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

“Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo élan . . . When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she’s not wrong, though Bill Buford’s Heat is probably a shade closer.” —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times

“As informative as it is, well, intoxicating.” —Fortune

“A funny, fascinating adventure.” —Real Simple
 
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.


Named one of 10 New Nonfiction Food Books to Read this Spring and Summer by Bon Appetit
Named one of The 4 Books You Should Read This Spring by Fortune
Named one of 12 Nonfiction Books You Need to Read in March by Harper’s Bazaar
Named one of the 20 Best Nonfiction Books Coming in March 2017 by Bustle
Named one of The Best Drink Books of Spring and Summer 2017 by Punch
Named one of the Best Books of Early 2017 by Brightly