The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World

By Lawrence Osborne

Book Overview

What is taste? Is it individual or imposed on us from the outside? Why are so many of us so intimidated when presented with the wine list at a restaurant? In The Accidental Connoisseur, journalist Lawrence Osborne takes off on a personal voyage through a little-known world in pursuit of some answers. Weaving together a fantastic cast of eccentrics and obsessives, industry magnates and small farmers, the author explores the way technological change, opinionated critics, consumer trends, wheelers and dealers, trade wars, and mass market tastes have made the elixir we drink today entirely different from the wine drunk by our grandparents.

In his search for wine that is a true expression of the place that produced it, Osborne takes the reader from the high-tech present to the primitive past. From a lavish lunch with wine tsar Robert Mondavi to the cellars of Marquis Piero Antinori in Florence, from the tasting rooms of Chateau Lafite to the humble vineyards of northern Lazio, Osborne winds his way through Renaissance palaces, $27 million wineries, tin shacks and garages, opulent restaurants, world-famous chais and vineyards, renowned villages and obscure landscapes, as well as the great cities which are the temples of wine consumption: New York, San Francisco, Paris, Florence, and Rome. On the way, we will be shown the vast tapestry of this much-desired, little-understood drink: who produces it and why, who consumes it, who critiques it? Enchanting, delightful, entertaining, and, above all, down to earth, this is a wine book like no other.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865477124
• ISBN13: 9780865477124
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Nicely done

An interesting, well written book that eliminates bias that most wine writers tend to place into their books. There is little pretension, and a genuine desire to learn that shows through these pages.

Smart, witty look at the world of wine

This was recommended to me by a former sommelier, and with good reason--this is a book about the way wine should be in the larger scheme of things. Think beyond Kendell-Jackson Chardonnay and Yellow Tail Shiraz. Wine reflects a time and place, not sugar craving. Osborne is a terrific writer, but not a wine expert, and that's exactly what makes this book so engaging. Highly recommended.

An irreverent and humorous approach to wine

This book is easy to read--a common-sense book that looks at the puffery of the wine scene. I bought additional copies and gave them to a couple of wine-loving friends. Wish I could read a book of this caliber each month.

A gem of a book

Under the quixotic travelogue disguise lurks a gently insightful, open minded and intelligent assessment of how we think about wine. For those who care about wine, this is a gem of a book.

Subtle and gentle odyssey

The exceptional reviews "The Accidental Connoisseur" has gotten are easy to understand. This is not really a wine book : it's more like a protracted mulling over the nature of the tourist economy, on capilalist fetich and on the nature of place. Thorouhgly recommended for its intelligence and insights.