Beekman Book Signing

The Beekman Boys will be at the Harvard Coop on April 25th from 7-10pm signing their book, "The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir". Stop by to show your support and pick up a great read!

Pomodoro! A History of the Tomato in Italy

About a year ago, I was feasting on some pasta when a thought popped into my head. What did Italian people eat before 1492? Since the tomato is a "New World" fruit (yes, it is a fruit), there were centuries of Italian cooking before it was introduced to Europe. Well, as a Christmas gift this year, I received a book that explains just that. Pomodoro! A History of the Tomato in Italy, by David Gentilcore, traces the tomato from its humble written introduction into Italy on October 31, 1548 (it was viewed as a strange and horrible thing) all the way up to present day. While the book can be a bit dry in parts, overall it is quite fascinating. I learned a lot of interesting tidbits. For example, tomatoes didn't get consumed by the masses in Italy until around the 1700's and it wasn't until the mid 1800's that tomato sauce was married to pasta and became the popular dish it is today. Strangely, the tomato really only started to catch on in Italy right when Italy was becoming unified, so technically, Italians always used tomatoes in their cuisine (by that same logic though, you could say Italian cuisine is less than 200 years old). If you are Italian or just love Italian food (the book includes some recipes) and history, Pomodoro! is definitely worth a read.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

The House of Mondavi, written by Julia Flynn Siler, is an excellent book that retells the rise and fall of Napa Valley's most famous wine family. You might known Robert Mondavi Wines for their iconic label of a spanish adobe-style winery with grand arch but do you know the drama and scandals that unfolded behind this serene setting?

Beginning with Robert Mondavi's father Cesare and his dream to create a wine empire for his family, Siler recounts how Cesare Mondavi purchased the Charles Krug winery and turned it into a family business. After his death, his two boys Robert and Peter threaten to tear apart the family company with their constant fighting. Rosa, the mother of the boys is faced with a choice, let the business crumble or cast-off one of her sons. After a truly explosive fight, she sends Robert, the eldest son, packing. Faced with no other alternative and already in his 50's, Robert sets out to buy his own vineyard and create his own family run winery for his sons Michael and Timothy to inherit. With fierce determination and an unwillingness to compromise, Robert soon creates one of the most famous and iconic wineries in all of America. However, the family troubles of his past still haunt him and his family, from lawsuits and affairs to sibling rivalry and corporate take-overs, Robert Mondavi is plagued throughout his career with trouble that overshadows his fame.

Siler does a splendid job weaving multiple accounts of the events that transpired and gives a balanced point of view of the family squabbles that seemed all-too common for the Mondavi family. The House of Mondavi is not only an excellent history lesson about Mondavi wines, but also of the Napa Valley and it's rise to prominence. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in wine or the trials and tribulations of running a family business.

The Billionaire's Vinegar

I just finished reading Benjamin Wallace's in-depth look into the "Jefferson wine bottle scandal" back in the 1980's. His book, "The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine" dives into the mystery surrounding the Forbes family's purchase (from Christie's) of a bottle of 1787 Lafite claimed to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson. With thrilling detail, Wallace works as a detective to uncover the wealthy world of vintage-wine collecting and the famous, wealthy, and sometimes shady people who are involved in the business. It's a fascinating read, not only for the mystery of the Jefferson bottles (were they ever really owned by Jefferson? Are they as old as they claim to be?) but also for the amount of knowledge you gain from Wallace's research into old wines. If you're looking for a great story about wine and the wine culture of the rich and famous, this book is definitely for you.

Educating Peter

If you don't know much about wine but are interested in getting informed you should pick up the book: Educating Peter: How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert. Educating Peter follows Lettie's attempt to teach famous Rolling Stone movie reviewer Peter Travers that there's more to wine than just a "fatty Chardonnay". The book discusses everything from the different types of grapes, to each wine region in Bordeaux, to meeting up with some of Napa's top wine producers. Lettie provides the information while Peter provides the wit and humor. The two together make for a very enjoyable story. The best part of the book is that you can take away very useful tidbits of information that are easy to remember that will help you pick out wine next time you go to the store or out to eat. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of the top wine producers of the region you just read about. I enjoyed the book a lot and can't wait to try out my new-found knowledge.