You can use your Ottawa Public Library card to borrow titles from these partner libraries:
1 of 1 copy available
It was Rachel Signer's dream to be that girl: the one smoking hand-rolled cigarettes out the windows of her 19th-century Parisian studio apartment, wearing second-hand Isabel Marant jeans and sipping a glass of Beaujolais redolent of crushed roses with a touch of horse mane. Instead she was an under-appreciated freelance journalist and waitress in New York City, frustrated at always being broke and completely miserable in love. When she tastes her first pétillant-naturel (pét-nat for short), a type of natural wine made with no additives or chemicals, it sets her on a journey of self-discovery, both deeply personal and professional, that leads her to Paris, Italy, Spain, Georgia, and finally deep into the wilds of South Australia and which forces her, in the face of her "Wildman," to ask herself the hard question: can she really handle the unconventional life she claims she wants?
Have you ever been sidetracked by something that turned into a career path? Did you ever think you were looking for a certain kind of romantic partner, but fell in love with someone wild, passionate and with a completely different life? For Signer, the discovery of natural wine became an introduction to a larger ethos and philosophy that she had long craved: one rooted in egalitarianism, diversity, organics, environmental concerns, and ancient traditions. In You Had Me at Pét-Nat, as Signer begins to truly understand these revolutionary wine producers upending the industry, their deep commitment to making their wine with integrity and with as little intervention as possible, she is smacked with the realization that unless she faces, head-on, her own issues with commitment, she will not be able to live a life that is as freewheeling, unpredictable, and singular as the wine she loves.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
October 19, 2021 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780306924750
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780306924750
- File size: 2883 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
August 23, 2021
In this breezy if flawed debut, Singer, founder of the natural wine magazine Pipette, mixes food journalism and personal memoir to chronicle her path to finding love and a career in natural winemaking. While waiting tables in her late 20s at an upscale restaurant in Brooklyn to supplement her food writing, the author was introduced to a “particular rosé pét-nat,” that, she recalls, “set off a wild woman inside of me.” Eager to know more about the natural variety and its “carbonated punchiness,” she embarked on a quest to learn and write about the intoxicating world of winemaking, traveling from Paris to Spain and—after meeting her future husband, a winemaker who goes by the nickname “Wildman”—eventually settling in Australia, where she now runs a winery with him. Throughout, she pays lip service to the conversations about privilege and class that have recently ignited the culinary industry, noting the low wages grape harvesters survive on and acknowledging the historic genocide that enabled her partner to found his vineyard in South Australia. Yet at the same time, she writes without irony that she “had set out on own” after casually mentioning the several thousands of dollars she borrowed from her sister. Despite its bubbly content, this isn’t likely to inspire new converts to the pét-nat craze. -
October 15, 2021
In her memoir (the title abbreviates p�tillant naturel or naturally sparkling), Signer, founder and publisher of the wine-focused magazine Pipette, takes readers on a movable feast, from Paris to Australia, various parts of Europe, Vietnam, Georgia, New York, and Washington, D.C., enjoying the finest food and drink of each region. In this love letter to not only natural wines but also the community and ethos that sustain them, Signer shares her wine experiences, from working in a restaurant and wine shop to wine journalism and harvesting grapes, emphasizing both the traditions and environmental impact of vineyards and wine production. Wine culture blends (pun intended) into her personal life when she develops a romance with a natural winemaker and, while struggling to hold onto her fierce independence, learns that relationships, like wine, are all about "responding to the moment." While Signer might have explored her emotions more deeply, her extensive journalistic experience shines through, and readers will learn never to look at a glass of wine again without considering the people pouring their hearts into every bottle.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
-
November 1, 2021
Winemaker Signer (founder of Pipette magazine) navigates a burgeoning career and relationship against the backdrop of the natural wine in this breezy, accessible memoir. Readers meet Signer as a white writer and New York City waitress, as she begins to develop an interest in natural wine that ultimately sets her on a personal and professional journey across the globe. Along the way she finds herself exploring different aspects of this wine subculture and unexpectedly falls for a winemaker in Australia, pushing her to reexamine the life she imagined. The book is interspersed with regional history and background information about natural wine but will appeal to wine connoisseurs and novices alike. Signer is a curious, reflective writer throughout, but especially as she ultimately decides to follow her partner to Australia, settling in the city of Adelaide and learning about local wine culture. Readers will enjoy being introduced to the quirky, passionate characters who are dedicated to the craft of natural wine in her adopted home. VERDICT A romantic, entertaining memoir of self-discovery. Fans of culinary and travel memoirs will be entertained.--Kate Bellody, SUNY New Paltz
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-