The Accidental Connoisseur

Lawrence Osborne is an experienced and seemingly very well-connected journalist. His account of the wine industry is a beautiful and lyrical read, which sees him go on a journey and meet some of the world's top winemakers across Italy, the U.S. and France. It is as much travelogue as it is a piece of prose on wine. His main preoccupation pertains to taste. Why, he asks, is how we perceive wine elevated to the level of importance it has in the modern world? How much is it simply a conceit or an artifice, especially for the wealthy? The old cliché, There's no accounting for taste, certainly does hold true according to Osborne. Along the way, he also inquires into the elusive concept of terroir and the extent to which it may be perceived in wine. Each winemaker Osborne encounters has their own take on this topic, and of course the marketeers are different to the producers. Ultimately, part of the joy of wine is its inherent subjectivity combined with the passion (and related stories) all those who work in the industry bring to it. The Accidental Connoisseur sits well next to Cork Dork for helping not only to lend a novel perspective, but also to demythologize some of wine's artifice.

By Lawrence Osborne