You fall in love with wine when you know the story behind it and discover what's unique about it. As Borges said in “How I Write My Stories” (1981): “To be in love is to perceive the only thing that exists in every person, the only thing that can only be communicated through exaggeration or metaphor.” There is the understanding of wine and falling in love with it requires knowing its history and discovering its uniqueness, we've pulled specimens off the shelves that go beyond “learn to taste in two days” or “a wine guide of the year.”
Atlas of Unusual Wines has just been published, one of those handbooks you can keep by your sofa and consult when you need a great, strange and insightful story. The text comes from the anthropologist and agronomist Pierrick Bourgault and is published by Thomas Jonglez (Jonglez-Verlag). To write the book, the author took years of travel, interviews and constant infatuation, which he then translated into this hardcover volume full of curiosities and anecdotes. In its pages we can discover, for example, that champagne is made from a black grape and that, although it is the reference drink of France, it was apparently invented by an Englishman; Or we can also read the curious story of the wine that matures at the bottom of a 75 meter deep hole; The author tells us why orange wines exist or how Pompeii already used draft animals for vineyard work.
Atlas of unusual wines. Pierrick Bourgault. Jonglez Publishing
“The sea brings all things and the sea takes them away. The seas were the space through which cultures and civilizations were passed on, including wine.” So a story about a fireplace, a winter room, might begin with a group of friends drinking this wine that invites quiet conversation. “Wine surrounds us, envelops and penetrates us, it influences our culture (…) We talk about wine and we think about wine, we write… Wine has made us what we are.” It is part of our civilization and has us civilized.” The fragments belong to the book Passion for Wine. Secrets and delights of the world's great wines, published by Hedonismos and written by winemaker Joan C. Martín. A brilliant essay full of anecdotes and curiosities such as “Lebanon produces eight million bottles a year” or “Morocco is a country that produces specialties such as Berber and Jewish wines.” A 400-page narrative that takes us through the passionate world of the vine leads.
“Behind the vineyards.” “A journey to the soul of wines”, by Josep Roca and Inma Puig (editorial debate).
Speaking of passions, if there is a sommelier who can immerse us in the soul that a bottle of wine contains, it is without a doubt Josep Roca (El Celler de Can Roca). He left proof of this in the book Tras las viñas. A journey to the soul of wine, published by Debate in 2016. The essay, written by Josep Roca and the psychologist Inma Puig, managed to provide the publishing market with one of the best writings about winemakers and oenologists. “The foundation for this book was first laid in the El Celler de Can Roca winery,” writes Roca. “I showed Inma the corners dedicated to my favorite wines.” (…) I explained to her that wines are drunk, smelled, but also heard and felt (…) Wines look like the ones they make – I told her – and she went even deeper and asked me: Do the wines your customers drink, do they look like them?” With this reflection, this book begins halfway between the enthusiastic manifesto of 13 lives, of 13 winemakers, creators of some of the greatest wines of the world; and the calm and rational writing about the history of wine, told through these wine voices. “By knowing their lives, we better understand the message that wines contain and confirm that wines are indeed people, that both have a bond that expands with the emotions perceived by the consumer, and that we, instead of drinking wine , take a sip of bottled life.” ”
Cover of the book “Dalí. “Los vinos de Gala”, re-released by Taschen.
For this reason, “a true connoisseur does not drink wine, he enjoys its secrets,” wrote Salvador Dalí in the Jewel Book published by Taschen Dalí. The Gala Wines. Large format, bound, 140 illustrations by the artist, worthy of display in the living room; The book explores the world of vines through the works and texts of Dalí. First they invite us to discover ten of the best wine regions, and then they don't give us a ticket into the artist's emotional universe. The book is a facsimile of the original 1977 edition, which won the highest award for a gastronomy book in 2018: the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Interior view of the book “Malbec Mon Amour” by Laura Catena and Alejandro Vigil. Image provided by Editorial Catapulta.
The grape is the trademark of a region and a country. Tempranillo, for example, takes us to Spain (La Rioja); Pinot Noir to France and Malbec to Argentina. The history of humanity could be written by tracing the travels of the vine: “Christopher Columbus brought grapes of País and Moscatel from the Canary Islands to the Americas. These varieties of Vitis vinifera, suitable for wine production and introduced for use in the Eucharist ceremony, did not thrive in the Caribbean, but did thrive in Mexico, Peru and Chile, places with more temperate climates and suitable for cultivation. In the middle of the 16th century, the Spanish colonizers introduced these grape varieties known as “Criollo vines” to Argentina and thus founded Argentine viticulture. The cultivation of these Creole varieties was established and flourishing in Mendoza until the mid-19th century.” These words come from one of those essential books for those who want to discover the soul of Argentina, Malbec mon amour, from the Catapulta publishing house, written by Laura Catena and Alejandro Vigil. The beautifully illustrated book is an invitation to discover why and how the Malbec grape, and consequently the wines made from it, have managed to identify a country, its history, its culture and its way of life.
Sara Cucala is a writer, filmmaker and journalist specializing in gastronomy. She is the founder of one of the first gastronomy and travel blogs, has written numerous books, coordinated the culinary content of TVE's afternoon magazine and directed several films and documentaries. She is the founder and co-owner of the gastronomic bookstore and cooking school A Punto.
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