Product Review
"I've collected wine since the '70s, but I never thought about making it. Now that I've read this book, I really don't want to make it. I'll stick with drinking it."-- Sammy Hagar, singer/songwriter and founder of Cabo Wabo Tequila
"How refreshing! The world according to Arnold shows it isn't all Grand Cru and roses. This is the hilarious, honest, knock-it-off-the-pedestal account of how it really happens. We come away better informed, trusting our own palate, and with our vinous compass pointed to fun!"
-- Richard Betts, master sommelier and cofounder of Betts & Scholl wines
"First Big Crush is a literary love child of Maxim and Wine Spectator: a raunchy, rollicking tale of a young guy's year in the vineyards of New Zealand, where his love of wine matures -- somewhat -- from the hunt for a cheap buzz to a genuine passion and appreciation."
-- Ted Allen, host/narrator of the PBS series Uncorked: Wine Made Simple, food and wine specialist for Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and author of The Food You Want to Eat
"First Big Crush is unlike any wine book I've ever read, a hugely entertaining hybrid of the participatory journalism of George Plimpton, the hallucinatory journalism of Hunter Thompson, and frat house bathroom graffiti. He's a bull in the china shop of wine writing and it's a pleasure to see him breaking everything in sight."
-- Jay McInerney, author of The Good Life
Book Description
The story behind the bottle, First Big Crush is Eric Arnold's wild account of his year immersing himself in all things wineand somehow not winding up in rehab.
Never having held a meaningful job for very long (and getting fired from most of them), Eric Arnold heads to New Zealand -- to Allan Scott Wines -- seeking adventure and hoping to learn a little bit about wine. What could be better than working outside in the fresh air and drinking wine all day? Before he knows it, he is dirty, wet, cold, and at the mercy of a tank of wine that just might explode and take him with it. So begin Eric's adventures in the world of wine. He gets sunburned, sore, and drunk -- and then does it all over again the next day.
First Big Crush is a story that is as outrageous as it is compelling. Here are tales of first pressings, pruning, and tasting competitions. There are also rowdy nights at the local pub, girls, meat pies, girls, rugby, and tales of hunting wild pig. Along the way, each step of the winemaking process is explained in a way that humans can actually understand. Almost against his will, Eric becomes an expert.
