Nat Decants - Red, White and Drunk All Over

About.com Spanish Food
September 8, 2007

By Lisa Sierra

Guide Rating - 5/5 stars

What a great book! It is entertaining and written in a casual style, yet is very informative at the same time. Natalie MacLean writes about wine and winemaking around the world. She recounts her adventures while visiting wineries and interviewing winemakers and owners, as well as what it is like to work on the floor of a well-known wine retailer in NYC. Whether you are interested in wine, are intimidated by wine, or you are a "wine aficionado," there is something for you in this book.

Natalie MacLean is a sommelier and a wine writer who has won numerous prestigious awards for her writing, including four James Beard Journalism awards. In addition, her work has appeared in magazines such as Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Wine Enthusiast. She also publishes a free newsletter, cleverly named Nat Decants and has a very informative web site www.nataliemaclean.com , which is how we became aware of her work.

Before I started reading her book, I was a little apprehensive that the book would be out of my league. After all, she is an accredited sommelier and I’m simply a foodie and wine lover who lives near Napa. Would it relate to Spanish food at all, my main focus? Would it be too technical and dry? Would I be able to recommend it to friends, family or readers?

I should not have worried at all! The book is written in a very friendly, down-to-earth style. It is informative without being preachy or snobby. In fact, after reading the book, readers will feel like they know the author. Her writing is very easy to read and although she provides the reader with a large amount of information about grapes, wine-making and wine-tasting, this is not a technical manual about wine, but rather an informative and entertaining book.

What's the "Wine-Soaked Journey" all About?

The book has an introduction and nine sections. Each deals with a wine-related topic – from the growing and harvesting of grapes and the marketing of wine, to a description of the world of wine critics and how their ratings can dramatically affect the sales of a single brand or an entire wine-growing region. Another section is devoted to wine glasses and how their shape affects the taste.

Natalie MacLean begins by explaining how she became interested in wine, which reassures the reader that she is not so different from them. Then she starts the “wine-soaked journey,” by taking the reader to several famous wine-producing regions, including Burgundy, Champagne and Napa Valley. She entertains the reader with the descriptions of her travels, candid interviews with wine-makers and tours of ancient wine cellars. She is allowed to try her hand at pruning grape vines and spends a long, hard day harvesting grapes. At the same time as she is describing the travels, she gives the reader a glimpse of what goes on “behind-the-scenes” at centuries-old wineries and paints personal pictures of their owners. She offers the reader some wine history, as well as information on the science and techniques of winemaking.

In each subsequent section Natalie MacLean writes about another aspect of wine and how people relate to it. For example, one chapter is about two wine stores on opposite coasts of the U.S. and how they differ in their approaches to selling. Another chapter focuses on how she chooses wines for a holiday dinner. She also suggests how you can put together your own tasting with friends.

The Bottom Line - Should You Read it?

If you…

* Enjoy drinking wine
* Know a lot about wine
* Know very little about wine
* Ever wanted to know more about European wines
* Wondered how Napa Valley got its' start
* Enjoy cooking or eating great food
* Felt intimidated in a wine store or restaurant
* Wondered if the expensive glasses are worth buying

then read Red, White and Drunk All Over. There will be something to laugh at, a lot to learn and I think you’ll find it an enjoyable read.

About.com is a New York Times company.

About.com Wine
December 4, 2006

By Stacy Slinkard

Guide Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The Bottom Line

Red, White and Drunk All Over, is a "stand out from the crowd" book about wine. Not just wine, but wine in all of it's glory, wine in all of it's mystery, wine that is good and wine that is well...not. Natalie MacLean diligently leads readers through the harvesting process in a remote vineyard from which Bonny Doon sources grapes, and brilliantly takes the reader on a far-off field trip to the Champagne region of France and inside the cellars of the famed Pommery winery.

Like the riddle that the title implies, MacLean's book untwists the vineyard's answers to the "hows" and "whys" of making and drinking great wines.

Pros

* An entertaining read to expand your wine experience
* Great first-hand stories of some of the wine world's most intriguing personalities
* Written with a ready wit and contagious humor that will break a smile on every page
* A welcoming read for those new to the world of wine
* Also offers knowledge and depth to completely engage experienced wine enthusiasts

Cons

* Only con comes when you reach the end of the book...you'll wish it was just a few chapters longer!

Guide Review

From discovering the intricacies of making a palatable Zinfandel despite it's many idiosyncrocies to unearthing the well-kept secrets of past and present Champagne makers alike, Red, White and Drunk All Over explodes onto the scene with a myriad of wine world nuggets and the insider's scoop that both the seasoned enthusiast and those just tip-toeing into the world of wine will find captivating.

This is not your typical wine book. Nope this one zealously offers the lowdown on the world of wine. From an interview with Robert Parker and time spent at Bonny Doon Vineyard with Randall Grahm - MacLean brings you face to face with some of the most prominent figures in the wine industry today. She introduces you to the personalities that create the wines of our times, the people who offer both the philosophies and the integrated sciences that make wine what it is and what it can be. Poetry, science, wit and wine wisdom all melded into one consolidated book, for your reading and educating pleasure!

MacLean takes a hands-on approach to both her research and her writing, producing an engaging tale of how, when, where and why grapes go from vine to glass (and just which glass to use with which wine). She goes to work harvesting grapes; checking out the ins and outs of Champagne houses in France; discerning the wine critics evaluations; peeking into wine pricing; selling wine for a day at a local merchant's shop; playing sommelier for a night at a five-star restaurant; discussing glassware with Riedel; hosting an at home wine tasting and the adventure goes on - the best part is MacLean takes you with her on the entire wine adventure, allowing the reader to experience the inner circle of the world of wine.

About.com is a New York Times company.

After Hours for Legal Professionals
June 25, 2007

By Kathy Biehl

How often have you read wine writing full of impressive descriptions that left you with no earthly idea of how the wine would actually taste? You'll be anything but mystified by Natalie MacLean's essay collection Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass.

MacLean's approach is engagingly kinesthetic and confessional, conveying a range of physical, emotional and psychological sensations in addition to whatever her taste buds might be experiencing. This collection is a happy mix of history, sociology, memoir and cultural anthropology, painlessly interlaced with the science and business of winemaking.

Whether visiting the grand dames of Champagne, harvesting grapes in Sonoma, acting as sommelier or wine merchant, or detailing a foray into home entertaining, MacLean throws herself into each pursuit with a passion that invites the reader to dash along at her side. This book is both intelligent and fun, and you'll learn something along the way.

MacLean has expanded her online food and wine matching tool, which was featured in the February 2007 After Hours. The range of food search options is larger (I swear I didn't see "haggis" previously, which is paired with cabernet sauvignon), and it's now possible to pull up recipes, too. Reach the recipes either by searching by ingredient or chef name, or by searching by wine type and following the recipe link at the bottom of the pairing recommendation page.

agendaNi
March 2008

By Bill Crane

Have you ever agonised over which wine to serve with which food? If so, help is at hand. With thousands of wines on the market, picking the right one to complement your chosen dish can be difficult. Award winning Canadian wine writer Natalie MacLean has created a remarkable online tool for matching foods and wines at www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher.

Just as Nigella Lawson is the goddess in the kitchen, Natalie MacLean is the goddess in the cellar. Natalie is an accredited sommelier and has won four James Beard Journalism Awards for her writing about drinks, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award in memory of one of one of America’s greatest food writers.

She has also won an unprecedented five International Association Culinary Professionals (IACP) Bert Greene Awards, four Association of Food Journalists Awards, and four North America Travel Journalists Association Awards. To add to this slew of prestigious awards at the 2003 World Food Media Awards in Adelaide, Natalie was named the World’s Best Drink Writer beating off competition from 1,000 other writers. An international and independent panel of 47 food and wine experts selected her from a short-list of 14 nominees from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Her articles have appeared in more than 60 publications from the Chicago Tribune and the Times to Wine Enthusiast and Bon Appetit.

When she is not writing about wine, Natalie’s love is highland dancing which she taught for 10 years after coming fifth in the Scottish World Championships. Her new book ‘Red, White and Drunk All Over – A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass’ is more than a memoir – it redefines wine appreciation for the reader. It was chosen as the Best Wine Literature Book in the English language at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

As you fly through the book you feel like your being taken through a well-thought out flight of full wineglasses. Natalie takes the reader on an insider tour of the international wine world with laugh-out-loud stories soaked in her sensuous obsession with wine. It starts in Burgundy, France with a personal tour of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (often referred to as DRC) where her host vintner Aubert de Villaine embraces organic viticulture. DRC enjoys a cult status even greater than Mouton in the Bordeaux region. She then visits Lalou Bize-Leroy, known as La Tigresse, but our Canadian wine writer obviously tamed her as lunch was offered and accepted. Bize-Leroy is a strong advocate of biodynamic viticulture which she adopted in 1988.

In California the brave author mingles with Randall Grahm the puckish president of Bonny Doon Vineyards who describes himself to Natalie as “a champion of ugly-duckling grapes whose existence is threatened by the dominant chardocentric paradigm”. Grahm kindly allowed Natalie to “get her hands dirty” with his visiting “cellar-rat” Matt Kenneally from Australia. Kenneally is offered something no-one else in the book was given. “Let’s staaart with recking some woin, shell we?” he asks Natalie. We continue to pull the cork on more wine adventures as Natalie sells wine in a retail shop, is a sommelier for an evening in an upmarket restaurant, tours Champagne, opens her heart and cellar with a dinner party and even explains the feud between wine critic Robert Parker of Wine Advocate and Jancis Robinson of the Financial Times.

Natalie certainly travelled a wine-soaked journey of the grape but true to form befriends Georg Riedel and he explains which glass shape suits each style of wine and why.

American Wine Society Journal
Fall 2006

By Jane Moulton

After reading two or three chapters just for the enjoyment of hearing about a favorite topic—wine—the reader suddenly realizes that besides being entertained, much education has occurred. (Would that schools were that easy.) Take for instance, the chapter called “Purple Prose with a Bite.” A disagreement between wine writers is discussed, but in the bargain one hears about differences in winemaking procedures, the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines, the background of Robert Parker and his influence on sales, Jancis Robinson’s background and her theories about writing on wine, and other educational topics that just become part of the prose.

In “Harvesting Dreams,” one learns the background of Edoardo Seghesio’s opening of his winery in 1902 and the thoughts of granddaughter Camille Seghesio, currently the winery’s export sales director. It also includes the story of zinfandel and its struggle to become a good red wine despite the white zin.

Red, White, and Drunk All Over is such delightful reading it would appeal even to those who consider themselves living far outside the wine scene. However, chances are excellent they will move into it after just a few chapters.

Anthony Dias Blue on WCBS
December 5, 2006

Best books for the wine lover's shelf
By Anthony Dias Blue

I’ve been inundated recently with wine-related books that would make nice gifts for wine lovers on your list. Sommelier and journalist Natalie MacLean has written a wonderful account of the places and personalities that rule the wine world in Red, White and Drunk All Over. She visits legends such as Lalou Bize-Leroy in Burgundy and California’s Randall Grahm, of Bonny Doon, among others. The book is breezy and very readable. I’m Anthony Dias Blue. This is the Blue Lifestyle Minute on WCBS 880.

Atlanta Style & Design Magazine
December 2006

By Bob Calvert

Eno-author, Natalie MacLean, chronicles her life in wine in Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. It’s a good read.

MacLean announces early on that there are two types of wine writers: Experts, who know everything and want to explain it, and Enthusiasts, who write to share their enthusiasm for the subject. MacLean has earned certification as a sommelier, which makes her an Expert, but she labels herself an Enthusiast. With justification.

Describing her maiden fine-wine experience she says, “I moistened my lips with the wine and drank it slowly, letting it coat my tongue and slide from one side of my mouth to the other. The brunello trickled down my throat and out along a thousand fault lines through my body, dissolving them.”

That was just the first sip.

The second glass produced this reaction: “The wine flushed warmth up into my cheeks, down through my shoulders, and across my thighs. My mind was as calm as a black ocean. The wine gently stirred the silt of memories on the bottom, helping me recall childhood moments of wordless abandon.”

MacLean tracks down good wine all over. She has chapters on Burgundy, Sonoma County, Champagne, wine criticism, stores, glasses, entertaining with wine, wine stewarding, and even on dining with a famous writer who loves wine. MacLean ties everything together with humor, much as a chef might use a little wine to “add flavor to the food, giving some softer grace notes to a hearty dish or richness to a light one.”

WHAT TO DRINK WITH THIS BOOK?

MacLean herself recommended that we try Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel. We did. It partnered perfectly with her description of a visit to the Seghesio family’s Sonoma County establishment.

In another chapter, she writes about meeting Frederic Drouhin of Maison Joseph Drouhin. We though we’d try the Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune with MacLean’s commentary on wineries and winemakers in Burgundy. It turned out to be an excellent combination.

Brentwood Press
January 17, 2007

By Harry Stoll

Natalie MacLean glugs a good wine and we want to ask her whether she and the glass would like to be alone. This woman flat-out enjoys fermented grape juice. When she shines the light of Apollo on the wine it bounces back with the joy of Dionysus.

MacLean knows her fermented grape juice and writes about it with a joie de vin as she takes us to France and is down cellar and at the kitchen table with members of families that have been in wine since forever. She pulls hoses across the wine dark floor of Bonny Doon Winery in Santa Cruz and finds some intelligent comments from owner Randall Grahm, talks about zin and Riedel glasses and wine lists and throwing a wine tasting and looks at the taste buds on our tongue and champions Champaign and talks about gurus Robert Parker and Janice Robinson

She’s funny and delightful on every page, but takes no cheap shots, only long longing gulps of the grape. She’s wonderfully respectful of those in the business but is no suck up, and her look at their views contain the right amount of acid, very little residual sugar and plenty of different tastes.

Calgary Herald
October 1, 2006

Acclaimed journalist takes wine writing in new directions
By Shelley Boettcher

She drinks some of the world's greatest wines; better yet, she gets paid for it. She has fans around the world and she can work at home, dressed in, well, whatever she wants.

But being a wine writer isn't all fun and games, says Natalie MacLean. First, there's the serious stuff, her career's tremendous capacity for self-inflicted pain. "Let's see: alcoholism, liver disease, hangovers," says MacLean (who, by the way, is both healthy and headache-free).

Then there are the funny moments, those potentially awkward comments from kids and conversations with adults. For instance, every year, at the start of a new school year, the Ottawa-based author has to explain to her son's teachers what she does for a living.

"That's so they don't call Child Services when he says, 'Mommy was drinking again last night,' " she says.

Her explanations, so far, seem to be working. The kid, now seven, is doing just fine, and, for that matter, so is MacLean. She's currently on the road promoting her first book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass (Doubleday Canada, 2006), a highly personal and witty behind-the-scenes look at the international wine industry, from the vineyards of Burgundy to North America's top restaurants and wine shops.

Born in Toronto, MacLean -- ("I'm 39 and holding hard!") -- grew up in a small town outside of Halifax, where "the drinks of choice were beer and whisky," not wine.

She was a professional highland dancer for many years, and regularly performed at competitions across Canada. (These days, she's been known to use her swords to slash the tops off champagne bottles.) The only child of a single mother, a schoolteacher, she says her mother taught her at a young age about the importance of "reading, writing and being financially responsible."

That meant, of course, that a writer's life was out of the question. Instead, MacLean pursued a master's degree in business administration from the University of Western Ontario, and then went to work as the Canadian marketing guru for a California computer company. It paid well enough that she could explore her true passion: wine.

In the introduction to her new book, MacLean recounts the first time she knew she wanted to know more about wine. She and her future husband, Andrew, had gone for dinner at a small Italian restaurant. The owner recommended a Brunello, a type of rich red wine from Italy.

"As I raised the glass to my lips, I stopped," she writes. "The aroma of the wine rushed out to meet me and all the smells I had ever known fell away. I didn't know how to describe it, but I did know how it made me feel....

"A pilot light had been ignited inside of me; over time, it would grow into the flames of a full-blown passion."

MacLean started to take wine classes, and eventually became an accredited sommelier.

Shortly after her son, Rian, was born, she decided to try her hand at wine writing. She picked up a food magazine at her local grocery store and, flipping through it, she realized that although she liked the magazine, it didn't have any wine articles. She sent the editor a proposal, asking if she'd be interested in an article on wine and the Internet.

"Have you been published?" the editor asked.

"Oh sure, I said," MacLean recalls with a laugh.

"I'm thinking 'In my high school newspaper; please don't ask me for samples.' "

Luckily for MacLean, she didn't, and MacLean's new career was launched.

Five years ago, she launched her own website, Nat Decants (www.nataliemaclean.com). She began sending out free weekly e-mail newsletters, with stories and notes about her current favourite wines, new vintages that she likes enough to recommend.

"My reviews are very loopy. They're very personal, very loose," she explains. "But I am trying to provide a service to people -- 'Here's my shopping list. I've tasted all of these, and these are the ones I think you'll enjoy.' "

MacLean now has 53,000 subscribers in 36 countries. Many of those fans regularly write to let her know what they're drinking and what they're thinking.

"You get all these interesting stories from people: the night nurse in Saskatoon, the water reservoir manager in Tulsa, the florist in Dijon, a teacher in London, the customs inspector in Toronto," she says with a laugh.

"Wine just taps into so many people's lives. You don't have to be a wine geek. You can have another whole life, but you can still be deeply interested in wine."

Since launching the website, MacLean has won more than a dozen major international awards for her writing, including the prestigious MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award and myriad American Food Journalists awards. In addition to publishing in magazines like Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Reader's Digest, she's the wine columnist for Chatelaine.

But MacLean is quick to say that she's just beginning her journey into the world of wine.

"There is just so much to learn. I'm inviting people to come along with me," she says.

"I just really want to know more about what I'm drinking and why I'm drinking it."

Canadian Living
December 2006

By Elizabeth Baird

An award-winning journalist who was, by her own confession, "born thirsty." MacLean offers a fun, enlightening romp through the wine world.

Cannon Beach Gazette
September 12, 2007

By Dean Reiman

I am often asked by friends and customers how I am able to keep up with all the new wineries and wines coming into the marketplace. Usually I joke that it takes a lot of work and sacrifice on my part, tasting hundreds of wines every month on behalf of my customers in order to spare them this misery. In reality, I do taste hundreds of wines every month looking for new wines for the store or to see what new vintages of regular selections taste like. Just for the record, 99% of the wines I taste wind up in the spittoon; it would hardly be prudent to fully enjoy every sample offered. Every once in a while you are asked to taste a wine of such magnificence that spitting it out would be a serious offense to Bacchus. Unfortunately, a fair percentage of the wines that are proffered by salespeople are just simply ok and rather unremarkable; they tend to all taste the same. Even though I have the opportunity to sample so many wines there are clearly many more wines that I do not get to taste. What’s a wine guy supposed to do? Well, like you are doing right now, I search out various sources who I have found to be knowledgeable and reliable in their tasting notes and recommendations. Here are a few of the voices in the world of wine that I pay attention to:

While many wine professionals like to bash Robert Parker the fact is that this one man has done more to introduce standards of quality to an industry that was previously marked by inconsistency and lacking any sort of “road map” to understanding specific wine regions around the world. I had the distinction of observing Mr. Parker and his crew tasting dozens of wines at a table next to me at the large wine trade show VinItaly held in Verona every year and can assure you that they are focused, professional and ruthless in their reviews of the wines they were trying. Their bottom line was, and is, to make certain that consumers can rely completely on their recommendations.

Another email newsletter that I find to be informative is Nat Decants, written by wine authority Natalie MacLean. You can visit her website at www.nataliemaclean.com to subscribe to her newsletter, read her reviews of wine and food and learn about her impeccable credentials in the field of wine. Her entertaining book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass (it has been described as A Year in Provence meets Kitchen Confidential and then goes Sideways) provides a look deep into the international wine community.

For all their glamour and glitzy photos and despite the whispered rumors that their high ratings are available for a price, The Wine Spectator and The Wine Enthusiast are always good sources to find out about wines that I personally do not get to try. A very independent source of wine reviews is the Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine. This publication is often scathingly honest in their reviews and accepts no advertising that might inspire bias or, at the very least, the illusion of bias. Contrary to its name, the Guide also includes wines that are not from California. You can find this great publication on line at www.cgcw.com.

There are countless other sources on wine too numerous to mention in this column; these are just a few of the regular stops I make when I want to learn about wines that are not directly offered to me to sample.

CataVino
January 15, 2008

By Gabriella Opaz

As promised for the New Year, we are committed to broadening our discussion on wine beyond Spain and Portugal. One way we’re attempting to do this is by both contributing to Dr. Debs Wine Book Club and by doing a little research on our own as we find books of interest to us. And fortunately, our new plan couldn’t have come a moment too soon considering that my father-in-law was kind enough to surprise me over the holidays with Natalie MacLean’s book, “Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.”

Cracking open the book in Norway next to a roaring hot fire, which are much needed on those cold blustery days; I was reminded how much I enjoy holding a physical book in my hand. It’s funny how often you forget that these objects exist when information is so readily available at click of a mouse.

