The Juice: Vinous Veritas

One of America's best novelists Jay McInerney is also well-known for being a wine connoisseur. Since beginning to drink wine, in emulation of his literary and cultural heroes - which he admits were not only Hemingway and Fitzgerald but also the characters that they gave birth to - the writer's understanding of and fascination with wine has only grown. The Juice gives an insight into a passion and pastime that McInerney believes should be accessible to everyone, from those popping down to the supermarket to those popping down to their wine cellars. Using his trademark flair and expertise, McInerney paints a collage of the almost infinite varieties of wine across the globe, extracting the best and the most affordable from the intimidating selection offered by the modern world. His tour embraces a vast array of countries, moving from such legendary chateaux as Margaux and Latour in France and the revered Friuli and Piedmont regions of Northern Italy to new contenders in the Santa Rita Hills and Paso Robles in the US. Even whilst stretching as far as the vast lands of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, he never abandons the details, exploring the intimate history behind each bottle. With contagious curiosity, McInerney explores the huge world of viticulture, from terroir to biodynamics, and sets out to answer the big questions: whether French should mix with American; why rap stars no longer drink Cristal; why you shouldn't be intimidated by German wine labels; and whether it really is acceptable to drink Pinot Grigio. Far-reaching, deeply knowledgeable and often hilarious, The Juice provides a masterclass in a wide range of grapes and wine styles, as well as the people and places taking such meticulous care over each and every glass. Stretching from the historic past to the often confusing present, McInerney captures the excitement that is felt by millions of people for the expansive world of wine.

About the Author :
Jay McInerney writes a wine column for the Wall Street Journal and is a regular contributor to the Guardian, the New York Times Book Review and Corriere della Sera. He has written seven novels, including Bright Lights, Big City, cited by Time as one of the nine generation-defining novels of the twentieth century, two short story collections and two non-fiction books on wine, one of which was the acclaimed A Hedonist in the Cellar. In 2006, he received the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation. He lives in Manhattan and Bridgehampton, New York.

Review :
Often unusually well-written by comparison with ordinary wine journalism ... Taken together, these articles are profoundly elegiac ... So read The Juice as you might a novel, and if possible at a single sitting. It contains the best writing from McInerney since Bright Lights, Big City. And squinted at from the right angle, it is more genuinely affecting that the rest of his fiction put together Jay McInerney has been laying open the modern American elite for nearly three decade in his fiction, beginning with his acclaimed debut Bright Lights, Big City. In similar fashion, he's also done a very effective job of demystifying viticulture ... sparkling yet robust ... Even if you're teetotal, it's intoxicating Wonderful ... few professional wine writers are also superb writers ... McInerney loves wine, and he writes beautifully about it ... often insightful and funny. The book concludes with a captivating article on the now-defunct restaurant elBulli and its wine list, which almost made me wish I had gone there An excellent wine writer. Self-deprecating, charming and funny It is a pleasure to see the wine world through a novelist's playful eyes, and to feel the infectious joy McInerney finds in great wines, places and personalities from around the world McInerney brings style and a sense of fun to a subject that can too often feel the preserve of the knowledgeable elite Not the usual run-of-the-mill wine writing