Synopses & Reviews
We wine writers tend to be obsessive souls. How else can a person stay fascinated throughout a career with just one drink? Compare us to food writers: Over their lives, they'll encounter thousands of ingredients and ways of combining and cooking them. Wine, by contrast, is just fermented grapes. But it engages our primary senses-smell, taste, feel-in a way that is both hedonistic and cerebral.
That's why I've spent the past several years traipsing around the world, visiting wineries, tasting their offerings, and searching for the world's best cheap wines. The narrative is as familiar as Arthur's quest for the grail and as naive as Dr. Seuss's plaintive search for the affirmative in Are You My Mother?
With her signature conversational style, Natalie MacLean takes you on a whirlwind journey through the world of wine, searching for great taste at a low cost. By turns confessional-with guilty admissions from a penny-pincher who loves simple pleasures-and spirited, Unquenchable is informed by MacLean's decade-long career as an award-winning wine writer.
In this engaging and enlightening book, MacLean recounts her adventures with the most passionate personalities in some of the most gorgeous, off-beat places in the world-from the crazed vintner who explains his philosophy while speeding down the Autobahn to the Sicilian winemakers you don't want to disappoint with your tasting notes. Yet there's plenty to take away from her inspired recommendations for food pairing to lists of favorite value wines and vintners, plus plenty of pointers that will enhance your own drinking pleasure.
Review
“I learned so much from Natalie MacLean's humorous, literate, lively adventures in search of great buys in wine. Fun to read, her book introduces you to many winemakers who could be in novels, to out-of- the-way places you'll want to add to your travel list, and, most of all, to an appreciation of vino as integral to the joy of living. I'm restocking my racks with her smart suggestions.”—Frances Mayes, author of
Under the Tuscan Sun "With fully extracted prose that lingers on the palate, Natalie MacLean has wisely headed off the beaten path to get at the essence of wine. As she probes the elusive intersection of quality and value, we are lucky sidekicks on her well-observed journey through the landscapes, people, stories, and-let's just say it-buzzes that make wine so wonderful.”—Benjamin Wallace, author of The Billionaire's Vinegar
“Natalie pulls us along happily into her wide world of wine-you are right there with her at the table or in an underground cellar. The conversations are lively and the wine flows. And when a winemaker pours a glass for her, you might look around wondering, 'Where's mine?' She made me itchy to get on a plane and hit the wine route myself.”—Kermit Lynch, award-winning wine merchant and author of Adventures on the W
“A rollicking travelogue of her journeys around the world in search of the best vino that won’t break the bank.—The Washington Post
“A light, informative adventure in wine appreciation that should have broad appeal. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal
“Natalie MacLean’s Unquenchable is one of this year’s most entertaining—and genuinely useful—wine books.”—Louisville Courier-Journal
“Passionate, witty, honest, and informative. This entertaining read is a must for wine lovers.”—VintageCellars.com
“Highly educational and witty, neophytes and professionals will drink this up.” —Wine Enthusiast Magazine
“The narrative is so captivating that Unquenchable becomes a page-turner after reading a few pages of the introduction.”—Winesworld.com
Review
"I learned so much from Natalie MacLean's humorous, literate, lively adventures in search of great buys in wine. Fun to read, her book introduces you to many winemakers who could be in novels, to out-of- the-way places you'll want to add to your travel list, and, most of all, to an appreciation of vino as integral to the joy of living. I'm restocking my racks with her smart suggestions."
Review
"With fully extracted prose that lingers on the palate, Natalie MacLean has wisely headed off the beaten path to get at the essence of wine. As she probes the elusive intersection of quality and value, we are lucky sidekicks on her well-observed journey through the landscapes, people, stories, and-let's just say it-buzzes that make wine so wonderful."
Review
"Natalie pulls us along happily into her wide world of wine-you are right there with her at the table or in an underground cellar. The conversations are lively and the wine flows. And when a winemaker pours a glass for her, you might look around wondering, 'Where's mine?' She made me itchy to get on a plane and hit the wine route myself."
Review
"A rollicking travelogue of her journeys around the world in search of the best vino that won’t break the bank." The Washington Post
Review
"A light, informative adventure in wine appreciation that should have broad appeal. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"The narrative is so captivating that
Unquenchable becomes a page-turner after reading a few pages of the introduction."
Winesworld.com
Review
"I enjoyed it so much I read it in an afternoon—and then rushed right out and bought several of her suggested wines. It would make a terrific holiday gift for the wine lover in your life." Forbes.com
Synopsis
With her signature engaging style, Natalie MacLean takes you on a whirlwind journey through the world of wine, searching for great taste at a low cost. By turns confessional—with guilty admissions from a penny-pincher who loves simple pleasures—and spirited,
Unquenchable! is informed by MacLean’s decade-long career as an award-winning wine writer.
MacLean recounts her adventure with the most passionate personalities in some of the most gorgeous, off-beat places in the world—from the crazed vintner who explains his wine philosophy while speeding down the Autobahn to the Sicilian winemakers you don’t want to disappoint with your tasting notes. Yet there’s plenty to take away, from her inspired recommendations for food pairings to favorite value wines and wineries, plus many pointers that will enhance your own drinking pleasure.
About the Author
Natalie MacLean is the award-winning author of
Red, White, and Drunk All Over, named the Best Wine Literature Book (English) at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. An accredited sommelier and journalist, her wine e-newsletter, Nat Decants, is read by more than 130,000 wine lovers. Her free mobile app, “Wine Picks & Pairings: Natalie Maclean,” has been downloaded 100,000 times.