Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 10

istes in Saumur. Bonné takes its
measure as a kind of outsider,
as someone who can recognize
and appreciate the energies of
the movement as he documents
in vivid detail its shortcomings.
Some of the chapter is devoted to
defining what makes a wine natural,
with long explications on sulfur
use, on the constraints in the
cellar, but also on flaws like volatile
acidity, Brettanomyces, and
goût de souris (mousiness).
But he spends just as much
Distilling
Texas History
W
time exploring natural wine as
an ideology, one that is prone to
as much groupthink and snobbery
as more established factions,
so much so that wines in
this cohort, despite obvious, literal
flaws, are often considered
beyond judgment because of
the purity of their intent. Citing
Althusser and the Salon de
Réfùsés, Bonné thinks this itself
a grand French tradition-or
obsession, " a craving for solidarity,
even in rebellion. " Those who
rebel inevitably coalesce. But, he
asks, " At what point does the natural
vibration-wine following its
own path, even if that path leads
to darkness-deviate too far? "
The natural wine movement is
at a crossroads, as it transforms
into an institution, and Bonne's
depiction of that moment in time,
along with numerous others, can
be riveting. Like Jefford's before
it, this is a book that is destined
to become obsolete; but it deepens
our understanding of France
and French wine in this moment.
The New French Wine: Redefining
the World's Greatest Wine Culture,
By Jon Bonné (864 pAges, ten
speed press, ©2023, $135)
Rye
Discoveries
" I
only knew rye from
Don McLean's song
'American Pie,' " Clay
Risen writes in the introduction
to his new book. He set out not
only to learn about rye whiskey
for himself, but to introduce the
resurgent American spirit to lovers
of Scotch and Bourbon.
Risen's writing is entertaining
and unpretentious, a leisurely
read. He tells rye's history from its
pre-Prohibition role in cocktailhouse
favorites to post-World
War II, when small-production
regional whiskeys were replaced
by the products of massive, multinational
companies-a move
that resulted in the near-disappearance
of rye.
Risen touches on the different
styles of rye-Kentucky, New
York, Maryland, MGP and Pennsylvania's
Old Monongahela-
10
WINE & SPIR IT S
Summ ER 2023
and their re-emergence into the
market. Then he provides a comprehensive
explanation of how
rye whiskey is made. There is also
a section on how to drink whiskey,
offering a list of common
aromas and flavors to spark the
reader's imagination on their own
tasting journey.
The crux of this book, however-and
its greatest value-is a
listing of over 200 American rye
whiskeys, organized in alphabetical
order with their price-range
noted. Risen ranks each whiskey
with stars on his four-tier scale
of " decent, good, excellent and
phenomenal " and includes tasting
notes as well as a short background
on the distillery. It's a
great reference companion as you
search out your new favorite rye.
-AlissA BicA
American Rye: A Guide to the
Nation's Original Spirit, By clAy
risen (272 pAges, scott & nix,
inc, © 2022, $29.95)
hen Andrew BrAunberg
moved to Austin
in 2012, he began
a deep dive into the history of
Texas whiskey. Leaving a career
in tech to eventually launch the
Still Austin Whiskey Company
in 2017, he researched the whiskeys
made before Prohibition so
he could recreate those styles, a
journey of discovery he chronicles
in his new book.
It starts in 1680 with the Pueblo
people's revolt against Spanish
Governor Antonio de Otermín in
Santa Fe, resulting in the retreat
of Otermín and his men to what is
today El Paso, Texas. They settled
the Misión de Corpus Christi de
San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur-
the site of the first distillery in the
area. Braunberg takes readers
through the centuries to Repeal,
augmenting his tale with photos,
maps and newspaper clippings.
This is a history lover's book
filled with stories-like distiller
John Laws's day in court, when he
got away with the murder of an
employee who had been stealing
his whiskey. As for the modern
scope of Texas whiskey, Braunberg
leaves it to the reader to
make their own discoveries. -AB
Fires, Floods, Explosions, and
Bloodshed: A History of Texas
Whiskey, by Andrew BrAunBerg,
(140 pAges, stAtehouse press, ©
2023, $16.95)
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