If you liked Sideways — the novel that became a hit movie about two buddies road tripping their way through the vineyards of California’s Santa Barbara County — then you’re going to enjoy Kathryn Borel Jr.’s new book Corked.
Subtitled a memoir, it’s a funny, well-written tale of a daughter, a father, their tour of France’s famed wine regions and, of course, copious amounts of fermented grape juice that all reads tailor-made for the big screen.
Borel Jr. discovers as much about wine as she does about her dad on their journey, which got me thinking about which French wines would make the best introduction to some of that country’s more complicated geography.
In Corked, the pair vist the Rhone Valley’s famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Père Anselme’s La Fiole du Pape ($39.95 – $43.99) is a balanced, non-vintage red that offers a good dark berry interpretation of the appellation (perfect for gamier meats and heartier sauces) that comes in one groovy crooked bottle.
They also hit Burgundy where chardonnay rules the white vines. Louis Latour’s 2007 Bourgogne Chardonnay ($15.95 – $20.99) sees no oak so it’s all about bright, up-front fruit which makes it a fine partner for scallops and braised pork.
