Cork Dork

November 21, 2016
Bosker’s sophomore book (not to be confused with Chet Raymo’s novel The Dork of Cork) is a page-turning and fascinating memoir. Realizing she was spending too long locked behind a screen, living only in the virtual world, Bosker decided to quit her job as executive tech editor for the Huffington Post and attempt to become a master sommelier. Giving herself a year (which stretched into 18 months) to accomplish this task, the author landed a job as a “cellar rat” in a New York restaurant, which allowed her to meet distributors, attend copious free tastings, and make connections with obsessive consumers who would rather spend their money on wine than anything else. Bosker is a dedicated journalist and she pulls back the curtain on wine and those who immerse themselves in its creation and consumption. She willingly endured afternoon hangovers and licked stones to improve her palate, all in pursuit of her goal, and she keeps the reader fascinated while building a case for living in the present moment and savoring life’s pleasures. At times the wine lingo is difficult to track, but readers who persevere will be rewarded with an appreciation of both wine and those pouring the bottles. Bosker’s mix of science, food writing, and memoir will be enjoyed by many.

Starred review from January 15, 2017
An 18-month immersion in the study of wine, teaching us not just about what to look for in the glass, but how to experience the world in a new way.When tech journalist Bosker (Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China, 2012) went from being an amateur drinker to a professional pusher of wine, she did so in a big way. The self-described "type-A neurotic" and lover of "competition, the less athletic and more gluttonous the better," decided to see if she could not just become a competent sommelier, but also pass the Certified Sommelier Exam, an event that requires blind tasting, vast theoretical knowledge, and a service test that is "like some weird hybrid of Trivial Pursuit, a ballroom dancing competition, and a blind date." A job as a "cellar-rat," where she hauled crates of wine down a dangerous ladder at a New York restaurant, gave her the chance to sample "dozens if not hundreds of wines a week" at tastings held by distributors--and to be "drunk by noon, hungover by 2 p.m." Bosker made her way into a couple of blind tasting groups, where she met a wine mentor who coached her for the competition; traveled to California to view the production of mass-market wine; talked her way into a wine "orgy" for the mega-rich; and met with the inventor of the "Wine Aroma Wheel," a "circular chart of six dozen descriptors." Always perceptive, curious, and entertaining, the author describes her experiences with precision and a wry sense of humor, locating the exact words to evoke even the most insubstantial sensations. Readers will certainly come away from the book knowing more about wine and likely eager to explore it further, but even those less inclined to imbibe will be intrigued by Bosker's insights into the nature of smell and taste and the ways training and attention can increase one's pleasure in them.

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February 15, 2017
Ever inquisitive and investigative, Bosker chronicles the 18 months she spent preparing for the Certified Court of Master Sommelier exam after being enticed by a discussion with a restaurant sommelier preparing for his exam. Unfamiliar with this niche of wine lovers, she set out to understand the sensory draws for these cork dorks by leaving her position as tech editor of Huffington Post to join the ranks of budding sommeliers. Recounting her experiences positive and negative, Bosker introduces lively characters, from sommeliers to scientists. From working as a cellar rat to talking her way into judging a sommelier competition to attending the regaled bacchanalia of a La Paulee wine dinner, Bosker was afforded the rare opportunity to participate in this elite circle of the wine world and witness firsthand how wine can influence a person's perspective. As she delved further into the science of taste and smell, training on various aromas and subjecting herself to an fMRI, her perspective shifted into a keen understanding of the powerful intoxication of wine. An interesting look at those with an unquenchable thirst for those unique bottles of vinicultural perfection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)