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The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World
A self-described "wine doofus" spends a year in a small Oregon vineyard, chronicling the creative and chaotic labor as the winemakers chase after the perfect pinot noir.
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
April 1st 2006
by Oregon State University Press
(first published 2006)
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Oregonian Doyle spends a year hanging about the Lange Winery learning about the process of growing grapes and making wine. I really appreciated the sections on the history (human and geological) of the area, and this is a book that demands you be drinking a glass of wine as you read it. Some great bits and pieces of info here and there.
His writing style is very "chatty", which makes it easy to read, but can also wear on you after awhile. He loves run on sentences, and even more run on lists of...more
His writing style is very "chatty", which makes it easy to read, but can also wear on you after awhile. He loves run on sentences, and even more run on lists of...more
On a recent visit to Seattle, I was very happy to see an old friend. While we were catching up, I mentioned that I'd love to live in or around Portland, as I am a huge Oregon Pinot fan. Steve, my friend currently living in Seattle, immediately asked me if I had read The Grail. When I replied that I had not, he jumped up and disappeared into another room to find said book, which he very graciously lent me. So, less than a week later, I've finished The Grail, and first off, I have to give Steve cr...more
Brian Doyle's is the first byline I learned to look for in the Oregonian when I moved here, and I still get an anticipatory flutter when I see it. He's recently written a novel, Mink River and I went to Powell's to listen to him talk. He's an insanely intense and achingly vulnerable speaker who laughs and cries at his own stories. I found out then that he has published several books of essays, and I ordered them all from the library. This is the first one I got, and I dove right in.
I love his tu...more
I love his tu...more
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Excellent book! A more apt title would be, "The Grail: A Year Rambling About Pinot Noir". Here's the perfect excerpt:
“And the most sensitive and touchy and weird of all grapevines is pinot noir. Which is why winemakers call it the poet’s grape. It’s a finicky plant, your margin of error is tiny, a million things can go wrong, you worry about the weather, but can get so locked into pinot noir. It’s the most diverse red wine of all. It has grace and power. It has endless nuance. It has an awesome...more
“And the most sensitive and touchy and weird of all grapevines is pinot noir. Which is why winemakers call it the poet’s grape. It’s a finicky plant, your margin of error is tiny, a million things can go wrong, you worry about the weather, but can get so locked into pinot noir. It’s the most diverse red wine of all. It has grace and power. It has endless nuance. It has an awesome...more
A great read especially while sipping on a lovely glass of wine. A quarky, fun and insightful book about the in and outs of grape growing and wine making through out the year at a small winery in Oregon.
This book's biggest success was in making me want to drink more wine. Being from the region I also appreciated the bits of history, both recent and ancient. The Lange's (the main subjects of the book) come across as prototypical decent folks both in opening themselves up to Doyle's curiosity and in the way they run their business/craft.
Doyle's style is often effusive, and here it is at its effusivest. At times his use of the run-on sentence litany wore me out, but his decency as author is ultima...more
Doyle's style is often effusive, and here it is at its effusivest. At times his use of the run-on sentence litany wore me out, but his decency as author is ultima...more
Good stuff. Especially if you're from the area.
If you like BD's stuff, you'll like this.
Read it. It's fun and short.
m.e.
If you like BD's stuff, you'll like this.
Read it. It's fun and short.
m.e.
Oregon has great pinot ... and there's no better man to tell the story than the inimitable Brian Doyle.
A Witty, funny education of all things wine in the red hills of Dundee.
Although I'm not typically a fan of the essay genre, Brian Doyle's book took me back to an amazing tasting I experienced on afternoon at Lange Winery where the book was set. He has captured, and moreover expanded upon, the easy-going yet insightful perspective that Jesse and Don shared with me an my wife that December afternoon when the grounds of the winery was covered in snow. Thank you Brian - capturing your memories and sharing your experiences was truly delightful.
I 'discovered' Brian Doyle through Mink River, which totally knocked me over. Thus I tried another of his (given that this was about Oregon Pinot Noir, which I love), I thought I'd enjoy this as much. It didn't quite measure up to Mink River, but I enjoyed learning more about the making of the wine and I'm totally charmed by his whimsical use of language. Although I'll probably check out his other non-fiction, I'm really waiting for his next novel!
I really enjoyed this book. It has a great narrative style that allows readers to experience the winery for the first time with the author. The chapters are each only a few pages, too, so these bite-size chunks are perfect for sitting in the waiting room. Brian Doyle does have a tendency to write in long, fairly rambly sentences, though, so if that drives you crazy, this would not be a good book for you to read.
Loved this book! Love this author!
I read this book with the intention of getting to know a little more about the wine industry in Oregon and in this way, it was informative although the author's bent was definitely as a storyteller which did make it an easy read. My one pet peeve was his use of descriptors. At one point, I decided to count and he actually used twelve descriptors to tell about one word.
May 02, 2011
Wendy Hollister
marked it as to-read
Recommended in article Brian wrote in the Stanford Alumni magazine.
Even after working in a tasting room for 9 years, I learned so much reading this book. I can't believe how much goes into making wine - or running a winery for that matter. You've gotta be an expert in so many things. I'll stick to drinking and talking about it. But trust me, I appreciate each sip a little more now.
Offers a unique perspective on the elements surrounding the wine industry within the Willamette Valley and in general. I HEART Oregon Pinots!! This one will make your mouth salivate for a juicy glassful of Pinot goodness. :)Or, you might want to roll up your pant legs and smush a barrel of Pinot grapes...
My favorite is Pinot Noir, and we are going t o Oregon in few weeks- thought this read would come in handy. But, every time I am reading it, he is such a good writer I want to pour a glass.
Jun 27, 2012
Deb
is currently reading it
I love Brian's writing, and I also happen to love Oregon pinots. I'd like to sit down with this one on a snowy winter evening with a nice glass of Anne Amie L'Iris Pinot Blanc.
Funny, witty essays on Oregon wines and those who make them.
May 15, 2013
Aimee Jackson
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
carolyn
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Apr 30, 2013
えみる
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Mar 16, 2013
Marcia Chapman
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Doyle's essays and poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The American Scholar, Orion, Commonweal, and The Georgia Review, among other magazines and journals, and in The Times of London, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Kansas City Star, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Ottawa Citizen, and Newsday...more
More about Brian Doyle...
Doyle's essays and poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The American Scholar, Orion, Commonweal, and The Georgia Review, among other magazines and journals, and in The Times of London, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Kansas City Star, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Ottawa Citizen, and Newsday...more
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