ReadingBianca Bosker islikesitting down witha brilliant, curious friend for an after-work drink, and suddenlyfindingit’s midnight and the table is littered with empty bottles. Between her hilarious exploits and thoughtful meditations on wine and life, you’ll wanttostay forjust one more.” Throughout, Cork Dork weaves science, data, and information into a narrative web so masterfully rendered that you feel like you’re reading gossip even when you’re reading about Plato’s contempt of smell. But contrary to Bosker’s claim, it doesn’t really question a lot of the wine world’s assumptions. 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.

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Some of the funniest scenes of Bosker’s book take place during “tasting groups,”where a group of sommelier students get together to taste wine. 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.”Up-to-date study material for all major Old & New World wine regions: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, The Kitchen Confidential of wine: Read this book, and you’ll never be intimidated by wine—or wine snobs—again.”

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Always perceptive, curious, and entertaining, the author describes her experiences with precision and a wry sense of humor…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.” But many of the people she meets on her journey . . . I honestly couldn't stand. There's all this talk about humility and service and camaraderie, but the world of these somms (maybe it's more of an NYC thing) came across as particularly cliquy and elitist. I actually listened to the book on Audible before reading it on Kindle, and Bianca does a lot of different voices in her reading of the audiobook. She captures their attitudes and inner thoughts so clearly, I couldn't hit "stop" on my app. But it was almost entirely hate-listening as in "How ridiculous can these people get?"

Morgan helps get Bosker a place in a tasting group filled with the highest profile, and most ambitious sommeliers in Manhattan. Yet Bosker makes it sound hilariously funny. Her viewpoint is that of an average person, with an average appreciation of wine, observing people who are unbelievably obsessed with wine. An informative and riveting read that doesn’t take itself too seriously—a much needed dose of reality the wine world could benefit from.” And ultimately, Bosker comes to agree with this point of view. “Maybe that’s the thing about greatness,” she writes. “It defies formulaic expression.” There’s got to be mystery, she writes. “If greatness could be given by a formula, it would become trivial. But we know it when we taste it.”

Cork news and sport - Echolive The Echo: Cork news and sport - Echolive

Refreshingly accessible…It’s delightful and informative to see a subject as potentially stodgy as wine appreciation refracted through the perspective of someone young, female, and very smart.” 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. 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.Disclaimer: Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest. A restaurant patron is tasting some wine brought by the sommelier during a business lunch with ... [+] colleagues at a restaurant. Getty The educational elements - be it around sensation and perception, affective neuroscience, or behavioral economics - were comprehensible for psychology grad students and civilian readers alike. A few of them would go on to take the exams that would see them become Master Sommeliers, the top of the sommelier pyramid. You’ll never feel lost in front of a wine list again." –Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of " Gastropod ," via The Atlantic

Review: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker - Decanter Book Review: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker - Decanter

The author also goes into the science of wine-making and what makes different wines unique. She looks at why some wines are so much more expensive than others and whether or not the prices really worth it, something I have always wondered about myself. I really appreciated the way that the author did a deep dive into the subject. Then Bosker takes all this access and opportunity and distills it into knowledge that she passes on to the reader with wit, sarcasm, and glorious humility. Her description was a lot like Cork Dork – a gorgeous, deliciously rendered little journey for my mind to follow along with that, when all is said and done, remained entirely Bosker’s. After high school, she went to Princeton, where she majored in East Asian Studies. There were a lot of 9 a.m. Chinese classes and a lot of flashcards with Chinese characters, foreshadowing the wine journey to be undertaken a decade later.Bosker was the executive tech editor for The Huffington Post, when she chanced upon a man who was preparing for the World’s Best Sommelier Competition. 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.’” 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.” Journalists are a breed of people I struggle with. Their role is undeniably important in unearthing bodies and stories, but half the time you find out they buried them it the first place, just to get a scoop.