Today I took a break from the Manila International Book Fair for a much awaited occasion — the Flips Flipping Pages September Book Discussion: Peter Mayle‘s A Good Year, paired with a mini wine appreciation seminar at the Cyrano Wine Shop.
I’m afraid I didn’t have time to reread the book, with the MIBF under way, but I read it last year. Unlike the others, I had very low expectations before I read “A Good Year.” I read Mayle’s Chasing Cezanne and expected it to be a thrilling art heist, but it had to be the most lackadaisical chase ever, as the team in pursuit of the forged painting stopped to dine at practically every restaurant they walked past! Figuring plot isn’t one of Mayle’s strong points, I set out to read A Good Year just to enjoy it. And I did. I enjoyed reading about the Provencal wine industry and its quaint practices, and Mayle can write the copy of an ad for garbage bins and I think I’ll still enjoy his prose.
Anyway, while the group in general was disappointed with the novel, we all enjoyed the wine appreciation seminar!
Jeeves brought his friend Kathy over to orient us in the basics of wine appreciation. Kathy is a distributor of Beringer wines in the Philippines, and she is very passionate about California wines. Alex, the wine manager of Cyrano, also shared his expertise. We covered a lot of ground, from grapes and vineyards, to the process of making wine, the art of drinking wine, bottle-opening techniques, glassware, storing wine, and pairing wine with food.
Kathy shares with us her passion for wine
Alex demonstrates bottle-opening techniques
We sampled three bottles of wine – a Beringer White Zinfandel 2009 (blush wine), a Beringer Chenin Blanc 2009 (white), and a Beringer California Zinfandel 2008 (red), and we sniffed and sipped them appreciatively while enjoying our surprisingly bountiful spread. I like sweet wines (because I’m no wine sophisticate) but I was surprised that I really liked the Chenin Blanc — especially when I paired it with Gege’s pistachio-cream cheese-grape bites (aka cheese chorvah — yummmmmmm….)!
We also had our customary book swap, featuring (well, mostly, except for a couple) wine-related books.
And we had great souvenirs (kudos to the hostess with the mostest, Gege) — our personalized coasters and goblet bookmarks!
It was another awesome book discussion, and we all enjoyed ourselves. I am so glad I didn’t miss this!
Will be back at the Manila International Book Fair tomorrow (last day!) and then catch up on my reading. I really have to start next month’s FFP selection, Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth!
Will update you with the highlights of the MIBF after the event!
This was one great discussion. As to how a book none of us would rank five stars spawned a thoroughly enjoyable wine and food-consuming event, well, maybe that was Mayle’s intent. We should have raised our glasses a toast to him!
Iya! We missed you in the group pic again!
This discussion was exactly the “unwinding” I needed after a very stressful week!
I was a bit surprised that almost everyone didn’t like the book. Like you, I also enjoyed it. A LOT!I loved how light and pleasant “A Good Year” was despite the thin plot.
Oh well, i guess books are like wine. What really matters is that if you like it then you should go ahead enjoy it. No matter what the experts think.
Wow, I am not alone! It was such a relaxing read for me — nothing much happening in the story, lots of funny bits, and you’re just soaking up all of Provence! :)