Weekend Cooking: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker

When tech journalist Bianca Bosker set out to learn more about wine, sommeliers, and the art (or talent or genetic predisposition) of tasting, she didn't expect to be totally won over by the people and their world. Her book Cork Dork (Penguin Books) -- part memoir, part investigative journalism -- tells the story of her year of discovery and transformation.

Bosker started with the question of whether master sommeliers have an in-born ability to discern flavors and scents or whether they have skill that can be learned by pretty much anyone. To answer this question, she talked to wine experts, trailed professionals in the high-end restaurant business, joined tasting groups, traveled around the world to interview scientists, and studied for the sommelier certification test.

Cork Dork is not only informative but also a delight to read. Bosker describes her adventure from journalist to budding wine expert in a light tone, telling her story as if she were talking to a friend. We learn of her successes and failures in gaining entree into wine's inner circles and her investigation into the science of taste and smell. We meet professional sommeliers, wine snobs, and wine anti-snobs.

Bosker was fascinated by the experts who can blind taste a wine and tell you the grape, vintage, and origin. She met the woman who was instrumental in setting up the wheel of wine flavors (slate, mineral, tobacco, leather, herbs, fruits and so on; see scan at right, click to enlarge) and underwent MRIs to see what happened in her brain when she sipped wine.

I find it a little crazy that there are people out there who regularly spend hundreds of dollars per bottle of wine and buy several expensive wines over the course of single night. These are the restaurant diners sommeliers live for. On the other hand, I was relieved to learn that most sommeliers are happy to help us little people too and will do their best to suggest a decent wine within our much more limited budgets.

Recommendation: Bianca Bosker's Cork Dork will appeal to anyone interested in food-related memoir, wine, or the restaurant / sommelier business. Whether you're a "civilian" who enjoys commercial wine (like me) or are an expert or collector who is always searching for that elusive best wine ever, you'll relate to Bosker's journey from wine drinker to wine connoisseur. As much as I like wine, I can't imagine devoting my life to it, but I liked getting to know the people who do.

Audiobook: I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Penguin Audio; 12 hr, 17 min) read by Bosker. I usually shy away from author-read books, so I was pleasantly surprised by Bosker's performance. She was enthusiastic, expressive, and seemed to have a natural sense of pacing. Recommended listen. (Thanks to Penguin Audio for the review copy.)

Note: I'm in a lacemaking workshop all weekend, but will pop on over to read your posts as soon as I can. The wine aroma wheel shown here is in the public domain.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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