I've been reading an advance copy of Benjamin Wallace's The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine and I have really been enjoying this. Though I'm not quite done with it, I wanted to make sure to put up a quick post as the author is appearing in San Francisco this week at the Mechanic's Institute on Wednesday, June 4th at 6:00 p.m. Members of the Institute can attend free, others pay $10.
The Billionaire's Vinegar is written in a tension-building style that always seems to be holding back a little something of a punch-line for later, and it keeps you turning page after page. Anyone who keeps up with the wine trade will love the not-so-gentle jabs at the likes of Marvin Shanken from the Wine Spectator and the bumbling dilettanteism of Malcom Forbes. The descriptions of the uber-tasting sessions of 18th and 19th Century wines will take your breath away and the cast of wine archeologists, dealers, swindlers, and stuffy English writers will make you howl.
Recommended and just released. Go see Mr. Wallace speak if you can.
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