Product Description

Since grape juice was first fermented, wine has captured the human imagination, engaging us in a uniquely personal way. According to authors Evan and Brian Mitchell, wine—more than any other organism, aesthetic object, or experience—reflects what it means to be human.

The Psychology of Wine: Truth and Beauty by the Glass parts company from the overwhelming majority of books on the subject in that it is neither a profile of some aspect of the industry, nor a collection of tasting notes. Rather, readers are invited to explore the body, mind, and soul of wine from the perspectives of flavor, metaphor, geometry, gender, and human characteristics, including beauty, honesty, and subtlety. Attention is paid also to the historical, geographical, and psychological roots of our affinity with wine and to how the language of wine is intimate to our desires, habits, customs, and culture. Entertaining and highly informative, this book will lead readers to think about wine in fresh and challenging ways.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #276142 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 202 pages

About the Author
Evan Mitchell has worked for more than 12 years in the hospitality industry, including positions as a sommelier and front of house manager in some of Australia's most celebrated restaurants. He is also the designer of wine education training programs currently being run in multinational hotels and resorts. A specialist in wine bars, Mitchell now works as a wine consultant to dining establishments, and he writes columns on our relationship with the grape. Brian Mitchell, father to Evan, is a psychologist who has taught courses in social psychology at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Customer Reviews

A Keeper on my Bookshelf
The Psychology of Wine
Truth and Beauty By The Glass
Evan Mitchell and Brian Mitchell
Praeger -ABC-CLIO, LLC 2009

Evan Mitchell and Brian Mitchell bring a wealth of wining and dining experience to life in the pages of The Psychology of Wine. While the title may sound like just another stuffy wine tome, never fear. This book is neither boring nor banal. Indeed, it is a book best enjoyed by popping the cork of a favorite Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio and indulging in the combined pleasures of a good read and a fine wine.

The Psychology of Wine entertains while it educates. It is filled with marvelous myths, amusing anecdotes and savvy advice. Learn the lore behind the birth of Dionysus and the hypothesis of the world's first "accidental" wine. Follow the life of the life the vine from dormancy through harvest. Get to the bottom of the age-old debate of "nature versus nurture." Find out where those dry, didactic numbers used to score wines come from and how to judge wines with a more "soulful" approach. Discover intriguing idiosyncrasies about wine such as the "pathological" nature of Pinot Grigios and which wine grows "wiser" as it ages.

As a foodie, wine lover and travel writer, I particularly enjoyed polishing my wine-speak in Part II, The Language of Wines and the delightful frivolity of Chapter 20 - Games People Play. No doubt as we swirl, sniff, sip and savor a variety of varietals at our next dinner party, we'll play a bit of "This wine is like..." and describe our wines in terms of music, movies and even moods. The Psychology of Wine is a keeper on my bookshelves.

More understanding of my passion for wine
I have never been one to share my thoughts on a book with a vast audience, but after my read of The Psychology of Wine I felt that my impressions on this book might be of value to those looking for a very intimate and entertaining read. By way of brief background, I grew up in a lower middle income home in the rust belt. Wine was not a part of our family household to any degree. After living the blue collar dream our parents put 4 kids through top notch universities. I imparted on a long sales & marketing journey as my chosen career and quickly was introduced to the world of wine mostly from a client entertainment perspective. My cursory knowledge of wines in those early days has lead to a life long passion for all that is wine, although I am still a complete novice in my breadth of knowledge on the subject. It is from this foundation of passion with limited substance that I entered The Psychology of Wine. To my great delight this book spoke to what I have always had trouble conveying (albeit with a large amount of scholarship that I can comfortably admit would not have been part of my conveyance). The Mitchells capture in the varying chapter's bits and pieces of how wine and its romance, its part in our mutual life fellowship, its influence on our life's fond remembrances really infuses itself into our being. Having read a limited amount on wine, I always seem to end up on something touting external communication of ones knowledge of varietals and all of the other "wine speak" so prevalent in those wine enthusiasts I aspire to be. However, this read was a wonderful journey through a host of subjects that clearly gave voice to all that is wine in my life, and allowed me a better understanding and appreciation for the passion that is our shared interest in wine. Wine is a complex and fascinating personal life long love and this book was the first that I have read that spoke to that in such a unique and enjoyable way. I would highly recommend this read.

Fun and accessible essay on the world's favourite drink
This book was initially recommended by a friend, and I must admit to being a little hesitant at first. It seemed at a glance to be the kind of thing read at the fireside by silver-haired white males who wear tasselled loafers and paisley cravats. By the end of the first chapter however, this impression had been dispelled completely. Brian and Evan Mitchell (father and son) have confected a breezy and intimate series of essays about all aspects of wine, and their conversational tone involves the reader from the very first pages. The book meanders discursively through personal recollections, Classical mythology, serious wine science and classifications and even music and popular film. Renowned critics and wine 'gurus' are gently skewered, and the concluding theme appears to be (reassuringly to this amateur) that the greatest wines are the ones we enjoy drinking the most.
By the end I found myself edified even despite myself, and like the greatest reference books (Kenneth Clark's 'Civilisation' comes to mind) the content slips into the brain unnoticed among the mellifluous prose and sparkling procession of ideas. Earthy, self-deprecating, accessible and never patronising, The Psychology of Wine offers endless insights into this ancient companion to human life, joyfully lurching from Pamela Anderson to Plato without ever losing its balance. Highly recommended