The book is broken down into eleven chapters, two of which are solely dedicated Natalie’s observations as to how she both entered the wine world and what she intends on doing now that the book is finished. Both sections are a fun read, but don’t compare to the meat of her story which describe her roaming adventures through wineries, vineyards, cellars, restaurants, retails shops, wine tastings and interviews.

But before I comment on my impressions, allow me to give you a general overview of what you’ll encounter when reading this book. Natalie begins her journey in Burgundy, where she uncovers some of her deep resounding questions about Pinot Noir and its relationship to some of the most coveted wines in the world through her conversations with Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leroy.

She then heads west to Sonoma Valley where she learns the back-breaking work of harvesting grapes (something I’m still dying to experience) with Seghesio Family Vineyards and later with the radical winemaker, Randall Graham (a man whom I adore). In Champagne, she visits some of the most prestigious cellars in the world, conversing with legends such as the grand dame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin of Veuve Clicquot and Madame Pommeroy of Les Clayeres. This is such a great chapter as she describes what its like to manually disgorge a bottle of champagne, while promptly humiliating herself in the process.

She uses the hotly debated and contentious critique of the 2003 Pavie between Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson to evaluate the effectiveness and future of power dominating wine critics. Comparing two retail shops in the heart of San Francisco, Natalie ties on her sales apron to uncover some of the truths and misconceptions in the retail wine trade - an intriguing chapter when considering the current issues with wine.com.

She conducts an interview with the novelist, Jay McInerney (someone I was oblivious to before this book), followed by a discussion on tasting wine, while hosting an informal wine tasting in her own home. And finally, she suits up as a sommelier in Quebec at the award winning restaurant, Le Baccara, where she offers her take on the current state of wine service, wine menus and knowledge held by your average customer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, simply because you’re taking the journey with her, rather than feeling like a student in a wine seminar. You’re walking in the fields getting your own boots wet and heavy with mud. You feel her frustration when she’s incapable of reading cultural cues and her elation when meeting some of her most revered wine professionals in the world. And along the way, you will never stray far from her detailed and sultry descriptions of her undying passion for wine of any color, style or variety:

“I moistened my lips with the wine and drank it slowly, letting it coat my tongue and slide from one side of my mouth to the other. The brunello trickled down my throat and out along a thousand fault lines through my body, dissolving them.”

Sound like a Daniel Steel novel? In many ways, it is, but you’d have to throw in a touch of Jancis Robinson, a dash of Stephen Colbert and a sprinkling of MFK Fischer. Her style is witty, challenging, intelligent, and at times, completely bizarre – using such descriptive and involved metaphors, I found it difficult to stay on track. But by half way through the book, I succumbed to her style, figuring that to meet this woman in person must be thoroughly entertaining.

Living in an Iberian wine bubble, the book also brought to light issues outside of my everyday realm that excited me. Topics such as: Will Champagne eventually lose its stronghold among less expensive, quality sparkling wines of Spain, Australia, California or Germany? Should wine shops be organized by region, flavor profile, cuisine, etc.? Does it really matter, and how could we apply these same “radical” ideas of wine store management to wine stores here in Spain or Portugal?

As we push for less prestige and haughtiness from US retailers, begging for the simple “hello” principle, should consumers carry those same expectations to wine retailers in Spain? What should customers be wary about when ordering wine from a restaurant? How can they be better prepared? And do these standards change from one country to the next? How do you help a newbie face a wine menu larger than a phone book as they pass out from performance anxiety? Do men and woman approach both wine menus and wine shopping differently? Must a tasting note have some correlation to everyone’s reality, or can it be something that is suited solely for your tastes? For example, can we say that a Chilean malbec is a “Hooters dancer in a bikini top – ripe, lush and ready to be consumed” or have we strayed way off the mark as to what you can relate to?

These questions challenge me to go out and get more personal with wine retailers and restaurants in Spain and Portugal. It makes me wonder if I am describing wine effectively, or if I need to make adjustments to style. It also forces me to consider if we’ve done a decent job preparing you to enter an Iberian wine shop or restaurant well armed.

In short, I liked it and felt it was entertaining and extremely thought provoking. Now maybe in part this relates to my world being slightly sheltered here on the peninsula, but I have faith you’ll grab some truth from the pages. If you’ve read it, please let me know what you think. If not, you can pick it up through Catavino, informing us of your impressions when you’ve finished the book.

Cellier
Spring-Summer 2007

By Bill Zacharkiw

The best learning often happens when you don't realize that you are being taught. To accomplish this requires a special type of teacher, someone who can integrate sometimes-complicated concepts into familiar anecdotes from our daily lives.

Ottawa wine writer Natalie MacLean is one of those rare people. Her first book, Red, White and Drunk All Over, is a meandering journey through the world of wine; from Burgundy to Champagne to California, to a tasting in Riedel glasses, to working with her as a sommelier for an evening.

She does all this in a friendly and sometimes self-deprecating style that puts us completely at ease, all the while teaching and answering many questions that even a seasoned wine connoisseur wanted to know but was afraid to ask.

MacLean's chapter on the "grandes dames" of Champagne is a humorous tour of the regions' best-known houses, where she wanders from cellar to cellar introducing us to many of the colourful personalities behind the scenes of the historic district. But by the end of the chapter, we are smarter; we know the history of the region, how champagne is made, the importance of the riddler and even who invented the Kir Royale.

Chapter after chapter, she manages to combine entertainment and education in a way that should be a model for all wine educators. After all, wine is merely a conduit for "camaraderie and consolation," a drink which brings us together and need not be taken too seriously. Perhaps this is MacLean's most important lesson.

Chicago Reader
November 12, 2006

By Kate Schmidt

Natalie MacLean has been called the “George Plimpton of wine writers,” and in this wide-ranging collection there’s plenty of participatory journalism—she moonlights as a sommelier, works a vineyard, goes on a bender with Jay McInerney. But it’s not all stunts: a four-time winner of a James Beard award for journalism, she manages to cram a ton of practical information into a lively, often droll narrative. Along the way she tours the winery Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, home of what many consider the world’s greatest wine; visits Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon, the wild man of California wine; and addresses the flap between new world and old sparked by the immense influence of numerical ratings employed by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and others.

You learn about terroir, appellations, biodynamics, and negociants, but it’s all done with a light hand—MacLean approvingly quotes Ralph Steadman’s satirical description of an Algerian wine (“Very soft and very round, like a sheep’s eyes with square pupils”). When the gloves come off and her obsessive-compulsive side reveals itself the results can be amusing: a supposedly casual wine tasting with a bunch of girlfriends involves a tutorial on expectoration and the rigorous examination of each glass against slips of white paper. But then it’s hard to argue with her methods. This is a woman who, inspired by a Napoleonic legend, taught herself to slice open a bottle of champagne with a saber.

Circle of Wine Writers
June 2007

By Jim Budd

As it is almost impossible to write a synopsis of Natalie's book, I shall just give up. This is a brilliantly different approach to a beginners' guide to wine.

Natalie uses subjects like a visit to the Domaine Romanee-Conti (The good earth) or dinner with Jay McInerney (Big City Bacchus) in New York as pegs to explore Burgundy with the former and cellaring in the latter.

Other chapters such as The Merry Widows of Mousse covers Champagne or Purple Prose With A Bite covers the argument Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker over Pavie 2003 but much more as well - critics, their influence, scores and much more. This is a rare instance where a wine book is a good read.

CityBites
October-November 2006

By Malcolm Jolley

Natalie MacLean may have the most popular wine website and newsletter in Canada. Hers is certainly one of the more polished; her specialty is bringing the high falutin’ world of wine down to a just-folks level all of us, and our mothers, can easily understand.

The wine world probably needs a lot more of this—even if it’s not what I generally like to read. On wine, give me Michael Broadbent, Matt Kramer, Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, Hugh Johnson, Richard Olney and Jay McInerney. Give me some gravitas, connect me to something bigger, refined, sophisticated, knowing and majestic. And that’s exactly what Ms. MacLean has done.

She begins in Burgundy, heads to California, plays at being a sommelier in the casino in Hull, wades into the Robinson-Parker feud over Château Pavie (he loved it, she thought it was crap, words were exchanged—or written), she checks out Riedel, drinks with the bacchanalian McInerney. It’s a fine romp through the world of wine, beautifully and warmly written, with a scope and breadth that sucked me in after three pages.

The former marketing executive from Ottawa pulled it off. I’m a fan for life.

Good wine books are about more than wine. That part about the grape juice being only 10 per cent of the story? True, it’s a very important 10 per cent, but the other 90 per cent carries wine writing. And that other 90 percent is what MacLean does so well, whether it’s the history of Northern Italian immigration to California or describing a horrible night at a restaurant in France with a corked bottle and an uncooperative waiter.

MacLean does something else in Red, White and Drunk All Over, something I wish more wine writers (mea maxima culpa) would do: tasting notes aside, she describes the effects of a few glasses of wine. If you drink enough… well, you know, cheers.

Classic Wines
July 3, 2008

By Kasey Carpenter

Call it a memoir, an autobiography of sorts. Natalie MacLean has been around when it comes to the world of wine and writing, winning four James Beard Journalism Awards and contributing to any and all manner of food and wine publications.

But this isn't some self-indulgent "look at my charmed life" read, "Red, White, and Drunk All Over" has a lot of honesty woven in the narrative, much of which I don't think was meant to be, but it is so great to see. I was surprised at her almost prima-donna-like reaction to having to carry some pails in a storied vineyard to help the winemaker, a privilege most would jump at. But even more glad at the honest self appraisal and inclusion of the incident in her own work. Or how she handles criticisms not necessarily aimed at her, but at wine writers in general, to her face. All great reactions to read, given the context of the book, the industry, and who is leveling the sights.

The book itself is broken up into chapters that deal with lessons learned from all corners of the wine world, from THE winemaker for DRC, to the goofy greatness that is Randall Grahm -- they all offer Natalie, and by extension, us, some pretty profound thoughts on the production and enjoyment of wine.

The first few pages are, in my opinion, the biggest hurdle. Borderline chic-lit verbosity and overuse of the trusty thesaurus (something all of us do at times when describing wine) sent up red flags, and had me calculating how many pages of this I was going to have to wade through, but fortunately it was just the one passage. Hindsight makes me think it was intentional, as we all tend to "build up" our first wine moments, and attach words to them that we didn't even know existed at the time.

This book skims the surface as far as a technical read is concerned, and for those seeking hard core tasting notes and data, look elsewhere, that is not the intention of this book thankfully. Educational yes, but entertaining first. It is simply a great collection of encounters with people in the wine world that most of us would love to have access to, and Natalie shares that with us, in a clever and engaging manner.

