-fruited life. A must for any Jefferson fan's library.

A Most Unusual Work

Author Jim Gabler does Jefferson wine evenings at Monticello on occasion. I have yet to catch him there, but not for trying. It is my understanding that he has a passionate hobby in the historical antecedents for wines and from this standpoint, this book succeeds remarkably. Extremely well documented - he has found items as obscure as the inventories of not only the wines Jefferson ordered during his travels, but sometimes the exact foods he ordered for specific evenings....(50 oysters and a half bottle of wine at the Amsterdam Arms...and repeated the feat the next night with a friend). There are maps, engravings, modern photographs, historical details.....a wonderful book detailing a great wine connoisseur's travels in search of the meticulous details of the art. And it's all laid out for you to enjoy or replicate as you may....or imagine what it would be like to travel, explore, dine, and taste as Jefferson or Gabler.