Liquid Memory

Jonathan Nossiter acclaimed filmmaker and former sommelier had his first taste of wine at the age of three in Paris from his father''s fingertip. For him wine is memory in its most liquid and dynamic form as essential an expression of culture as cinema books baseball painting even sex. With great wit and passion he celebrates wine and its enthusiasts—and defends both from those who tell us what to drink and how to think about it Liquid Memory the American expatriate investigates the infinite mysteries of terroir the historical sense of place that makes wine a living thrilling expression of cultural identity that can stretch back centuries. The book is a deliriously joyful master class in locating the soul of a wine and in learning to trust your own palate and desires. Nossiter who has already created an uproar in the world of wine with his film Mondovino arms us against the tyranny of snobs critics and charlatans who would prevent us from taking part in what should be a gloriously democratic bacchanalia.From the sacred wine shops and three-star restaurants of Paris to the biodynamic vineyards of Burgundy from the hipster bistros of New York to film locations in Rio de Janeiro and Athens this singular journey invites us to consider how power misused can sometimes mask an absence of taste—and how our own personal taste can combat power in any sphere. A controversial bestseller in Europe Liquid Memory is sure to rile the establishment enlighten the thirsty and reveal the inner life of the world''s most mysterious contradictory and jubilatory drink.