One of my favorite passages (tied for first with any quotes from Randall Grahm) is the chapter "Purple Prose With A Bite" where she offers her own take on the whole Parker vs. Robinson throw down of a few years ago, all centered, or at least sparked by, a single bottle of 2003 Chateau Pavie. MacLean does a wonderful balancing act between the two dissenting views that serve to magnify the polarity within the wine business itself, and ultimately to bring us all back to earth, safe or otherwise, in the knowledge that wine is an art form and is so subject to interpretation, tastes, whims, moods, context, etc...

The most thoughtful line in this book deals with the influence of Parker: "Some vintners feel it's not so much Parker himself they're trying to woo, as the consumer tastes he represents. In their eyes, his reviews just reflect the ratcheting up of our entire sensory environment, from spicier sauces on food to bigger special effects in the movies." Amen.

Despite the allure to do so, she never sides with one or the other, but allows both their voice, reason for being. I for one, was pleased and impressed with this passage of the book, and made for some thought provoking discussion amongst the tasting group.

While this may never be required reading for the MW programme, it is still required reading for any and all who enjoy wine, and more importantly, the people behind it.

Well done.

Cleveland Plain Dealer
September 28, 2006

Wine writer shares love of buzz
By Fred Tasker

The Cleveland Plain Dealer published the same review as the Miami Herald.

Colorado Springs Gazette
December 20, 2006

By Rich Mauro

The other book is Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, by Natalie MacLean. In a rather stark contrast to the Oxford Companion to Wine, which is monumental and encyclopedic, this book caters to readers who prefer to learn through storytelling. And MacLean is a good storyteller. She effectively combines a narrative of her personal journey through the world of wine with useful and often entertaining insights about how that world works, as well as how we can better enjoy our wine-drinking experiences.

Admittedly — possibly as a result of my political-science background — I found myself occasionally skimming past the scene-setting and flowery descriptions to get to the information, explanation and analysis.

I found, though, when I exercised the patience to read every word, I was rewarded with an evocative sense of the transformative nature of wine, something that is hard to get from cold facts and figures.

The only question now is which niece gets which book.

Colorado Wine News
January to March 2007

By Harold Baer

MacLean, an accredited sommelier, takes the reader from vineyard to winery to retailer to table with insight and joy and energy. She covers both the people and the product and there is a lesson on every page but the book is such a romp that the reader will learn without even knowing it. Would that all wine courses were as delectable as this.

What makes the book work on all levels is that is is written as a memoir and the reader gets to learn along with the author. Her lessons become ours and by the time you reach the last page, not only will you be better informed but you will feel more comfortable whether discussing wine or buying it. On every page you will get to share the joy, pleasure, education, and stories from vineyards, wineries, and bottles that MacLean finds in all aspects of wine.

If you buy one wine book this year, make it this one. In fact, buy several and give them to your wine loving friends and even to those who may only drink an occasional glass. They will be certain to thank you. But make sure to keep one for yourself.

Continental Airlines Magazine
October 2006

In this blend of Kitchen Confidential and Sideways, the James Beard Award–winning journalist rolls up her sleeves and takes readers on an informative and amusing tour from grape to glass and beyond, introducing us to winemakers, sommeliers, retailers, and drinkers as she seeks an understanding of what makes this beverage so popular.

Cottage Living
January 2007

By Jason Horn

Sommelier and writer Natalie MacLean presents the wine world as a cast of wacky and wonderful characters; you'll meet a dog-obsessed Burgundy vintner nicknamed la tigresse, and an opinionated pair of wine writers who battle over a new, nontraditional Bordeaux. This memoir that doubles as enology textbook, teaching the basics and telling personal stories with equal good humor.

Dayton Daily News
December 4, 2006

The best wine book of the year
By Mark Fisher

Natalie MacLean likes to drink wine. And she likes to write about it, too.

And believe me, her enthusiasm shows.

Of the hundreds of wine books that were published in the past year, it’s a good bet that MacLean’s book, Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, stands out.

First, MacLean succeeds in walking the incredibly fine line between pleasing both wine novices and aficionados. Her first-person accounts of working for a day as a sommelier and as a wine store clerk are filled with humor, insight and self-deprecation. Her descriptions of her visits with some of the most prestigious winemakers in the world (from Lalou Bize-Leroy to Randall Grahm) paint a three-dimensional portrait of some industry titans.

Plus, this woman — who has won four James Beard Journalism Awards — can just flat-out write. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to MacLean’s words:

But I have to confess, much as I’m drawn to its nuances, I wouldn’t be writing about wine if it weren’t for the buzz. I love the way a glass of wine makes me feel — invigorated and animated, released from my natural shyness. After a couple of glasses, I’m mellow, soothed, contemplative … . I’m sure other wine writers feel the same way, and yet when I read about wine, I often get the odd impression that it has no alcohol in it. Perhaps this unnecessary seriousness about wine is a hangover from Prohibition; or maybe it’s because we think that the body can’t be part of anything intellectual.

Or this, from a discussion about mass-produced wines that are made with a bit of sweetness for wide appeal:

Purists rail against branded wines such as Yellow Tail because they stand for everything wine shouldn’t be about, in their opinion: predictability, homogeneity, security, profitability, and simplicity of taste. But Chateau Margaux and Tignanello are brands too; they just happen to be expensive ones. The dark side of wine brands is that they play to our insecurities about trying something new and therefore narrow the diversity of wine. With that consistency comes monotony. The thrill of wine is in its complex, mercurial nature. From this perspective, brands are anti-wines; confections of a chemistry set.

For more about MacLean and the book, click here. And check out tomorrow’s Dayton Daily News, when I write about other fine holiday gift ideas for wine and food lovers.

Delicious Magazine
September 2007

By Susy Atkins

There aren't many wine books that can be described as "page turners," but I took Natalie MacLean's Red, White & Drunk All Over away on holiday earlier this summer and thoroughly enjoyed its wit and lively humour. There's plenty of useful information packed into the overview of the wine world, but Natalie - a Canadian writer who spent three years visiting wineries and interviewing winemakers - makes the subject fun and approachable by weaving the facts into entertaining, highly personal anecdotes.

Dream House
March 2008

By Deb Podurgiel

Red, White, and Drunk All Over is a refreshing, delightful read and true to its promise, is A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. It is nearly impossible to write about wine history, viticulture and even food and wine pairing without it all sounding the same at some point.

Yet, Natalie MacLean weaves a wine storybook so rich with imagery, you can smell the musty, wine-filled cellars, visualize the journey to each vineyard visited, taste that tomato sauce that needs Italian wine, and laugh as she tries her hand at riddling a Roederer Cristal Champagne, only to suggest "perhaps you could launch a label called Cloudy Cristal. It would be ideal for divorces, sentencing days, and other moments when life looks dim." In short, the reader is right there all the time - never a spectator.

Drinks International
June 2007

Natalie MacLean discusses wine critics Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson, and refers to Elin McCoy’s excellent book on the former.

It’s a personal journey that also provides a lot of useful background. A holiday book for enthusiastic amateurs rather than committed oenophiles.

Drinks Magazine
Fall 2006

Have Pen, Will Travel (and Drink Wine)

Ever wanted to roll up your sleeves and pitch in with the grape harvest in California? How about work in a New York wine shop for a day? Play sommelier for an evening in a fine restaurant in Quebec?

If any of these experiences sound intriguing to you, then you’ll probably enjoy wine writer Natalie MacLean’s new book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over. In following her vinous passion, she does all these things, as well as hang out in the cellars of Burgundy and Champagne, host wine tastings and dinner parties for friends and dine with novelist-cum-wine writer Jay McInerney.

A recipient of scads of prestigious awards for her journalistic endeavors as well as an accredited sommelier, MacLean is obviously well-steeped in wine knowledge. Yet she manages to convey the enthusiasm of a recent convert to the delights of the grape. Whether you’re a weekend wine warrior or the owner of a hundred-case cellar, you’re likely to find yourself tickled as well as informed by MacLean’s collection of oenophilic explorations.

Edmonton Journal
September 29, 2006

Passion for wine translated into dream career
By Shelley Boettcher

The Edmonton Journal published the same review as the Calgary Herald.

eGullet.com
November 6, 2006

By Mary Baker

I really tried hard not to finish this book. An odd thing to say, I suppose, but I thought it would be more fun to post some blurbs from the first few chapters, encourage other members to get the book, and then read it together. But like a box of open chocolates, it sucked me in and before I knew it, I had finished the whole thing.

Natalie MacLean won me over completely in chapter one, The Good Earth, as she describes touring the caves and tunnels of Domaine LeFlaive in Puligny-Montrachet with Madame Anne-Claude LeFlaive. No nonsense about swirling aromas and eclectic flavors . . .

“As we pass each dark tunnel and room, I’m like a well-trained rat in a science maze experiment, looking for an upended barrel with a bottle on top of it. At last we get to it: four open bottles and several wineglasses.”

MacLean opens her book with tours of Domaine LeFlaive and lunch with the formidable Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy, “La Tigresse” (whose rambunctious dogs set off the cellar alarms while Madame’s oven smokes up the house.)

Over luncheon, MacLean asks Bize-Leroy how long her Burgundy productions should be aged.

Her face darkens. “Who knows?” she snaps. “Certainly, the critics don’t. How can they predict when to drink my wine, when even I can’t? They’re making it up. C’est terrible! And their descriptions—filled with every silly berry on the planet!”

We both shake our heads grimly over the stupidity of wine writers.

“. . . as the smoke continues to stream from the oven, she pours her 2001 Corton-Charlemagne, a gorgeous chardonnay with concentrated mineral depth and spicy pear notes . . . When my wine is gone, I sniff the empty glass pathetically.”

As MacLean walks us through these legendary vineyards and caves, she stops to explain the basics of wine production and viticulture in terms that readers at any level can happily imbibe. Her sense of humor is honest, refreshing, and self-effacing. It’s like traveling through Europe with a sister who is a passionate wine geek. She pauses to explain each meaning and nuance, while challenging her know-it-all sibling with humorous portraits of legendary winemakers and quirky historical insights.

For instance, MacLean takes us along on her first tour of the caves and tunnels beneath Pommery in Reims, with guide Marianne Barbier . . .

“During the wars, the caves belonging to Pommery and other winemakers became refuges, housing sleeping quarters, hospitals, schools, churches, and even a theater. “Even during the bombing, they continued to pick the grapes because they had to earn a living,” Barbier tells me. “The men had gone off to war, so it was the women and children which crawled out between the vines—many of them died.” She points to a pile of bottles from the early 1940s. “The blood of France is in this wine.”

