The Heartbreak Grape, Revised and Updated: A Journey in Search of the Perfect Pinot Noir DeVilliers’ quest for the ‘heartbreak grape’ begins with one sip of the superlative Calera Jensen ’87. Behind the scenes of one of the world’s most fascinating and romantic industries, the author celebrates the tenacity and invention of individuals who devote [...]
The Heartbreak Grape, Revised and Updated: A Journey in Search of the Perfect Pinot Noir
DeVilliers’ quest for the ‘heartbreak grape’ begins with one sip of the superlative Calera Jensen ’87. Behind the scenes of one of the world’s most fascinating and romantic industries, the author celebrates the tenacity and invention of individuals who devote their lives to the magnificent obesession of wine-making in this completely revised and updated edition.
Customer Review: Well written and a pleasure to read . . .
Here is a story well told. Marq de Villiers so enjoyed his chance encounter with a glass of Calera Pinot Noir that he found himself contemplating it throughout the evening it had been shared. He wondered if he could retrace the wine’s history – from the winemaker’s dream to make it up to the moment it was poured into the very glass set before him. The result of that resolve is this book – an engaging and entertaining journey to Mt. Harlan, the home of Josh Jensen’s Calera Wine Company, and a chronicle of not only the wine poured into his glass, but of Jensen’s long-endured struggles to make it.
De Villiers did his research in 1991, and into late 1992, I believe, and the original book was published in 1993. I read the first edition only to find out that soon after I had done so, a completely revised and updated version would be released in late April `07. I was probably one of the first to buy it again. I had to see what had happened to Josh Jensen since then. Of course, I knew that he was still making wine, because I had been compelled to order half a case of his pinot after all I had read about it. Watch out, this book could cost you more than the $12.95 retail price – but no matter, the wine is awesome, I can assure you of that.
The revised edition is more of the same, which is to say it’s a very good continuation of a great story. De Villiers is reverent to the grape, to viticulture, to Josh Jensen himself, and to the wine he produces. He tells the story as much from Jensen’s point of view as anything, but like a good photographer or film producer, he comes in tight on his subject and then backs off to show more of the entire landscape. You feel privy to the triumphs and setbacks that Jensen went through as a young man trying to find his land, lay out the vineyards, get water to his young vines, and then bring his wines to market. But de Villiers delivers more than that. He explains – in such poetic prose, why pinot noir is such an onerous varietal, and as he conveys that, you can’t help but quietly sense that it is the perfect life’s challenge for Jensen, who is quite a character himself.
The book is an easy read but you’ll find that you’re learning about wine and its attendant culture in ways you might not normally have access. What you learn about viticulture, wine, and winemaking is passive and simply a byproduct of the story. It certainly beats reading textbooks. Well-written and researched books have that special something that makes them unforgettable. They’re the kind that long after you’ve read that last page, you’ll find yourself still thinking about it in unexpected moments. There are only a few that I place in that category personally, but seriously . . . for me, this book is one of them.
Italian Wines 1999 (Italian Wines, 1999)
Customer Review: For connoisseurs
It's a very nice book, but the reader must know that it's not a guide to understand italian wine (beginner guide). You need to know a little bit about what Chianti, Barolo or Verdicchio are. "Italian wines 99" is more a book to help the reader to buy wines, to choose. Some regions are well described, as Tuscany or Piedmont, but Lazio (Frascati's region) or Basilicate are poorly represented.
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