Wine Literature

So for the past few days I've been reading Noble Rot, by William Echikson, a slightly fragmented, ok that's not true, it's borderline scizophrenic, narrative about the state of affairs in Bordeaux. Echikson does a fantastic job developing the history of some of Bordeaux's most revered estates, Yquem and Mouton Rothschild, but fragments his timeline so badly that by the middle of the book, the reader is entirely unsure which century, let alone decade, he/she is reading about. The lurid, but true, tale of Alexandre Lur-Saluces and his family is both captivating and truly scary, and it's this part of the narrative where Echikson does his best work. The reader comes away from this section(s) feeling like a distant cousin of this great family, connected enough to care about the waxing and waning fortunes of the sauternes barons. Echikson's detailing of Chateau Mouton's rise to premier cru status is similarly interesting to read and the author does an excellent job of filling in all of the background necessary to make sense of Baron Phillipe's struggle. From the entrenched merchant system to the once temporary, but now (except for Mouton) impenetrable classification system, the background is well detailed and Baron Phillipe's struggle to reach Premier Cru status is very engaging. "Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mounton ne change--"First I am, Second I was, Mouton does not change" One gigantic bright spot is his attention to cooperative winemaking in Entre-Deux-Mers, an area of bulk wine production that has massive economic impact on the agricultural economy of bordeaux, but gets no press from any of the major critics. These low cost wines are the backbone of daily consumption in France, and it's nice to learn something of their production and some of the people behind the massive machine. While these character driven portions of the book succeed, Echikson loses the reader in a muddled accounting of the rise of Robert Parker and his sphere of influence. While Echikson does give a good history, he doesn't connect it well to what I think is his overall scheme of the book, which is to detail the friction between bordeaux's old guard and the garagistes whose wines Parker (and this reader) rates so highly. The main problem is the almost A.D.D. pacing and skipping around. If Echikson would slow down and offer his narrative as a series of well composed parts, it would make much more sense and be an easier read. Still, he hits the historical mark and "Noble Rot" will certainly satisfy any true wine geek's lust for background information about Bordeaux.
Read it if...you're a wine geek with a hankering for some more info on bordeaux's history.
What to drink while reading it...1982 Mouton Rothschild of course (or another bordeaux if you must...)

"Judgement of Paris" by George M. Taber, the only journalist at the now famous "Paris Tasting", is an accounting of the people and wines that shocked the world that fateful day. Taber's inside perspective and his excellent background work, highlighting such Napa luminaries as Andre Tschieleff, Mike Grgich and Warren Winarski, is fashioned into a cohesive, and very readable narrative. Younger wine lovers will find this to be an excellent resource for information about the golden age of Napa and the people who built the foundation of American wine culture. "Judgement of Paris" however transcends wine geekdom into the realms of social history, and anthropology, and is well written enough for a non wine drinker to fully understand the events portrayed.
Read it if...you have any interest in wine, california, american history, french history...well, if you're reading this blog and you haven't read this book yet, you should...
What to drink while reading it...California baby. This book makes me patriotic.