From Randall Grahm’s eccentricities to death threats against wine critic Robert Parker, MacLean’s storytelling radar focuses on the weird and humorous . . .

Undercover operations as a wine store clerk and restaurant sommelier were inspired by her own personal experiences. Once, while traveling alone in Europe, she decided to celebrate her birthday by ordering a special half-bottle of a favorite wine. The $150 half-bottle was corked, ruined, and when she worked up the courage to inquire about that, the sommelier’s response was so brutal, it lead to a feminine meltdown that may have launched one of the most sympathetic wine list and wine service voices writing today.

Natalie MacLean’s writing makes me want to pack a suitcase and order a flight ticket for anywhere she plans to go.

El Paso Times
October 10, 2007

By Ruth Taber

I enjoy wine with my dinner, but I don't like to spend a lot of money for my glass of pleasure. Natalie MacLean's book "Red, White, and Drunk All Over" demystifies the often intimidating world of wine aficionados and, most of all, reassures newer wine lovers that an inexpensive wine can be a winner.

MacLean, an accredited sommelier, has won numerous writing awards.

The book reads like a conversation with an enthusiastic friend who tells us about her visits to ancient vineyards in Burgundy and the cellars of Champagne.

Additionally, we read about her experiences working as an undercover sommelier in a five-star French restaurant in Quebec, plus selling wine in New York City and San Francisco wine shops.

When asked "What's your favorite wine?" she replied: "Any bottle that someone else is paying for. Seriously, my favorite wine at any given time changes depending on who I'm with, what we're eating and what mood I'm in."

In the chapter "A Tale of Two Wine Stores" she interviews Chuck Hayward, wine buyer for San Francisco's renowned Jug Shop on Polk Street, who's often asked to suggest the "right bottle for the right occasion."

I liked one of his comments: "For divorces, something strong with a bitter finish."

MacLean discusses wine and food pairings for Thanksgiving dinners; turkey meat is relatively dry so crisp white wines like riesling and pinot grigio would be good choices. Don't count out the reds if they're your preferred wines; pinot noir and beaujolais' berry flavors also go well with turkey.

This witty, entertaining book encourages the reader to trust his or her own judgment:

"Try a shabby-chic combo such as bubbly and potato chips or budget cabernet with filet mignon."

Above all, enjoy and have fun with wines.

Embassy Magazine
October 25, 2006

By Christina Leadlay

The fabulous Ottawa Wine and Food Show is next weekend, so why not get your palate in shape with a little reading? Recognized as the world's best wine writer in 2003, Ottawa-based sommelier Natalie MacLean has uncorked her first book, an amusing and informative blend of memoir and travel narrative with the history and science of wine. Ms. MacLean's hedonistic and intellectual love of wine is clear from the first page as she viscerally recounts the night she tasted her first good wine–a brunello–and her enthusiasm continues throughout, in her travels to the wine producing regions of France, her look at the influence of wine critics and their rating systems, and her thoughts on choosing the right glassware. Known in oenophile circles for her website and newsletter filled with wine suggestions, tips and advice, Ms. MacLean maintains her open, friendly style in this book, inviting readers to join her in the complex world of wine.

Feast Magazine
February 2007

By Laura Taxel

I just finished reading a wonderful book by wine wonk Natalie MacLean called Red, White, and Drunk All Over, and I loved every page. I learned a lot, too. The author has a few things going for her: She's an excellent writer, knows her subject well and has a sense of humor. The result is an entertaining and informative read that brings a welcome lightheartedness to a subject that's often fraught with dry, pompous discourse. By way of example: "The Zen-like symmetry of this small store [Discovery Wines in New York city] is soothing compared to the overcrowded shelves of others where I feel a rising hairball of panic. Imagine if Baskin-Robbins had 31,000 flavors instead of 31."

Her welcome message is that the best way to build your wine smarts is a commitment to a life of quaffing. My response? If that's what it takes to be considered a connoisseur, then sign me up. Chronicling her own development as an authority, MacLean offers up firsthand impressions of vineyards and winemakers, processes and experts, and the particular merits of specific brands and vintages. She includes tips for everything from throwing a wine tasting party and navigating a restaurant wine list to buying champagne and the ins and outs of decanting.

The chapter on glassware is great: She goes in as a skeptic, wisecracks her way through the learning curve and emerges a convert. One memorable phrase used to describe a line of less exorbitantly priced wine glasses reads "...a great value for those who still want to send their kids to college after buying stemware." MacLean's self-described "wine-soaked journey from grape to glass" tells a fascinating story of a career in sipping, spitting and sharing. Like drinking wine, spending time with her is all about the pursuit of pleasure.

Foodservice and Hospitality
February 2007

By Iris Benoria

Doyenne of drink Natalie MacLean's bestseller Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass was selected Best Wine Literature Book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. MacLean crafts a journey though the international wine world, introducing its most charismatic personalities, visiting evocative places and exploring its rich history. The awards, known as the Oscars of the food and wine industry, receive more than 6,000 books from 69 countries each year.

Forever Young
December 2006

By Terry Shehaan

Another gift suggestion for a wine person: a new book written by Natalie MacLean. Her book Red, White, and Drunk All Over has just come out and it’s a pleasure to read. A very professional piece of writing, it shows the results of meticulous research: full of facts, historical and otherwise, but it’s never heavy or boring. Indeed, it’s a highly entertaining book, elegant in style and with frequent anecdotes that range from interesting to amusing. A great Christmas gift for the wine lover in your life.

G&M Top Books of the Year
November 25, 2006

Category: Biography/Memoir
By Geoff Heinricks

Natalie MacLean delivers clarity and taut, crisp prose, and offers amusing, unique and plausible metaphors. Her numerous interviews with noted wine folk unfold with space for the subject's thoughts and personality. And how can one not enjoy a book that recounts an early wine-sotted romance and marriage, and then immediately begins in Burgundy? Revel. Imbibe. Hector. Seduce. Should MacLean do more of it in her next book, it will soar as a Canadian wine book never has. As for this first one -- well, there is little that has been as cosmopolitan or as pleasantly complete.

Gayot
January 20, 2007

By Laurie Hartzell

The wine industry owes Natalie MacLean big-time. If nothing else, this accredited sommelier and wine writer’s first book will inspire readers to run to the closest wine store and pick up that 2000 Reserve Bordeaux they’ve been pining for. In this book, chosen “Best Wine Literature Book” at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, MacLean’s passion for wine and learning is contagious, and her experiences will encourage even the most hesitant wine lovers to move on up in the world of wine and try new things.

MacLean’s investigative exploration of the world of wine is reminiscent of the grungy journeys of author Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation—only in this case, readers won’t be afraid of what’s in their favorite beverages. Red, White, and Drunk All Over is a descriptive account of one woman’s love for wine and the journey she takes to quench her desire for information.

From the birthplace of Romanée-Conti in France to California’s Sonoma Valley, MacLean explores both the old world of tradition and the new world of technology. She also meets the faces behind the vineyards and discovers that they are as varied as the wines they produce. This tour-de-vino covers everything from vineyard history to wine culture to production techniques. The author’s humorous anecdotes and tribulations will amuse connoisseurs—and, perhaps, remind them of their own process of “vinocation.” The author’s deep connection to wine, the sensual language she uses to describe it, and her balance of convention with exploration make Red, White, and Drunk All Over an award-winning stand-out.

Georgia Strait
February 22, 2007

By Jurgen Gothe

A big tip of the cork to Canadian wine writer Natalie MacLean, whose terrific new book Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass got the big nod from the judges at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards just before Christmas, when it was selected as best wine literature book at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Since it appeared last year, the book has become a Canadian bestseller; even the stodgy old Globe and Mail picked it as one of the top books of 2006. MacLean journeys to some of the world’s most interesting wine cellars and recounts her encounters with a lot of charismatic personalities.

MacLean is cool, keen, knowledgeable, and, above all, passionate about the subject. The anecdotes have more substance than many. The observations are insightful, and throughout it all she maintains her own voice and strongly held opinions. She also has way more fun with her subject than most wine-book authors, and that’s the real treat in this collection. Her Web site is a fun cyber trip, too: www.nataliemaclean.com.

Red, White, and Drunk All Over is a great rainy-night read—by the fire, with a glass of something deep, dark, and slightly sinful at your elbow.

Globe & Mail
September 4, 2006

By John Allemang

Like many North American wine enthusiasts, Natalie MacLean had to start from scratch. Her Nova Scotia family gave priority to beer and whisky (to the point of alcoholism in her father's case), and when she had an opportunity to sample wine at a cousin's wedding, it was a homemade concoction called Tanya and Ronny's True Love Forever Chablis.

It's hard to be a snob when Tanya and Ronny were your first teachers, and MacLean happily admits she'd never been to Burgundy or Champagne before she started the book that details her sometimes unsteady progress from neophyte to Web-based expert. Red, White, and Drunk All Over is the kind of wide-eyed, all-over-the-place tour of the wine world you'd expect from a self-taught drinker who's making up for lost time—no end of enthusiasm for wine and wine people, a shot of shamelessness to counterbalance oenophilia's prevailing pomposity, and an overpowering desire to pass on all the wisdom she's picked up along the way.

MacLean is capable of making her highly technical subject accessible and even funny—especially when she talks about her own stumbling steps toward geekdom, like the hard-earned knowledge that comes from learning how to spit at a wine-tasting without slobbering over your neighbour's shirt. More to the point, it comes from her own experience as a pretension-averse Maritimer.

Go Girlfriend
May 6, 2008

By Julia Rosien

If your mom is anything like mine, Mother's Day the one day each year Mom relives all those hours of labor for the sole purpose of making us feel guilty. And we learned long ago that pancakes are a sad, sad way to say thanks for that kind of pain.

Dinner out is a given, expected and shamelessly hinted at for the rest of the year. A cruise wouldn't be out of line either.

What to serve for cocktails isn't always so simple. Let's just say Mom has an eclectic palate. Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White and Drunk All Over is our new BFF, not to mention our hero and all-around-goddess-in-shinning-armor.

Whether it's pizza, popcorn or take-out chicken, Natalie can match Mom's food preferences with the perfect wine. Zinfandel with your Tex-Mex? A cinch, says MacLean.

"The old rules about white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat just don't give enough guidance anymore," says MacLean. "With modern fusion cuisine and wines from new regions around the world, the choices-and confusion-are great."

