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

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Three people are sitting by the table. They were chosen like the best sommeliers in country. On this ... [+] competition are presented best wines from wineries in region. They are holding glasses with red wine and looking at it to give mark for color. There are three more glasses per person in front of them with white and rose wine. Beside wine glasses, on the table are some boards with meat for them. This professionals are dressed in suits. Getty In Get the Picture—curious but not naïve, gossipy but generous, critical but admiring, hilarious but profound—Bosker probes the human thirst for art, examines the addictive high it gives, and rescues the unfashionable idea of beauty, of the pleasure of creation, from the theorists and the marketeers. This book is sheer pleasure: the best book I've ever read about contemporary art.” —Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Sontag, and The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters Personal feelings about sommeliers aside, I found this a very enjoyable and interesting book. I learned many things, including: Disclaimer: Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.

Cork Dorkis a brilliant feat of screwball participatory journalism and Bianca Bosker is a gonzo nerd prodigy.This hilarious, thoughtful and erudite book that may be the ultimate answer to the perennial question of whether or not wine connoisseurship is a scam.” –Jay McInerney, author of The Juice 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. 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 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,The author documents the 1 1/2 years she spent studying and learning to become a sommelier. She tells of the experiences she had honing her tasting skills while also dishing out some juicy bits about swanky NYC restaurants and the service industry. She also uncovers, often humorously, secrets to the elusive descriptions of the flavors in wine. 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.

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 PulpheadI'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. 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.

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 Gulp 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! 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. 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.For readers of Anthony Bourdain, Susan Orlean, and Mary Roach, a surprising, entertaining and hilarious journey through the world of wine.