Books, Bottles and Bytes
If you haven’t committed to them by now (and more so if you have), you probably realize that New Year’s resolutions are a drag. For those preoccupied with this annual act of auto-flagellation, let’s be real. At what other time do we commit so half-heartedly to flagging and fixing our personal flaws? The undertow of a uniquely American peer pressure (because who else in the world does this, really?) releases our nagging inner voice, confirming in boldface what we already know: We’re too chubby, disorganized, under-cultured, over-extended and other grim self-perceptions.
Putting self-improvement projects aside for the moment, let’s talk about a good read. If, by chance, you plan to be more resolute in your 2013 reading (like us), we’re offering a direct payoff: Turn the effort into wine. Better wine, even. After all, an informed mind begets better drinking – that’s what Bacchus said. Actually it was, “Bibe et bibas illud ultra,” but who’s counting? He was big on Alsace, after all, so his word had to be good.
Your friends at PAVC are committed to providing periodic notes on standout wine writing – both newly-issued and time-tested – throughout the year. To get you started, we’re passing along a good word on a title isn’t really a book, by true definition, but the takeaway is equally gladdening.
Read on, drink on.
Wine Simplified: Navigate Wine with Confidence, the new iOS-based app/book from Philly super-somm, educator and author Marnie Old, is less a linear read than a digital representation of Old’s personality. It’s dense with knowledge, a thorough and dynamic guide for people interested in taking their wine experience to the next level – a device for, in Old’s words, “novice enthusiasts.”
It’s a multimedia presentation that lures the reader/viewer into numerous portals and blends written narrative with 90 minutes of video tutorials, a couple hundred audio pronunciation guides (never stumble over terms like Moelleux or Trockenbeerenauslese again!) and interactive graphics. The format enables us to skip around, hunting and pecking at the tidy mountain of information assembled by Old and contributor Anthony Giglio.
The creators mine the decidedly digital format to pare wine down to practical and useful bits, as evidenced by handy, hyperlinked glossary terms. Venture further, within the term’s text bubble, and an audio pronunciation is often waiting.
Video segments are an especially good call as they showcase Old’s fountainhead presentation skills and uncanny ability to nail a five-minute segment on seemingly all eno- miscellanea with stream-of-consciousness ease. She speaks in prettily plain, salient terms, like when comparing global styles of winemaking: Old World is concerned with producing wines that aspire to the “ideal of being a great food partner,” while the New World is a “little bit more conscious of its first impression.”
The videos, while ideal for Old’s virtuosity, were predominantly shot in a test kitchen or studio and have a vaguely sterile ambiance. It’s easy to imagine the additional life a restaurant or winery setting would embellish the presentation. This is where Old shines, though, and the production values don’t overshadow the performance (and perhaps that’s the point). For added utility, featured wines display a “purchase” icon that connects to Wine.com, chosen, Old says, “because they are the highest volume online wine retailer with widest reach in the US.”
The book’s scattered interactive slides provide graphic backup for key passages. For example, how ocean and terrain collaborate to dispatch weather patterns over Sonoma and Napa Valleys. It’s not news that geography and latitudinal placement are essential to good grape growing, but the presentation feels less obvious and the facts are succinctly expressed.
Similarly, there are graphic details outlaying differences between barrel coopering in the US and France; or the cross section of a grape that shows how wines get their color.
From the basics of grape types, labels and food pairing to a pass at France’s wine regions, there is a lot to swipe at in Wine Simplified. It packs in colorful, common sense knowledge that most people – from novice to confident taster – will find practical and palatable.
Currently available through the iTunes app store. Prices vary and have been spotted as low as $4.99.