Here are Natalie's top 10 fun food and wine matches:

1.
Chilean Chardonnay with popcorn
2.
California Zinfandel with nachos
3.
French Champagne with potato chips
4.
Italian Chianti with pizza
5.
German Riesling with fish and chips
6.
Australian Shiraz with hamburgers
7.
Canadian or Oregon Pinot Noir with smoked salmon
8.
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with quiche
9.
Tawny Port with canned brown beans
10.
French or Washington Cabernet Sauvignon with TV dinner steak

If you're planning a menu (it better be spectacular) MacLean will match it with a wine from a list more than 80,000 deep. What's more, no one has to know you had help with Mom's special meal. It will be our secret.

Go Nomad
April 22, 2008

By Ginger Warder

Natalie MacLean’s new book is a self-proclaimed “wine-soaked journey from grape to glass” and is as much fun to read as the title suggests. This is one wine expert with a good nose, but no snobby attitude. The book has gotten rave reviews from the L.A. Times, The Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Seattle Times to name a few, and if my opinion counts, now from here. It’s available at most major retailers and online.

It’s a fun way to learn about wine in a Bridget Jones’ Diary sort of moment, and MacLean’s website offers great resources like a food-and-wine matcher with thousands of recipes and wine pairings. She also has a free e-newsletter with tips on wines to buy, and what to store in the cellar. www.nataliemaclean.com

Golf Today
May 2007

By Bob Weisgerber

This column has been all about the finer things in life—we’ve reported on great golf resorts and exceptional golf courses and we’ve pointed out those clubs and locations where the grape is grown and crushed, bottled, and shared with golfers in wine tastings and at 19th holes. We’ve got a long way to go, with many destinations yet untapped.

But just as we try to share information about improving your golf game, we think it's time to share information about improving your understanding and appreciation of the wine side of the equation. There is no better way to do that than telling you about a fun new book written by an expert, Natalie MacLean, Canada’s attractive and clever answer to America’s better known wine gurus. This is packed with insights.

MacLean talks about the story of the Seghesio family in Sonoma. She talks about immigrations (including her own family’s forced move from Scotland to Canada) and how the winegrowers bought land, cultivated vines and built reputations. In particular, she mentions zinfandel as one of the early wines planted and harvested in California.

MacLean then describes how a UC Davis, Carole Merideth, used DNA techniques to associate the zin grape with one from Croatia, where it probably originated.

One thing I can assure you, once you get into this book, and the first part of it is centered on wine and growers in California, you’ll be seduced by MacLean’s enjoyable writing style. You’ll find it hard to put the book down.

In a chapter entitled Purple Prose with a Bite, she goes into a most enlightening discussion of the economic effects of Robert Parker, who has built an empire based on his wine scoring system. The scores that are assigned (which ostensibly are on a 100 point scale, but in more practical terms amount to a 20 point scale from 80 to 100) are wielded like weapons to induce buyer selectivity.

Of course, it can spell havoc for a winemaker to have his 95 score (for one year) appear in the Wine Spectator the next year with a score (regrettably) under 90 points. Scores ultimately are a matter of taste by those whose jobs it is to taste. Vintages (years of production) are often affected by climate, extremes of weather, and the terroir (a wine term for the specific nature of the vineyard soils and environment). Still, the economic impact of Parker’s scoring system is ever present, from restaurant pricing to selected wine tastings at wineries, to commercial stores stocking and selling wine.

Parker’s scoring also has important ramification on the international level. France, in particular, got along just fine without a score based evaluation system, but now they have to contend with it.

So what should we take from all this? Well, several things.

First, wine is a matter of individual taste. It is less important what the score is (which represents the taste of someone else) than that you like it. And because wine comes in many different forms, (white, pink, red) and types (pinots, cabernets, zinfandels, syrahs, merlots, etc), you can have plenty of fun identifying your favorite type of wine even before you explore the unique nuances of that wine as produced by various winemakers. After you get that narrowed down, then you’ll be in a position to evaluate one year’s crop compared to the previous year.

Second, wine is good for your health when drunk in moderation. There is a growing body of scientific research that indicates the polyphenols found in red wines may offer significant antioxidant protection. This translates to chemicals found in red wines, have the potential to overcome free radicals that are bound and determined to cause cellular damage, which is a root cause of various forms of cancer and heart disease.

Third, wine has caught up with beer in consumption at the national level. The pairing of great golf and fine wine has been the subject of numerous columns published previously in Golf Today Magazine.

And here’s the kicker. You will frequently find that the best golf courses are located in or near some of the best wine growing regions in the far west of the United States and Canada. (This is not so true in Europe, unfortunately.)

Natalie MacLean is one of those rare experts who likes to communicate with her many admirers. Currently, she is featuring a free food matching tool at www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher and she is soliciting input from those of you who already know golf and know food and wine pairings.

She would like you to send her suggestions for “golf clubhouse food and wine pairings.” So here’s your chance at 15 minutes of fame.

Grand Magazine
September-October 2006

Raise a Glass to MacLean's Book on Wine
By Tony Lewis

Move over, Robert Parker. Make way, Jancis Robinson. A fresh, new wine story-teller has just exploded over your terrain like Kramer coming through the front door.

There's eye candy and then there's the liquid version of brain food. Natalie MacLean's first book, Red, White and Drunk All Over, is a pure delight for the mind and senses. She confidently views her wine landscape "as cerebral as it is sensual. In fact, drinking wine is a full-brain exercise."

We fast learn that MacLean is an engaging big-canvas storyteller, with a unique gift of weaving a tapestry of often stuffy wine speak into an interesting storyline. I didn't start to realize the importance of this point until midway through the first chapter, as she had us both driving down spindly back roads deep inside Burgundy.

Thanks to her insights and interesting clients, you just want to change your glass (again) and buckle up for a long, educating ride. In the next eight chapters, we actually zig-zag the wine globe from familiar vineyards to obscure wine shops, from classic restaurants to, eventually, a home dinner party.

I am reluctant to single out favorite chapters. They're all enlightening and entertaining. But I found The Glass Act truly exceptional. MacLean starts out with preconceived notions that fancy glassware is more about marketing than about true function. Several sips later, though, with crystal glassmaker hunk George Riedel, she concedes, "a good glass makes good wine better, accentuating its character. But it can't actually make bad wine taste good."

That's profound enough, after a few refills. She then effortlessly shifts gears on us, hosting her own impromptu wine tasting with a few close gal-pals instead of further comparing stemware.

Tasting and enjoying wine with Nat, it seems, is really a no-brainer. You get the sense there's more mischievous sippin' then spittin' amongst friends. That's OK, too. Wine newbies and even experienced oenophiles are the clear winners.

In the last ten pages of the chapter, we learn all that's needed to be known about the enjoyment of wine. Looking back on the evening, she muses that wine is as much about camaraderie as taste. "When we share good wine with good friends, we also share what makes us human: sensual pleasure, conversation, and connection."

As a different voice on the wine scene, we're all the better for her timely arrival. Now listen up: Entertainment amongst friends and festivities fast approaches. Be a bright star this upcoming season, and wrap up her debut book as a nice gift for the hostess, or for your sweetie under the Christmas tree. Trust me, good times will follow.

Gwinnett Daily Post
May 20, 2007

By Brian Goodell

Not everyone likes to talk about wine. There are those who can just drink it and leave it at that.

Others of us fall in love with it, and pouring a glass simply to wash down dinner just isn’t going to cut it. We observe it, smell it, analyze it and make it a part of our conversation.

Natalie MacLean shares the moment wine stole her heart in the introduction to her recent book, “Red, White, and Drunk All Over.” She was seated in a small Italian restaurant near her college apartment.

“As I raised the glass to my lips, I stopped. The aroma of the wine rushed out to meet me, and all the smells I had ever known fell away. I moistened my lips with the wine and drank it slowly, letting it coat my tongue and slide from one side of my mouth to the other.

“My second glass tasted like the sigh at the end of a long day: a gathering in, and a letting go. The wine gently stirred the silt of memories, helping me recall childhood moments of wordless abandon.”

With such a description of such a moment, it’s no surprise that she eventually became a professional writer, and that wine has always been her subject. After much success with her online newsletter and Web site, www.nataliemaclean.com, she can now add author to her many titles.

The book is fraught with description, as McLean coaxes out sensory responses from the very words on the page. You can’t experience wine by reading about it, but this may be as close as you can get.

About Romanee-Conti La Tache, one of the world’s greatest wines — “I close my eyes as the aroma envelops me, a silk drapery of scent brushing my cheeks and settling gently around my shoulders. My mind floats over a field of wild strawberries, then swoops through a forest carpeted with violets.”

On Cristal Champagne — “As I raise the glass to my lips, I breathe in both earth and sky. Gorgeous aromas of pastry-wrapped pears, baked apples, brioche, honey and spice burst like beads in my mouth.”

After the first three chapters, each of which follows her travels and wine tours of a particular area of the globe. I found many of the later chapters, which are more anecdotal and personal in nature, to be extremely entertaining and, at times, unabashedly funny.

McLean tackles the juicy spat between writers Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson, shares some of her experiences as a one-day only retail wine salesperson and as a sommelier at an upscale restaurant.

If the book is guilty of anything, it’s of trying to fit too much information into too small a space. If you love wine, you won’t mind at all, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the humor, storytelling ability and genuine transparency that MacLean brings.

Halifax Daily News
September 21, 2006

By Peter Rockwell

When it comes to innovative wine pairings, I'm willing to bet wine diva Natalie MacLean would recommend her entertaining new book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass to go with a bottle of just about anything.

Originally from Lower Sackville, MacLean has made a name for herself (and been awarded some major industry bling) by publishing Nat Decants - a free bi-weekly wine newsletter she e-mails to more than 50,000 readers around the world.

In this first foray between the hard covers, she's resisted the urge to create yet another "so let me tell you everything you need to know about wine" instruction manual and offers up a series of first-hand accounts of her experiences wandering the wine world.

Whether it's working the day shift at a hip New York wine shop, getting stemware tips from Georg Riedel, or giving her sommelier diploma its first service industry workout by waiting tables at a trendy restaurant, MacLean brings a level of wide-eyed enthusiasm and sustained intelligence to her writing that you'll find hard to come-by in the wine section of your local bookstore.

She's at her best when writing from the heart and my favorite anecdote is a self-deprecating story of a birthday celebration gone bad co-staring a corked bottle, an intimidating wine steward and her reluctance to fight for the right to party with a glass of drinkable vino.

Though I won't ruin the fun by telling you how that one turns out. Suffice to say, that like all of MacLean's adventures, you'll end up smiling and learning something about wine.

Hamilton Spectator
December 16, 2006

By Dan Kislenko

The author of Red, White And Drunk All Over has a fascinating background. A resident of Ottawa, Natalie MacLean was a Rhodes scholarship finalist and a champion Scottish highland dancer, in addition to being a trained sommelier, which is where the wine connection comes in. She's won many awards for her writing and publishes a free newsletter at nataliemaclean.com.

