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    Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
    Unavailable
    Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
    Unavailable
    Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
    Audiobook12 hours

    Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

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    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "A marvelous journey through the mad, manic, seductive subculture of wine and wine lovers." -Susan Orlean

    "The Kitchen Confidential of wine." -Madeline Puckette, WineFolly.com

    "I loved this book." -Mary Roach
     
    Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn't know much about wine-until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a "cork dork."

    With boundless curiousity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist's fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: What's the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine--and, perhaps, the way you live--forever.


    Named one of the Best Books of Early 2017 by Brightly
    Named one of the 20 Best Nonfiction Books Coming in March 2017 by Bustle
    Named one of The Best Drink Books of Spring and Summer 2017 by Punch
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 28, 2017
    ISBN9781524755348
    Unavailable
    Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

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    Reviews for Cork Dork

    4/5

    97 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Cork Dork manages to completely peel back the layers surrounding the wine world and it's mystique. I have to admit, I love wine. And have spent a copious amount of time trying to educate myself about it. Despite studying all the written material that I could find, and tasting many, many wines, I still could not detect the smells and tastes that sommeliers said were present. I suspect many of you find yourselves in a similar situation. Bosker, with no real experience, endeavors to become a sommelier, in only 18 months. Through her experiences, I absorbed more information than I have in any other wine book. Right in the beginning, she states, "if you've ever wondered what all the fuss is about a wine, whether there's really a discernible difference between a $20 and $200 bottle, or what would happen if you pushed your senses to their limits, well then, I have some people I'd like you to meet". And, if you read the book, she will introduce to you a crazy cast of characters. Sommeliers who completely give up any semblance of a normal life to just taste wine, scientists who study smells and tastes, and many other just plain odd folks. If you have ever listened to someone describing the smells, or tastes of a wine, and thought to yourself, they have to be pulling my leg, than this is the book for you. The descriptors get wackier and wackier, not just things like green apples or blackberries, but "wet asphalt", "surgical glove", asparagus pee", "dried cardboard", and "salami farts". Think that it's a scam? You have a point, and Bosker reveals the entire story (although I won't, so not to spoil the surprises). Ever wondered what people were talking about when discussing the "legs" of a wine, the acidity, the tannins, or the alcohol content? Bosker explains not only what they are, but what they mean. In very simple to understand language. I've watched television programs about people attempting to become sommeliers (Uncorked, for example), and found them fascinating. Bosker graphically describes what they are like. From the knowledge tests, to the blind tastings, to the service portion. And goes through them herself. Ever wonder about how the so-called "experts" rate the top wines? The author covers this in depth, and the controversies resulting (not to spill the beans, but some of the ratings are dubious, at best). Throughout the book, Bosker is not only drinking wine and having a good time, but veers off into exploring many wine-related areas. The science of smell, and of taste. The type of people who are avid wine collectors. The new controversial practice of creating whatever type of wine you want in a factory, including being able to replicate some very expensive wines. The terminology of sommeliers and wine merchants (necrophiliacs, hand sells, trigger wines, and cougar juice, for a few). And what to watch for when dealing with a sommelier. I won't divulge the ending, suffice it to say that it was very satisfying. This is one of the most informative books that I have read this year, as well as one of the best written. I plan on keeping it handy to refer to for a long time. I highly, highly recommend it!
    • 5/5
      Elegantly descriptive and funny. Very relatable for anyone who has ever worked in the restaurant biz
    • 3/5
      Somewhat interesting, but mired in French and Italian names. It was surprising to learn how much a sommolier can make. It was also appaling to hear how much some bottles of wine cost. Wine enthusiasts seem even more like snobs to me now. Perhaps they do have more developed palets and can discern smells and tastes the laymen is unaware of, but they seem to be hopelessly analysing flavor for its nuances to ingratiate fat cat big spenders in a disingenous way. Perhaps I am simply too much of a provincial to believe that a bottle of wine should ever cost 500 dollars. Like so much of what we eat and drink it is likely adulterated with inferior ingredients in the greedy pursuit of profit.

    • 3/5
      Good read. More of a read for a cork dork instead of someone just getting into wine.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic! Word of warning: Listening to this will make you crave wine!
    • 3/5
      Subtitle: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste Bosker was a “technology reporter covering the Googles and Snapchats of the world” when a dinner out with her boyfriend resulted in an encounter with a sommelier that piqued her interest in this unusual career choice. First, she became obsessed with research, then she started tasting, and before long she was intent on mastering the art and passing the certification exam. This is the memoir of her eighteen months on that quest. I picked up the book only because it’s a selection for my face-to-face book club. And I was not eager to read it. But Bosker’s writing pulled me in. She’s funny and irreverent, and also entertaining and informative. Still, I found much of it repetitive and I’d put it down for a day or two with little enthusiasm for picking it up again. Just not my cup of tea (or glass of wine), I guess.
    • 5/5
      Do you like wine? I like wine. Do like a well researched book with an engaging writing style, entertaining stories plus a hearty dose of clear and informative information? I found this book to be all of those things….but again, I like wine so I was interested in this journey.Bianca Bosker introduces herself:“I am a journalist by training and a type-A neurotic by birth, so I started my research the only way I knew how: I read everything I could get my hands on, carpet-bombed sommeliers’ in-boxes, and showed up at places uninvited, just to see who I would meet.”I liked this woman immediately. Type-A style is fascinating to me as I am such a laid-back type-B that I would never, ever dream of tackling anything with this sort of drive and passion. It’s over-drive! She never quits. Impressive.Quote from the first chapter:“When you inform your friends and relatives that you have left your stable job as a journalist to stay home and taste wines, you will begin to get concerned phone calls. You say: I’m going to hone my senses and find out what the big deal is about wine. They hear: I’m quitting my job to drink all day and improve my chances of ending up homeless.”As you move through the book you are taking this journey with Bianca Bosker. Please remain seated……….The details and dedication of becoming a sommelier is daunting. It’s their job to help select a wine appropriate for the meal and the guests’ tastes all the while making money for the restaurant. The markup is very significant when it comes to wine and beverages.But the tasting sessions they live for, the money they spend, the endurance and tolerance for so. much. wine.……it’s a journey. It’s a journey I personally would not be up for with the expense and my non-discriminating palate, never mind being kind to my liver. I buy wine because I like having it with dinner.As mentioned in the book, “Marketing will get you to buy a wine once. Sensory will get you to buy it twice.” Take a look at the bottles I have posed with the book – these are not high priced wines, the most expensive one being $22 which I wanted to try. Sometimes I try a wine based on a review or because I am intrigued by the label (marketing) but I will buy it over and over again for the taste and pleasure (sensory).chablis This Chablis was a new one for us and we very much enjoyed it. If you like the mineral taste in a wine, a Chablis is a good pick. We had this with grilled Tile Fish and when the last of the bread and cheese was finished, I was sad the wine was also gone.With no common sense we promptly opened a bottle of Chardonnay. I’m pleased to say we only had a small glass and saved the rest. The Chablis was the better of the two wines and we would certainly buy it again.This book is recommended as it reads as a memoir but provides investigative reporting, funny antidotes and overall information on the wine and tastings. If any of this appeals to you, you will enjoy this book. I couldn’t put it down.