Natalie MacLean - Unquenchable!: A Tipsy Quest for the Worlds Best Bargain Wines

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR
Red, White, and Drunk All Over

Theres everything here: old stories and new, an enquiring mind and bags of enthusiasm.

Hugh Johnson, author of The World Atlas of Wine
and The Oxford Companion to Wine

Always erudite and eminently readableand often laugh-out-loud funny. Terrific.

Rex Pickett, author of Sideways

Many have walked down the path of vinous storytelling before Natalie MacLean, but until Red, White, and Drunk All Over, Im not sure Ive ever seen someone so sensibly or surreptitiously provide a starch-free education in wine. In the guise of a heart- and body-warming memoir, we get to learn what she learns while shes learning it. Why, youd almost be under the impression that she wasnt actually teaching! And beyond being a terrific writer, shes fun company.

Danny Meyer, co-author of The Union Square Cafe Cookbook and
author of Setting the Table

Who better than Natalie MacLean to lead us through the world of wine? She takes us to the best vineyards and the deepest cellars, knows how to spot the eccentric geniuses and charms them as she charms us, with self-deprecating, irreverent prose and steely objectivity. Above all, she reminds us that behind the oenology and the marketing hype, wine is a warm and sensual treasure, to be drunkand written aboutwith love.

James Chatto, wine editor, Food & Drink

MacLean delivers clarity and taut, crisp prose a dash of self-deprecation, a pot of shyness and a simmering boil of the bawdy. There is little that has been as cosmopolitan or as pleasantly complete.

The Globe and Mail

Immensely enjoyable. A world of wine that is the antithesis of the dull, dry and dusty one weve come to expect.

Calgary Herald

Natalie MacLean is a new force in the wine writing worlda feisty North American answer to Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson.

Financial Times (UK)

[A] breezy and fun read, but well researched and full of great storytelling. One of my favourite wine books of the last several years.

Steven Page, Wine Spectator

Engaging, practical, and perfect for novices.

Entertainment Weekly

A breezy, laugh-out-loud peek behind the curtain of the wine trade.

The Charlotte Observer

[This is] not your grandfathers wine book. We may have a new genre here: The wine book as bodice-ripper. Throughout, [MacLean] remains engaging, colorful and informative.

Miami Herald

MacLean is an exuberant guide to common and uncommon realms of the wine world. I found her enthusiasm not only for her subject, but also for the people who commit their lives to it, impossible to resist and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Michael Ruhlman, author of Charcuterie
and co-author of The French Laundry Cookbook

Unlike so many wine guides, this one is an adventure story. Natalie MacLean takes us along as she navigates the sometimes treacherous wine landscape, from vineyard to wine store to restaurant to her own kitchen, putting it all in perspective and even putting a wine snob or two in their place. We finish the journey far more confidentand with a craving for great wine.

Edward Deitch, Wine Critic, NBC and MSNBC.com

From Robert Parker to Jay McInerney; burgundy to zinfandel, Natalie MacLean wears her heart on her sleeve as she journeys into the minds and mysteries of wine personalities around the world. Full of vinous insight, this is a great read for the wine savvy, the thirsty adventurer, the gossip hounds and those who want to understand the world of wine from a more human aspect.

Lucy Waverman, food editor, Food & Drink
and food columnist, The Globe & Mail

Natalie has taken a brilliant approach to this book. It is highly entertaining, full of great stories that reveal the people, the places and the things that matter most about wine. You will learn just about everything you need to know without even realizing it. A must read for beginners and experts alike.

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

A galloping read, which educates, entertains and amuses [Natalie] is the George Plimpton of wine writers; she shares insights from her day in the life of a vineyard worker, a winemaker, a wine sales person and a sommelier. Exciting tidbits also include insider report of the feud between well known wine experts.

Ann Noble, professor of viticulture, University of
California, Davis and creator of the Wine Aroma Wheel

Natalie MacLean is a true original. She combines her vast knowledge of wine with a keen eye for a good story and great wit. I raise my glass to her.

Bonnie Stern, cookbook author
and food columnist, The National Post

When Natalie Maclean takes you on a journey to meet the most interesting people in the world of wine, be prepared to learn everything there is to know about wine, while gleefully abandoning your inhibitions.

Louisa Thomas Hargrave, Director, Stony Brook
University Center for Wine, Food and Culture
and author of The Vineyard: A Memoir

Written in an engaging and often humorous style that keeps you turning the pages. The perfect antidote if youre fed up with po-faced wine writing.

TimeOut London

Red, White, and Drunk All Over will please the palates of wine lovers everywhere.

Los Angeles Times

Copyright 2011 Natalie MacLean

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisheror in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agencyis an infringement of the copyright law.

Doubleday Canada and colophon are registered trademarks

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

MacLean, Natalie, 1966
Unquenchable : a tipsy quest for the
worlds best bargain bottles / Natalie Maclean.

eISBN: 978-0-385-66849-1

1. MacLean, Natalie, 1966- Travel. 2. Wine and wine making. 3. Food and wine pairing. 4. TravelHumor. I. Title.

TP 548. M 339 2011 641.22 C 2011-903727-0

Cover design by Kelly Hill
Cover images: (woman and barrels) Robyn Neild; (label) Fotorro; (banner) U.P.
Images; (seal) Angela Jones / dreamstime.com; (background) EKY Studio

Published in Canada by Doubleday Canada,
a division of Random House of Canada Limited

Visit Random House of Canada Limiteds website: www.randomhouse.ca

v3.1

For my mother, Ann;
my husband, Andrew;
and my son, Rian:
I raise my glass to you all.

T HE QUESTION I M asked most often: Whats your favourite wine? My answer: The one someone else pays for. The second question Im asked is, Can you recommend a great wine that costs less than $5? Answer: Not unless all you want is a wet tongue.