Uncorked
My Journey Through the Crazy World of Wine
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Marco Pasanella's behind-the-scenes memoir through the world of wine will captivate wine lovers with its story of one man who decided, at age 43, to change his life by opening a wine shop.
As Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant explored the front and back of the house at restaurants, Uncorked offers a peek behind the curtain of the wine world.
Pasanella takes the reader into the underbelly of his store and the industry, which is steeped in history yet fanatical about technology and brimming with larger-than-life personalities.
Infused with rich details of his historic waterfront building in New York City and his sojourns to Tuscany, Pasanella's memoir is one of transformation through a project many fantasize about but few commit to. A colorful cast of characters rounds out this fascinating journey through the world of wine.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After years as a professional designer, Pasanella applied his skill in crafting life spaces and focusing on critical details to a new venture when he opened Pasanella and Son Vintners in New York City's South Street Seaport in 2005. Pasanella tells of the challenges he faced in transforming his unorthodox whim into a solid business. Overflowing with stories of local downtown Manhattan history and politics intermingled with charming recollections of the author's time in Italy, his narrative is far more than a retrospective on building a wine shop business, which should appeal to anyone interested in the history and personality of New York, regardless of their opinion on wine or retail. Of course, Pasanella doesn't leave out the wine, explaining how some learn to identify winemaker and year from a blind tasting and how he commissioned and designed his own custom wines from organically farmed grapes. Pasanella captures his characters beautifully, though his frustration with one former employee comes through so clearly as to be uncomfortable for the reader. In the end, Pasanella conveys the real work behind making pipe dreams come true.