Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obs

ForreadersofAnthonyBourdain，SusanOrlean，andMaryRoach，asurprising，entertainingandhilariousjourneythroughtheworldofwineLikemanyofus，techreporterBiancaBoskersawwineasawaytounwindattheendofalongday，oranicethingtohavewithdinner—andthatwasaboutit.Untilshestumbledonanalternateuniversewheretastereignedsupreme，aworldinwhichpeoplecould，afterasinglesipofwine，identifythegrapeitwasmadefrom，inwhatyear，andwhereitwasproduced—downtotheexactlocation，withinacres.Whereshetasted“wine，”thesepeopledetectednotonlycomplexflavorprofiles，butentirehistoriesandgeographies.Astoundedbytheirfanaticaldedicationandseeminglysuperhumansensorypowers，Boskerabandonedherscreen-centriclifeandsetouttodiscoverwhatdrovetheirobsession，andwhethershe，too，couldbecomea“corkdork.”Thusbeginsayearandahalflongadventurethattakesthereaderinsideelitetastinggroups，exclusiveNewYorkCityrestaurants，aCaliforniawinerythatmanipulatestheflavorofitsbottleswithingredientslike“MegaPurple，”andevenaneuroscientist’sfMRImachineasBoskerattemptstoanswerthemostnaggingquestionofall：what’sthebigdealaboutwine?Funny，counterintuitive，andcompulsivelyreadable，CorkDorkilluminatesnotonlythecomplexwebofwineproductionandconsumption，buthowtastingbettercanchangeourbrains—andhelpuslivebetter.--“ReadingBiancaBoskerislikesittingdownwithabrilliant，curiousfriendforanafter-workdrink，andsuddenlyfindingit’smidnightandthetableislitteredwithemptybottles.Betweenherhilariousexploitsandthoughtfulmeditationsonwineandlife，you’llwanttostayforjustonemore.”–LaurenCollins，authorofWhenInFrench"Inthisdelightfullywrittenandkeenlyobservedbook，BiancaBoskertakesreadersonayear-longrompthroughtherealmofwinelovers，experts，cultists，sommeliers，andposeurs.Alongtheway，shehelpsusbecomeconnoisseursnotonlyofwinebutalsoofpeoplewhosepassionswouldmoreaptlybedescribedasobsessions.”–WalterIsaacson，authorofTheInnovators