Cork Dork: A Wine-Fuelled Journey into the Art of Sommeliers and the Science of Taste

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But capturing the life of a sommelier and capturing the beauty and joy of wine are not the same thing. For one person I spoke to, there’s actually a tension between the goal Bosker entered her project with — understanding what’s the big deal about wine — and the one she ultimately pursued — transforming herself into a sommelier. That person is Eric Asimov. 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.” After high school, she went to Princeton, where she majored in East Asian Studies. There were a lot of 9 a.m. Chinese classes and a lot of flashcards with Chinese characters, foreshadowing the wine journey to be undertaken a decade later. While this approach is far from traditional, it’s hardly a re-examination of inherited wisdoms. If Bosker finds troubling the “mindset of wine connoisseurs telling people what to taste,” you could hardly find a better poster child for that approach than Paul Grieco, despite the casual wear and strange facial hair.

Ferdy Mucerino, resident sommelier at online wine retailer DRINKS, notes that those shopping for wine to drink at home aren’t necessarily as deterred by alternative closures as they once were, as the perception among wine drinkers has evolved. But when shopping, consider if the closure on a bottle matches the style of wine you’re purchasing. “If you see a wine that’s meant to age and notice it’s topped with a stopper or a cap, be a little wary and ask your sommelier or vendor about the wine,” he says.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. The whole notion of connoisseurship is a by-product of geographic locations that don’t make wine in the first place, Asimov argued. And when you focus on the way connoisseurs like sommeliers taste wine, what you end up doing is alienating regular consumers, because you convey that that’s the way you’re supposed to do it, and the way they are currently doing it is wrong. “That creates this sense of tension and anxiety that a lot of people I think experience,” explained Asimov. An interesting look at those with an unquenchable thirst for those unique bottles of vinicultural perfection.” Harris himself worried about how he was portrayed in the book for a similar reason. “The person I am as a sommelier is not the person I am as Morgan Harris the wine lover,” he told me recently. As a wine lover, Harris knows he can be intimidating, which is why as sommelier, he takes great pains to tone a lot of that down, precisely to avoid alienating wine novices or intimidating them. Cork Dork focused too much on “Morgan the wine lover,” Harris told me. It’s a problematic portrayal of a sommelier, “because there’s too much me in it,” he explained. I have a very complicated relationship with this book. Right away, I was drawn in by Bianca's writing style. She has a way of placing you right in the room with her while she's studying or working or tasting with these NYC experts.

I had a hard time selecting just one wine to pair with Cork Dork, so I chose two. One red and one white, both of which are from vineyards that I have had the pleasure of visiting and learning from the experts that run them. Bistagne says he hasn’t seen any impact on the flavor of his wines but isn’t too sure if there is a notable shift overall. “For me, since I changed, I did not see a change in the general profile of my wines compared to the previous vintage that I was closing with natural corks,” he says, conceding that some of his colleagues have noticed changes and therefore employ different closures for different wine styles. Vincent notes that both sustainability and quality have played a role in the wine label’s choice to dabble in alternative corks, explaining that cork producers have developed new solutions that take environment and sustainability into account. “That is why we are now happy to use alternative corks such as Nomacorc. They offer good qualities while being more responsible,” she says. With boundless curiousity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: What’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine--and, perhaps, the way you live--forever. Disclaimer: Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.

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In this smart and sharply observed book, Bianca Bosker takes us on a marvelous journey through the mad, manic, seductive subculture of wine and wine lovers. It’s also a deeply felt story of her own experience, told with great heart and wit.”– Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief But the tasting sessions they live for, the money they spend, the endurance and tolerance for so. much. wine.......it's a journey. It's a journey I personally would not be up for with the expense and my non-discriminating palate, never mind being kind to my liver. I buy wine because I like having it with dinner. Some might consider those fighting words; not Bosker, who seemed to view the anger her op-ed ignited as confirmation. “One of the things that I found concerning about that reaction is that it speaks to this mindset of wine connoisseurs telling people what to taste,” she explained. “And one of the things that I hope to do with the book is to show people how to taste for themselves, because I think that is a much stronger foundation to create thoughtful drinkers than to say, ‘This is good wine, and this isn’t.’” Cork Dork is a brilliant feat of screwball participatory journalism and Bianca Bosker is a gonzo nerd prodigy.This hilarious, thoughtful and erudite book may be the ultimate answer to the perennial question of whether or not wine connoisseurship is a scam.” 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.

Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine—until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a “cork dork.”Despite its failure to demystify wine, it’s impossible to read Cork Dork without learning a whole lot about wine, and wanting to learn much, much more; it is therefore a huge accomplishment. Even people who criticized the book admitted to enjoying it. Asimov, too, found it entertaining, and appreciated the strength of the writing. But he also found it to be symptomatic of a larger, very conventional, very American point of view. “You need a diploma,” was how he summed it up. Or, perhaps, an fMRI scan showing you’ve officially turned your brain into that of a connoisseur.

But, since many of these alternative closures let in far less oxygen than those enclosed with cork, they may benefit from time in a decanter. “Since we use the ArdeaSeal, I think it is even more important, as due to the almost perfect closure, the wines need to be aerated to ‘open’ them,” says Bistagne. “Of course, in a restaurant, it is not possible to open a bottle so early, but sommeliers have the techniques to prepare a wine to be tasted in a short time,” he says. Credit: Vinventions Pop the Cork 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. 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. Cork Dork Wine Study uses proven techniques from cognitive science which adapt to your memory and wine knowledge. Spaced repetition and interval-based active recall helps you maximize wine knowledge retention. Difficult flashcards appear more often, easy flashcards appear less often. You remember more with less effort. Wine study has never been easier! Rather than mastering blind tasting and the arduous rituals of sommelier service, Asimov believes that teaching people to enjoy wine is about teaching them the role of wine. “It’s just a beverage,” he says. “It’s meant to give us all pleasure, and that is often sufficient, but then there’s so much more to it, so many more levels to it,” he explained. There’s the history, the people, the personalities. Good wine is an expression of culture, and it comes from a place. It has a past and it expresses the personality and character of a people and a region, especially in the Old World, Asimov explained. “These are the things that I find fascinating about wine and that are often lost in an effort to focus wholly on this collection of aromas and flavors that comes from a glass in a vacuum.”Pro: history of wines and sense of smells, steps to become a sommelier, types of wines, blind tasting, secret meetings, informative, humor, cover, step-by-step instructions, very well written, my pinch-me-I'm-dreaming face post- podcasting with wild wine legends @jaymcinerney + paul grieco for @prince_street_ 🔥Listen now to hear my questionable quote about an "orgasm in a bottle." Link in bio! thx @howiekahn (and @michaelhalsband for 📸) The Kitchen Confidential of wine: Read this book, and you’ll never be intimidated by wine—or wine snobs—again.” Journalists are a breed of people I struggle with. Their role is undeniably important in unearthing bodies and stories, but half the time you find out they buried them it the first place, just to get a scoop. I've watched television programs about people attempting to become sommeliers (Uncorked, for example), and found them fascinating. Bosker graphically describes what they are like. From the knowledge tests, to the blind tastings, to the service portion. And goes through them herself.