Red, White And Drunk All Over is a fascinating collection of stories from various parts of the globe, told in a style so personable and easygoing that you almost forget you're gaining great insights into different aspects of the wine world.

She delves into the role of women in wine -- much more to it than you'd think -- in chapters such as The Merry Widows Of Mousse. There's the dinner-party vignette. A tour at an elite Burgundy vineyard. A Glass Act explores everything in wine tasting from glassware to aging of wines to how to taste. My favourite chapter is Purple Prose With A Bite, the story of the bitter and often personal feud between two of the world's most eminent wine journalists, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson. That's worth the price of the book on its own.

MacLean injects her experiences, which is what helps keep it very down to earth in a subject area that is all too often handled in an intimidating manner.

Hamptons.com
December 14, 2006

By Lenn Thompson

Endless books have been written about how wine gets from the vineyard to your glass, but few do so with as much aplomb and irreverence as Natalie MacLean’s Red, White and Drunk All Over. This isn’t your average, sometimes boring, wine book. It’s a quick, fun read from a terrific author.

High Desert Wine Explorers
March 23, 2007

By Glen Frederiks

Like the movie Sideways, this is a book that speaks in wine geek, yet is still able to bridge the chasm to the general reading public, humanizing the mysterious subject of fine wine.

Although author Natalie MacLean hails from our neighbor to the north, Canada, her love and passion for wine has taken her around the globe.

She is an accredited sommelier, award-winning wine writer, and maintains a wine education website for the public.

Her unbridled delight in wine, its history, cultural significance, and hedonistic enjoyment, is presented with the wide-eyed naiveté of an ingénue attending her first formal ball.

Still, as we meet icons like Domaine de la Romanee-Conti's winemaker Aubert de Villaine, Pete Seghesio of Seghesio Vineyards, Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards, and fellow wine writers Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson, among many others, one cannot help but be seduced by MacLean's enthusiasm for the subject.

Be careful, if you are drinking a glass of wine while reading this tiptoe through the tulip-shaped stemware, as her self-deprecating humor is likely to cause you to launch a snootful of red or white into the wild blue yonder.

I particularly enjoyed her take on the differing styles of describing a wine as a writer in the field. From the flowery, seductive prose of Jancis Robinson and others in the Old World to the 100 point rating systems of Robert Parker and his New World colleagues, MacLean rightly finds the middle ground, understanding that both styles are able to communicate knowledge to the thirsty hoards that read them.

One thing I must say about MacLean - she is so entertaining in her missives about the wine world that you barely notice that she has packed a tremendous amount of knowledge into each chapter. She has managed to squeeze the essence of wine knowledge out of each subject in her book and communicate it in a way that other wine writers cannot do. This, I suspect, is directly related to her unabashed love affair with the fruit of the vine.

So, find yourself a cozy corner, pop the cork on your favorite bottle of vino, and curl up with this tome of tippling travels. You will be amply rewarded for taking this walk along the wine trails.

This is a book I most heartily recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the world of wine, whether you are an occasional tippler, a budding enthusiast or a lifelong aficionado.

Hotel F&B Executive Magazine
November/December 2006

By Nancy Fox

Natalie MacLean joyfully takes us on an insider tour of the international wine world in her new book, Red White & Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. With James beard and IACP journalism awards under her belt, MacLean leads us though some noteworthy regions of the wine world and introduces us to influential people who inhabit that world - including a visit to France's Burgundy region and the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti where biodynamic viticulture is embraced; an interview with the brilliant and quirky Randall Grahm of California's Bonny Doon Vineyards; and a tour of the underground champagne cellars of Pommery. We learn of the famous wine-scoring feud between critics Robert Parker of Wine Advocate and Jancis Robinson of the Financial Times of London. And Austrian crystal stemware scion Georg Riedel demonstrates that, "Life is too short to drink good wine out of bad glasses."

More than a memoir, this book redefines wine appreciation in making the journey feel rich and experiential for the reader. Natalie takes us along on her gigs as a wine sales person at wine shops in San Francisco and New York in determining what customers look for in their selection of wines. We also accompany her for one anxiety-ridden evening as she works undercover as a sommelier at a five-star French restaurant, again in hosting a wine tasting for her girlfriends, and in playing with wine pairings for a Thanksgiving dinner at-home. This irreverent read reminds us to lighten up and enjoy the adventure of tasting and experimenting with different wines, and most of all - to trust your own tastebuds when selecting your personal favorites.

Italian Cooking & Living Magazine
December 2006

By Catherine Torphy

On a cold winter's night, enjoy a glass of red wine paired with Natalie MacLean's wonderfully witty wine industry expose: Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass. MacLean, an award-winning journalist and accredited sommelier, went on a three-year, intercontinental odyssey, immersing herself in all things related to wine.

The book, which recounts her fascination, wine-filled travels, gives readers an insider's peek at the places and personalities behind this legendary industry. Whether she's interviewing Bonny Doon's Randall Grahm or working as an undercover sommelier for a night at a five-star French restaurant, MacLean takes a humorous and irreverent approach to the international wine industry, while providing useful tips on everything from purchasing to pairing.

Readers will appreciate MacLean's infectious curiosity and her demystification of a seemingly intimidating world. Like a well aged wine, her enthusiasm is irresistible.

Journal of Wine Economics
November 2007

By Domenic V. Cicchetti

Yale University

Natalie MacLean, a certified sommelier, and internationally recognized wine writer, has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, some of them having been won on multiple occasions.

Natalie can truly be described as one who has and continues to offer her creative mind, open heart, body, and soul (not always in the same order) toward her many oenologic pursuits, these within a loving framework of family and dear friends.

This literary contribution enables the reader to view Natalie in a number of different oenologic contexts that include among others: working as a vineyard laborer (one for whom having “toiled in the vineyard” now makes literal sense); working a ten hour shift in a prestigious California wine shop; playing the role of an “undercover sommelier” in a five-star Quebec restaurant; conducting informative and humor-laden wine interviews with: Randall Grahm, the imaginative and masterful winemaker of the California Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz, California; and with the famed novelist, Jay McInerney, author of Bacchus and Me and A Hedonist in the Cellar.

Natalie also stimulates the food and wine imbibing appetites of oenophiles the world over by letting us into her kitchen where her husband, Andrew, himself an accomplished chef, cooks and serves their guests a Thanksgiving gourmet meal that would make both the most highly regarded sommelier in the United States, Andrea Immer, and my dear friend Connie Young go “Wow!”

The feast begins with a Champagne toast among guests; this is followed by foie gras, seared and served with figs and apricots that have been previously marinated in port wine. Of course, Natalie selects the wine, here a most appropriate Riesling ice wine from the award winning Inniskillin winery in Niagara. Natalie defends her choice, most convincingly, as follows: “Usually I serve the driest wines first and the sweeter ones later, so that no wine tastes bitter compared to the previous one. But dessert wines have the necessary richness to match the luscious texture of the foie gras and the perceived sweet taste of the fat.”

The second course is a roasted loin of lamb with an encrustment of black trumpet mushrooms. Natalie has selected and earlier decanted a 1966 Chateau Palmer to accompany this gustatory delight. As Natalie reasons (and who would disagree) a cabernet sauvignon is the “classic match” for the lamb entrée. And it only gets gastronomically better as the evening progresses.

In the remaining words of this review, I have chosen to pay tribute to Natalie’s multiple oenologic accomplishments in her own words and in those whom she has personally interviewed for the book:

Natalie’s dedication of the book: “For my mother, Ann, the ground in whose soil I have my roots; my husband, Andrew, the trellis to whom I cling; and my son, Rian, the
eternal sunshine in my life.”

As the formidable Madame Bollinger said, “I drink champagne when I am happy, and when I am sad. Sometimes I drink it when I am alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it unless I am thirsty.”

The desire to write about wine was irresistible; I couldn’t believe that people would actually pay me to drink.

Although many wine lovers may not think of Britain as a winemaking nation, in fact, there are no fewer than 400 vineyards in England and Wales.

Laissez les bon temps roulez! Or Let the good times roll!

In North America, Bonny Doon was one of the first premium wineries to use screw caps.

Even with low yields, it still takes 800-1000 grapes to make a bottle of wine.

Most people would rather memorize the periodic table while getting a root canal than choose wine from a restaurant list.

A long finish means you can still sense the wine in your mouth for 8 seconds or more after swallowing.

Comfort me with cabernet. Note: A clever oenologic verbal twist on a wonderful and charming culinary masterpiece by Ruth Reichl (executive Editor of Gourmet magazine and erstwhile food and wine writer for the LA and New York Times) that is entitled “Comfort me with apples.”

Life is too short to drink good wine out of bad glasses. Note: A quote from Georg Riedel, creator of the eponymously named and famed wine glasses crafted to maximize the enjoyment of different red and white grape varietals.

European wines generally tend to be more balanced and food-friendly than New World ones.

Any idiot can buy expensive wines, but you need to know what you’re doing to choose something delicious and reasonably priced. Note: A statement made by Jay McInerney, during the aforementioned interview with Natalie MacLean.

Now I understand what Alexander Dumas meant when he said of the famous white burgundies that many believe are the apotheosis of chardonnay: “Montrachet should be drunk kneeling, with one’s head bared.”

A glowing toast to you, Natalie, for making this oenophile’s world of experiences that much richer, even if only vicariously!

Kelowna Capital News
May 4, 2008

By Judie Steeves

Despite the fact that she loves good food but doesn’t actually cook, Natalie MacLean has my undying respect for her delightful writing about all things food and wine.

Red, White, and Drunk All Over: a Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass is the most readable book of wine writing I’ve ever read.

It’s penned in a most entertaining style that makes you eager to take up where you left off.

I found myself thirsty to get back to the book to continue the journey, as she travelled through wine countries such as France and described in amusing detail her experiences touring some of the most famous wine houses in the world.

Along the way, she manages to educate, using her whimsical and merry way with words, about wine tasting, pairing wines successfully with food, the basics of winemaking, label reading and oh, so much more.

As a mom, if I didn’t already have her book, I’d love to receive it as a gift for Mother’s Day, along with, well, you know, a bottle of wine.

Since Mother’s Day is coming up next weekend, you might consider dropping by Mosaic Books and picking it up for your favourite mom.

She’d probably also love the recipe Nat contributed, which was given to her by Chef Mick Rosacci of Tony’s Markets in the U.S.

It’s a simply divine salad, but unfortunately, it would be much better later in the year when the local berries are ripe. I’d say you could probably do some seasonal substituting, varying the ingredients as different fruits were being harvested here.

