my pinch-me-I'm-dreaming face post- podcasting with wild wine legends @jaymcinerney + paul grieco for @prince_street_ 🔥Listen now to hear my questionable quote about an "orgasm in a bottle." Link in bio! thx @howiekahn (and @michaelhalsband for 📸) 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.” Both an entry-level guide to the ever-growing business of wine and a masterclass in the strange, immensely skilled fanatics who make it their life’s work.”

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany, by Bill BufordSommeliers have very specialized jobs to do, Asimov explained, whether it’s pairing wine and food, speed tasting, or identifying wines blind. “It’s not a model for enjoying and loving wine, in my opinion,” he said. Cork Dork was pitched to me as a text about the rigorous "athletic" training individuals undergo to establish sommelier expertise. I imagined a mostly palatable chronicle of a journalist's journey (not unlike Supersize Me) into the bowels of a subcultural community. Cork Dorkis a brilliant feat of screwball participatory journalism and Bianca Bosker is a gonzo nerd prodigy.This hilarious, thoughtful and erudite book that may be the ultimate answer to the perennial question of whether or not wine connoisseurship is a scam.” –Jay McInerney, author of The Juice According to Sterling Kragten, winemaker for Cass Winery, screw capped wines aren’t always meant to be drunk young and are still able to be aged. These closures simply provide more uniformity in aging and cellaring wines. Cellar-worthy screw cap wines enjoy the added advantage of dramatically reduced oxidation, and thus less bottle variation and spoilage.

One sip leads to a second sip,” he says. “One glass leads to a second glass. One bottle leads to a second bottle.” 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.” I have a very complicated relationship with this book. Right away, I was drawn in by Bianca's writing style. She has a way of placing you right in the room with her while she's studying or working or tasting with these NYC experts. In "Cork Dork," author Bianca dives into the world of sommeliers. Now, I like wine. I know what color I prefer (red). I also know what kinds I prefer (malbecs or pinot noirs are clutch in my book). I know that I enjoy wine but that is about it. This book opened my eyes to a brand new world. Much of this book looks at the world of sommeliers. A little bit of obsessiveness, a little bit of science. A lot of one of my favorite subjects!

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The op-ed set off a host of passionate responses from industry insiders. “Bosker (and… Treasury, obviously) would prefer us drinking chemically infused alcohol juice than wines made by artisan growers,” wrote Marco Kovac in New Worlder. “Treasury and others of their ilk should run and grab this concept for a press release,” wrote Alice Feiring on her blog. “Its message? ‘So what if we load up wines with process and additives? We make wines of pleasure.’” The whole notion of connoisseurship is a by-product of geographic locations that don’t make wine in the first place, Asimov argued. And when you focus on the way connoisseurs like sommeliers taste wine, what you end up doing is alienating regular consumers, because you convey that that’s the way you’re supposed to do it, and the way they are currently doing it is wrong. “That creates this sense of tension and anxiety that a lot of people I think experience,” explained Asimov. Speaking as someone who barely knows a good Bordeaux from a bottle of Boone’s Farm, I was charmed and entertained by this book.” The educational elements - be it around sensation and perception, affective neuroscience, or behavioral economics - were comprehensible for psychology grad students and civilian readers alike. Cork Dork is a brilliant feat of screwball participatory journalism and Bianca Bosker is a gonzo nerd prodigy.This hilarious, thoughtful and erudite book may be the ultimate answer to the perennial question of whether or not wine connoisseurship is a scam.”