Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for the Taste (Thorndike Press Large Print Lifestyles)

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In this delightfully written and keenly observed book, Bianca Bosker helps us become connoisseurs not only of wine but also of people whose passions would more aptly be described as obsessions.” –Walter Isaacson, author of The Innovators Summary: Light, funny, and engaging mix of personal experience, history and science in the style of Mary Roach.

The author also goes into the science of wine-making and what makes different wines unique. She looks at why some wines are so much more expensive than others and whether or not the prices really worth it, something I have always wondered about myself. I really appreciated the way that the author did a deep dive into the subject. After a little more time reading, however, I thought that, under the layers of conspicuous consumption, fraud, etc., sommeliers and other wines nerds are actually more appealing because they are genuinely interested in beauty in a way that memory artists (who are mostly interested in showing off how smart they are) were not. Not only did sommeliers want to drink delicious, handsome-looking wine, made with care and mindfulness, but they also (generally) wanted to wear attractive clothes, eat good and healthy food, provide memorably pleasant experiences for others, and be in attractively-decorated surroundings. Sadly, all of the above are limited by the fact that attractive clothes, good and healthy food, etc.. inevitably cost more than the alternative, leading to the inevitable desire to extract money from the well-to-do, no matter how unpleasant they (the well-to-do) are. Do you like wine? I like wine. Do like a well researched book with an engaging writing style, entertaining stories plus a hearty dose of clear and informative information? I found this book to be all of those things....but again, I like wine so I was interested in this journey. She is obsessed and tenacious. She somehow wrangles her way into sommelier competitions when she has never served before. She gains access to a scientific conference on smell (and the impact on the brain) in Switzerland. She talks researchers in South Korea into taking an MRI of her brain while sending her sips of wine via a tube to see what areas of her brain light up. The woman who INVENTED the WINE AROMA WHEEL invites Bosker to her KITCHEN to teach her how to find “asparagus” when tasting. Throughout the book, Bosker is not only drinking wine and having a good time, but veers off into exploring many wine-related areas. The science of smell, and of taste. The type of people who are avid wine collectors. The new controversial practice of creating whatever type of wine you want in a factory, including being able to replicate some very expensive wines. The terminology of sommeliers and wine merchants (necrophiliacs, hand sells, trigger wines, and cougar juice, for a few). And what to watch for when dealing with a sommelier.When tech reporter Bianca Bosker stumbled across a wine tasting competition, she was blown away by the ability of sommeliers to "after a single sip of wine, identify the grape it was made from, in what year, and where it was produced down to the exact location, within acres." She was also intrigued by their passion for wine, as well as the passion of the many creators and collectors of wine. To determine what made wine so special to these people, she gave up her job and decided to try to become a sommelier herself. Starting as a 'cellar rat', storing and retrieving bottles of wine, she slowly works her way into the wine world. She eventually attends exclusive tasting groups and visits expensive restaurants and dinners for dedicated wine collectors. She also learns about the science of wine tasting and wine creation. This is the story of her experiences and what she learned. In "Cork Dork," author Bianca dives into the world of sommeliers. Now, I like wine. I know what color I prefer (red). I also know what kinds I prefer (malbecs or pinot noirs are clutch in my book). I know that I enjoy wine but that is about it. This book opened my eyes to a brand new world. Much of this book looks at the world of sommeliers. A little bit of obsessiveness, a little bit of science. A lot of one of my favorite subjects!

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany, by Bill Buford As you move through the book you are taking this journey with Bianca Bosker. Please remain seated..........The details and dedication of becoming a sommelier is daunting. It's their job to help select a wine appropriate for the meal and the guests' tastes all the while making money for the restaurant. The markup is very significant when it comes to wine and beverages. Reading Bianca Bosker is like sitting down with a brilliant, curious friend for an after-work drink, and suddenly finding it’s midnight and the table is littered with empty bottles. Between her hilarious exploits and thoughtful meditations on wine and life, you’ll want to stay for just one more.”– Lauren Collins, author of When In FrenchToday's wine jargon (e.g., “layers of grapefruit and minerality”) was invented by a group of scientists at the University of California, Davis, in the 1970s, or, as the author put it, wine's “naturalistic, food-based lexicon is about as traditional as disco” (p. 203).

This book is in a familiar format for a certain category of non-fiction books, which is: Author stumbles on obscure subculture operating quietly but openly, usually, in New York City. Author investigates subculture and becomes fascinated. Author learns about the fiercely competitive high-stakes championship competitions of the subculture. Author takes it on his- or herself to enter, train, and perhaps even win fiercely-competitive high-stakes championship of the subculture, even though he or she is a newcomer and people normally train for years and/or endure many failed attempts before winning fiercely-competitive etc. My husband and I are hardly wine connoisseurs. We drink wine, enjoy wine, and attend wine tastings when we get the chance, but liking and enjoying wine is far different than knowing wine. Several years ago we watched the documentary, Somm, which documented the rigors of becoming a master sommelier (a "cork dork"). Which, by the way, is tough, very tough. So I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book and get an inside look into the world of wine. That being said, the Bosker we meet in the book is the type of person who takes up the whole sidewalk with her friends, who inserts herself into conversations she has no business being in, who loudly makes the party about her, who incorrectly corrects people when they're just trying to tell an anecdote. She's the girl at the party I always hate, but have to invite, because she's friends with BlahBlah and we'll never hear the end of it if she's slighted. Also, she'll probably show up even if she's not invited and make more if a scene than if an invitation had been extended. Bosker also mentions that the term “unicorn wine” is a rare, small-production gem that sommeliers consider status symbols.I'm sure that there are nearly as many of these as there are obscure subcultures to write about, but a best-selling example of this format is Moonwalking with Einstein, about the subculture of memory arts. I am a journalist by training and a type-A neurotic by birth, so I started my research the only way I knew how: I read everything I could get my hands on, carpet-bombed sommeliers' in-boxes, and showed up at places uninvited, just to see who I would meet." Ever wondered what people were talking about when discussing the "legs" of a wine, the acidity, the tannins, or the alcohol content? Bosker explains not only what they are, but what they mean. In very simple to understand language.

I loved this book. It’s not just about wine. It’s about learning how to listen to your senses, to more deeply experience and appreciate the world around you, and everyone could use another glass of that.”– Mary Roach, author of GulpThe resulting book is a delightful blend of science, memoir and encounters with people who are deadly serious about wine. Taste and especially smell are underdeveloped human senses, but it is possible to train them: at the end of the book Bosker gets in an fMRI machine and proves that – like a London taxi driver with route-finding – there’s evidence of her brain having formed advanced connections in the areas involved in taste. Everyday wine drinkers may be particularly interested in the discussion of price versus quality, and the book made me think about how the passing pleasures of the flesh are still worth celebrating. When you inform your friends and relatives that you have left your stable job as a journalist to stay home and taste wines, you will begin to get concerned phone calls. You say: I’m going to hone my senses and find out what the big deal is about wine. They hear: I’m quitting my job to drink all day and improve my chances of ending up homeless.” Speaking as someone who barely knows a good Bordeaux from a bottle of Boone's Farm, I was charmed and entertained by this book. Everywhere she goes—whether it's into a busy kitchen or a vineyard, or into her own head—Bianca Bosker takes us with her.” –John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead