Adventures on the Wine Route [Paperback]

Lynch's best chapters are his entries on Provence, the Rhone, and Chablis, which give readers a clear sense of what these wines ought to taste like, how the regions' winemaking traditions have evolved over time, and what differentiates extraordinary examples from underachievers. Each chapter focuses on a handful of producers recalcitrant to change with whom Lynch has longstanding relationships. His analysis, with winemaking scion Gerard Chave, of the component parts of the legendary J. L. Chave Hermitage (one of the best wines in the world) might be the most vivid deconstruction of a taste ever put into words. The chapter on Provence is one of Lynch's more saccharine entries -- his ties to the family behind Bandol's Domaine Tempier are personal, and Lynch introduced and evangelized this hitherto obscure wine to American markets -- but it makes an eloquent case in favor of the rustic and less glamorous country wines of France. True to Lynch's evident loyalties, then, the chapter on the gold standard of French wine, Bordeaux, is among the weakest in the book, focusing on a small producer in Graves unrepresentative of the sprawling aristocratic estates that characterize the region. It tells a charming story, but it is only a footnote to the story of Bordeaux.

Lynch, to his credit, seldom romanticizes his work and does not disguise that he is a businessman who seeks these wines because he loves them but also because it is his trade. Because he has carved out for himself a small market for specialties in a large industry increasingly tending towards uniformity, his interests differ from most importers', inspiring him to remark that he sometimes feels more like a historical preservationist than a winebuyer. Wherever Lynch travels he is as likely to be disillusioned by a once-illustrious producer succumbing to cheap shortcuts as he is to find a truly special product he can sell with a clean conscience to customers who trust his name as a talisman of authenticity. He betrays his commercial interests somewhat by drafting some passages almost as advertisements for his wines, most of which don't need it, and also by repeatedly condemning the practice among American and English reviewers of awarding ratings to wines and vintage years on a numerical scale. In principle, this practice should not offend anyone capable of articulating the gradations of his preferences, but merchants with inventories to sell resent it deeply when a powerful critic advises consumers to avoid a thin vintage. Some such critics have done as much as Lynch to lead consumers to special wines, so I won't concede the principle. But I will drink any of Lynch's wines whenever the opportunity arises, and readers inclined to do the same will find in this book the context that renders them all 100-point experiences.

Wine is an agricultural product, produced by farmers. There is not a lot of glamor in the production of wine - it is hard work and full of frustration, as the producers have to deal with a variety of uncontrollable factors - weather, unreasonable reviewers, fickle consumers, etc.

In Adventures... Kermit Lynch gives us a highly personal view of the lives of some of the more colorful wine characters he has come to know in his annual wine-buying travels to France. These profiles are informative and entertaining and provide a backdrop to a better understanding and appreciation of wine.

The book travels through the major wine-producing regions of France and peppered throughout each chapter are Kermit's views on many aspects of wine production, distribution and marketing. Reading this book in the early 21st century one understands the profound effect this important wine merchant has had on the business of wine, over the past 15 years.

I have read this book twice and will re-read it everytime I travel to France in the future - both to help me remember which vineyards to seek out, but also as a reminder of how to engage with the vignerons I meet - every vigneron has a story - they are all different and all are worth listening to.

Kermit introduces us to several of these stories and I hope some day he writes a sequel. In the meantime, this is one of my favourite all-time reads.

Some of the other reviews note a "pedantic and sanctimonious" manner from Lynch's writing. There is something to this perception as Lynch does have a tendency to hammer his points home again and again. Nonetheless, Lynch is so passionate about what he likes and the characteristics of winemakers that he likes to work with, that you can almost overcome it. (Nonetheless, this is why I dropped one * from my rating.)

For what it is worth, I read this book about the same time as I read Patrick Mathews book on natural winemaking. Interestingly, they form a matched pair as both books share a passion for wines made, as much as possible, through traditional methods without extra intervention.