Nat recommends a sauvignon blanc from Sumac Ridge with it, or the 2006 Red Rooster riesling which she describes like this: “Attractive aromas of white flowers, peaches, rose petal and some lychee.”

Alternatively, she suggests a 2006 Calona Vineyards Artist Series pinot blanc, which was, incidentally, excellent with it. She says it is crisp and refreshing, with aromas of quince, honeydew and pear, and I have to agree.

For more information about wines, and pairing food with wines, she has an excellent website with gallons of information: www.nataliemaclean.com

This is also the first week of a newly-expanded 10-day Spring Okanagan Wine Festival, which runs to May 10, so consider a ticket for an event for Mom, on her special day.

For instance, a re-designed event involving chefs and wine has been moved to the Penticton convention centre this year, but it really looks like fun.

The Chefs and Wine event is Sat., May 10, 6:30 to 9 p.m., and involves three guest chefs conducting cooking demonstrations and offering samples, paired with some of the wines from a wide variety of wineries available for tasting.

For more information, pick up an events guide at a winery, liquor outlet or tourism office, or go to the website at: www.thewinefestivals.com 

Chicken Rolls with Polenta, plus Tomato & Caper Relish

Gerard Patrick Martin is the new executive chef at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre and one of the guest chefs demonstrating there at the Winefest Chefs and Wine event Sat., May 10. A chardonnay would pair well with this dish.

4 c. water 1 l

2 c. cornmeal 500 ml

2 tsp. salt 10 ml

4 tbsp. butter 60 ml

Boursin cheese

8 oz. boneless chicken breast 227 g

2 thin slices prosciutto 2

6-8 fresh sage leaves 6-8

6 oz. chardonnay 175 ml

2-3 peppercorns 2-3

1 bay leaf 1

1 shallot sliced in half 1

3-4 roma tomatoes 3-4

3 tbsp. capers 45 ml

2 tsp. olive oil 10 ml

1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar 2 ml

parsley, to garnish

salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Bring water and salt to a boil, add cornmeal and stir thoroughly. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring continuously with wooden spoon; then add butter and Boursin cheese and stir. Pour mixture into a 9x9-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden in colour. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Place chicken breast top side down on a cutting board and use a meat tenderizer to pound it to an eighth of an inch thickness.

Place prosciutto on chicken, then place sage on top. Roll chicken breast tightly into a pinwheel and season with salt and pepper.

In a sauce pan bring the chardonnay, bay leaf, shallot and peppercorns to bubbling and add the chicken breast, seam side down. Cover with parchment and tin foil. Simmer on low for 20 to 25 minutes until the internal temperature is 180 F. Rest for 10 minutes.

Seed and finely dice roma tomatoes and place in a bowl with capers, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Combine.

Flip polenta out of pan, cut into squares, then into triangles.

Place one piece of polenta onto the centre of each plate. Slice chicken into medallions and place one on top of each piece of polenta.

Place some tomato and caper relish at each corner of the polenta.

Garnish with some parsley.

Fresh spring greens are topped with pears, oranges, berries, toasted nuts and blue cheese and a lightened raspberry vinaigrette, in this recipe contributed by chef Mick Rosacci.

4 c. mixed spring greens 1 l

1 red pear 1

1 orange 1

1 carrot 1

1 scallion 1

1/2 c. blackberries 125 ml

1/2 c. almonds or walnuts 125 ml

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt 2 ml

2 tbsp. raspberry vinaigrette 30 ml

4 jumbo ripe strawberries 4

4 chunks Stilton or Gorgonzola

Rinse veggies and fruit. Core and thinly slice the pear, reserving 12 nice slices. Cut the remaining pear slices into one-inch pieces.

Skin the orange, removing all the white pith and remove segments of orange, reserving any juice to add to the vinaigrette. Cut carrot into matchsticks. Sliver scallion (or green onion) finely, on the bias.

Toast nuts in a skillet or on a sheet pan in the oven, then remove to a cutting board and immediately sprinkle and toss with the sea salt.

Combine reserved orange juice with the raspberry vinaigrette (optional, but it keeps the dressing calories down) in a salad bowl. Add greens, chopped pear pieces, orange, carrots and scallions and toss to mix and coat evenly with a light layer of dressing.

Mound on serving plates. Garnish each plate with pear slice fans, blackberries, toasted nuts, a jumbo strawberry and a small chunk (1 tbsp.) of blue cheese (optional) and serve with a rustic loaf of bread.

Serves 4.

Spring Greens & Fruits Salad

from Jude’s kitchen

Kelowna City Living
July 2007

By Michael Botner

Enjoying a good book is a favourite summer pastime for many people. Sit back with a glass of one of Okanagan’s summer refreshers, of the vine variety, and open up – a book on wine. But wine books are notoriously dry and technical – only for wine geeks.

Not this one by Natalie MacLean, an accredited sommelier, award-winning wine writer who publishes a newsletter, Nat Decants. Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass takes readers on a journey through the mysterious world of wine with verve and humour. A great read, even for novices!

Kelowna Daily Courier
September 29, 2006

By Steve MacNaull

In just a half-an-hour, wine writer Natalie MacLean is sold on the Okanagan.

“I’ve been a wine writer for eight years, so I’ve certainly written about and drank Okanagan wines, but this is my first trip here,” said MacLean, the author of the new wine book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.

MacLean is Ottawa-based and didn’t get into Kelowna until shortly before she led a workshop at the B.C. Wine Museum to kick off the 10-day Fall Okanagan Wine Festival Thursday.

But the sunshine, scenery and lake combined with the knowledge she already has of our wines wowed her.

“I’ve always loved the wines from here, so now I can implant the geography in my mind,” said MacLean.

“Over the weekend, I’ll visit as many wineries as possible and dine out at their restaurants – especially Quails’ Gate, Mission Hill and Burrowing Owl.”

The title of the author’s talk at the museum was Are Wine Critics Too Powerful?

The answer is yes, she says.

“There is no substitute for your own palate. You’re already an expert on your own personal taste, so drink the wines you like.”

But she also pointed out that critics have a place in bringing attention to wines and wine regions and getting people to talk about and drink wine.

MacLean also led a tasting of eight Okanagan wines – all vintages that she has recommended in her writings. They included the Tinhorn Creek 2003 pinot noir ($16.75), Gehringer Brothers 2004 riesling ($14.85) and Mission Hill Five Vineyard 2003 pinot noir ($16.99).

“I love Okanagan pinot noirs,” she said. “You have the right soil and warmth for this light and balanced red. It’s well-suited to food or just for sipping.”

While a fan of the Okanagan, her book doesn’t mention it.
“The book is based on my travels, mostly to France and California,” she said.

“So now that I’ve been to the Okanagan... definitely in book two.”

Red, White and Drunk All Over is now available in book stores, and the wine museum.

You can also subscribe to MacLean’s free twice-a-month e-newsletter at www.nataliemaclean.com.

London Free Press
December 20, 2006

By Kathy Rumleski

While many think of the sparkling beverage as a stand-alone drink, award-winning wine writer Natalie MacLean, a Western MBA grad, encourages people to try pairing a bottle of bubbly with dinner.

"Sparkling wine is one of the most food-friendly wines on the planet," MacLean says, adding that only wine from the Champagne region of France is accurately called champagne.

"We think of it just for toasting, but champagne is actually a great wine to accompany a lot of other dishes that defeat other wines."

This time of year is a particularly popular time to try champagne. About 75 percent of champagne sales are made during the Christmas holiday period.

Because of this, it's also referred to as poinsettia wine, notes MacLean, who this month received a Gourmand World Cookbook best wine literature award for her first book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey From Grape to Glass.

The awards states that they are considered the Oscars of the food and wine world. Her book, which includes a chapter on champagne, is a bestseller in Canada.

MacLean says enjoying champagne with fish dishes, such as oysters, will help to cleanse the palette for the next bite. "It has the zippy acidity that's refreshing."

One of MacLean's favorite treats is pairing champagne with potato chips. "It's a really great combination because, again, you've got this refreshing acidity that cuts away at the fat of the potato chips.

"You reach satiation pretty quickly just eating potato chips, but with champagne, you can go through a whole bag. It's great if you're watching movies on New Year's."

For the same reason, try other fried foods with the bubbly stuff.

The rose champagnes are particularly popular at this time of year because of the tone, MacLean says. "You can float a raspberry on top. It's just lovely."

Pink champagnes work well with fruit desserts, suggests MacLean, who has her sommelier certificate and has won numerous journalism and writing awards.

Long Islands Ins & Outs
Fall 2006

By Emily Macel

Whether you prefer wine from a box or fine vintage bottles, Natalie MacLean's Red White and Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass is as informative as it is entertaining. Although wine is often considered a high society beverage (how many times have you been handed a wine list in a nice restaurant and balked?), it has its counterparts for the occasional drinker, and MacLean explores the entire spectrum, from a $15 bottle of basic house red, to a $2,275 bottle of 2002 Romanee-Conti.

Her descriptions of wine give the book a sensual element - it isn't about seeing the wine, but feeling it and tasting it. To invite the reader to sample what she's drinking she vividly expresses her experiences, not only taste but also in texture. She describes fine burgundy "as light and ephemeral as Ariel, but with Caliban's savage sexual energy." As she sips, she speaks to us like a translator of sensory experiences: "At first, the gently scent of rose petals flutters up. Then it changes into a mixture of earth, leather and spice - the aroma of indulgence.....the only way to convey the intensity of flavor in my mouth would be to make the words on this page burst into flames."

The title sounds like the beginning of a corny joke but the subtitle says it all - and what a journey it is! This detailed look at all aspects of winemaking and consuming reads like a travel narrative where each destination is served with a glass (or bottle, or two) of wine. Through her travels, whether in France's great wine regions or the California valleys, MacLean deconstructs the art form of winemaking: she is in a winery chatting with an owner about biodynamics; she guesses the years of wines in the murky cellars of Domaine de la Romanee Conti with vintner Aubert de Villaine; she talks with a California Zinfandel vineyard owner who has been dubbed "The Rhone Ranger"; and she sips DeMeric Sous Bois NV Cuvee champagne with novelist and fellow wine writer Jay McInerney in a small Greenwich Village restaurant called Cru.

MacLean's greatest strength in this book is the way she builds characters. She provides insights into the lives of those closely connected with the fruits of their labor. We hear about their love of the soil that nurtures their crops. We learn about the history of the vines that produce the fruit. We weigh the choices of harvesting techniques and times, grape crushing options, and aging process. And by the end, we are eager to know the answer to the highly discussed and debated question, when is it time to drink?

Los Angeles Daily News
October 17, 2006

By Fred Tasker

The Los Angeles Daily News published the same review as the Miami Herald<