Title: Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

Author: Bianca Bosker

Publisher: Penguin Books 2017

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

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.”

With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine—and, perhaps, the way you live—forever.

Our book club selection for February. It was entertaining. Sorta like Kitchen Confidential for the wine industry. Bosker mentions the documentary Somm multiple times and it did feel like I was reading a book version of that in some chapters. I liked the chapters that dove into Bosker’s own journey more than reading about random wine people. I enjoyed my time spent reading the pages, but wouldn’t say that it was amazing.

Next up on the TBR pile: