Whine book review

For a less flattering view of the book, here is my review from the April 2003 California Grapevine wine newsletter:

"A Tale of Two Valleys, Alan Deutschman, Broadway Books (A division of Random House), New York, 2003, 174 pages, softback, $25. This must be the year for spending time in a wine growing area and then writing about the political and social movements within the communities. Earlier this year we had James Conway's insightful book The Far Side of Eden (reviewed in Vol X, Issue x-Nick please add the correct cite). Alan Deutschman tries this same approach but stumbles badly. The author made several very wealthy friends in Silicon Valley who let him spend time in their weekend retreats in both Napa and Sonoma Valleys. While Conway seemed to have a depth of insight, Deutschman seems to have been swept away by geographic stereotypes. In his work, the Napa Valley has been lost to dot-commers intent on building mansions horribly out of place. Sonoma continues to struggle against the onslaught but may be losing. If only the world was this simple. Again and again I found the author accepting at face value comments made to him by locals. For example he declares that the Farmer's Market in Sonoma is held on Wednesday nights so as to exclude the weekenders from San Francisco and Silicon Valley. (Nick Pg 31) Oh? The farmers and agriculture people I've spoken to in Sonoma tell me it is held on Wednesdays so that they could have the weekend off and then have time to harvest before the event. I also found the author amazingly unaware of the realities of the world. For example, the author describes going to the Sonoma County Fair and watching the members of the Future Farmers of America showing the lambs they have raised. The author is shocked when he learns the winners will not go back to the farms as pets but will be sold off and slaughtered for food. (Nick pages 145-147.) Deutschman describes the sale of the animal as a Faustian bargain (Pg 147) of trading a pet for money. Pet? Pet? I find it hard to believe that even one raised in the sterile innards of a big city would not have gleaned that farmers raise animals for slaughter not as pets. The idea that what was going on at the fair was unusual or sinister leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. This is the problem I had with the book. As someone raised north of the Golden Gate bridge much of the book seemed to describe an image not reality. Time and again the author makes judgments and evaluations I found shallow, superficial and odd. This book may appeal to those who have stereotyped images of the citizens of Napa and Sonoma (perhaps the East Coast media types) but I found it lacked the depth or sophisticated analysis of Conaway's book. Not recommended."

I can't say I disagree with BFSON's review, I suspected that there was much dilettantish in Deutschman's approach but I lack the knowledge of the people and events depicted to make a written and potentially libelous judgment. Besides this board my reviews appear on the Parker-Squires BB as well as that of Robin Garr as well as off-line in the Baltimore Chronicle, Woodlawn(MD) Villager and the Matrix a literary mag published in New Zealand.

Since I liked Conway's Napa I'll have to get the Far Side of Eden book.

"BFSON" in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m04.aol.com...

Maybe the wrong place to ask the question, and maybe not even the same publication -- but you may appreciate it better when I admit my regrets for not mentioning the _Grapevine_ when I started posting advice on wine publications in article news: snipped-for-privacy@ucbcad.UUCP 7-Oct-83 on net.wines, Usenet's original wine newsgroup. (At that time _Vintage_ magazine was just about to stop, the 1984 UC-Sotheby _Book of California Wine_ -- flooding the used market recently -- was being edited with Bob Thompson's survey of wine publications including yours, or at least Ponomareff's, from San Diego; and one or two newfangled publications now popular, though not even mentioned in the UC-Sotheby book, were ascendant. (Below is that section of the article I posted, for nostalgia's sake and, again, with apologies. Rest of the article recommended some general books.) I think also that the number of CA Pinots has grown.

Best -- Max Hauser

Excerpt from news: snipped-for-privacy@ucbcad.UUCP, net.wines, 7 Oct 1983:

For CURRENT information on available wines -- prices, characteristics, and trends -- nothing beats the serious (i.e., advertisement-free, subscription-only) wine magazines. I am aware of four major ones: Finigan's Private Guide to Wines (rather circumspect and button-down in style); Vintage Magazine; The Underground Wineletter (out of southern California, and a bit more free-wheeling); and Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine. All of these present tasting notes based on blind tastings, conducted far more professionally (and usually by more-educated palates) than wine reviews that typically appear in local papers, state fairs, etc. Connoisseurs' Guide surveys California wines exclusively, but exhaustively; typically it will provide details and tasting notes on, say, ALL 180 Pinot Noirs currently available from California wineries. Each of these magazines costs around US $25 a year. -- Max Hauser

The California Grapevine is still being published (it is California's oldest wine newsletter-predating Conn Guide by a few months) Nick Ponomareff is still the editor and publisher. (I'm the asst. editor and also write all the wine book reviews) Shameless Plug--if anyone wants to see a free copy of an issue drop me a note via E mail ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com)

As a grower, I am interested in different publications.

Can you briefly discource on your publication?

Thanks.

Blair

The California Grapevine is a bi-monthly wine newsletter that contains reviews of new wines (mainly North America and Australia) Each issue also includes a commentary by Dan Berger and a set of wine book reviews written by me.

Interesting. Who ist "me" - BFSON? Stange kind of a name. I wouldn't like to publish under such a "nom de plume".

M.

Michael, BFSON is Bob Foster in San Diego. He used to be a regular participant in this newsgroup.

HTH Mark Lipton

Interesting, thank you. But it's still beyond my imagination why someone wishing to attract attention on his emanations does not even give his name.

M.

Michael--My apologies. I thought that I had put my name into one of the earlier notes in the thread. BFSON was supposed to be BF & Son but AOL dropped the ampersand. By that time it was too much hassle to change it. BFSON is a name I've used on AFW (and Prodigy and AOL) for over a decade I'm Bob Foster. Along with Dan Berger I was the founder and first director of the San Diego National Wine Competition. I judge 7 or 8 of the major US wine competitions each year in California, Virginia and Missouri. I'm on the tasting panel of the California Grapevine and also write the book reviews. (and I'm not on Bob Parker's Christmas card list-vbg) I wasn't trying to be secretive-I though my name had been in one of the earlier posts.

So, know that you know all of this, would you like a sample copy of the Grapevine g)?