Before you go...
Check Out
The Bestselling Books of All Time
See the List

Bacchus and Me

Adventures in the Wine Cellar

By Jay McInerney

By Jay McInerney

Best Seller
Paperback $14.95

Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375713620

Bacchus and Me by Jay McInerney
Paperback $14.95
Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375713620

Also available from:

Paperback
–

  • Paperback $14.95

    Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375713620

    Also available from:

Buy the Paperback:

About Bacchus and Me

Jay McInerney on wine? Yes, Jay McInerney on wine! The best-selling novelist has turned his command of language and flair for metaphor on the world of wine, providing this sublime collection of untraditional musings on wine and wine culture that is as fit for someone looking for “a nice Chardonnay” as it is for the oenophile.

On champagne: “Is Dom Pérignon worth four bottles of Mo‘t & Chandon? If you are a connoisseur, a lover, a snob, or the owner of a large oceangoing craft, the answer . . . is probably yes.”
On the difficulty of picking a wine for a vegetarian meal: “Like boys and girls locked away in same-sex prep schools, most wines yearn for a bit of flesh.”
On telling the difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux: “If it’s red, French, costs too much, and tastes like the water that’s left in the vase after the flowers have died, it’s probably Burgundy.”
On the fungus responsible for the heavenly flavor of the dessert wine called Sauternes: “Not since Baudelaire smoked opium has corruption resulted in such beauty.”

Includes new material plus recommendations on the world’s most romantic wines and the best wines to pair with a meal

Read An Excerpt

Also by Jay McInerney

Bright, Precious Days
In the North-West Frontier Province
Smoke
The Juice
How It Ended
See all books by Jay McInerney

About Jay McInerney

Jay McInerney is the author of eight novels, two collections of short stories, and three collections of essays on wine. His latest book, Bright, Precious Days, was published in 2016. He lives in New York City and Bridgehampton, New York. 

Product Details

Category: Wine & Beverage | Food Memoir & Travel | Humor

Paperback | $14.95
Published by Vintage
Mar 12, 2002 | 304 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375713620

People Who Read Bacchus and Me Also Read

‹ ›
Man's Search for Meaning
We Have Only This Life to Live
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
Living with Shakespeare
The Mansion of Happiness
Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin
The Ecstasy of Influence
In Other Worlds
China in Ten Words
Religio Medici and Urne-Buriall
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist
I Remember Nothing
Masscult and Midcult
Create Dangerously
Future Science
The Missing of the Somme
In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks
The Everyman Chesterton
India: A Million Mutinies Now
Why We Can't Wait
Like Shaking Hands with God
My Reading Life
A Week at the Airport
The Truro Bear and Other Adventures
Dreaming Up America
The Zinn Reader
Hamlet
Confessions of the Other Mother
The Language of Baklava
What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?
The Butterfly's Way
A Place to Live
Life Work
The Power of Nonviolence
11 de Septiembre
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon
Nuestra Arma es Nuestra Palabra
The Ralph Nader Reader
A Chosen Faith
The Vulnerable Observer
Nonconformity
Nature and Walking
The Measure of Our Success
The Straight Mind
Art and Culture

Inspired by Your Browsing History

Praise

“Brilliant, witty, comical, and often shamelessly candid and provocative thoughts about the world of wine and many of the people who produce it.” –Robert M. Parker, Jr.

“McInerney has become the best wine writer in America.” –Salon.com

“McInerney’s wine judgments are sound, his anecdotes witty and his literary references impeccable. Not many wine books are good reads; this one is.” –The New York Times

“In the fruity, buttery world of wine writing, there’s nothing else like it.” –Atlanta Journal

Author Essay

Not Your Grandfather’s Food and Wine Combinations

• Australian Chardonnay and Kraft macaroni and cheese. (My kids and I prefer the kind with the squeeze, rather than the dry cheese. Almost any ten-dollar New World Chardonnay will be improved by this dish.)
• Australian Sémillon and lemongrass chicken
• Bandol Rosé and barbecue
• Barbera d’Alba and pizza
• Barbaresco and steak tartare
• California Cabernet and grilled eel
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape and antelope
• champagne and Parmigiano-Reggiano
• champagne and sushi
• Gewürztraminer and Thai food
• Grüner Veltliner and peekytoe crab
• Krug Champagne and popcorn
• Late harvest zinfandel and chocolate cake
• Late harvest Alsatian Pinot Gris (Vendange Tardive) and foie gras
• Oregon Pinot Noir and grilled king salmon
• Oregon Pinot Gris and grilled king salmon
• Old-vine zinfandel and southern fried chicken
• Petite Sirah and steak au poivre
• Pinot Noir and guinea fowl
• Pinot Noir and Arctic char
• Riesling and dim sum (or Cantonese food in general)
• Riesling and anything

Traditional Food and Wine Combinations

• Banyuls and chocolate
• Barolo and grilled cabreo (aka goat)
• Barolo and white truffle risotto
• Brunello di Montalcino and cinghale (aka wild boar)
• California Cabernet and grilled steak
• California Chardonnay and lobster
• California Chardonnay and salmon
• Chablis and oysters
• champagne and caviar
• Chianti and risotto with funghi
• Gewürztraminer and Muenster
• Port and chocolate
• Port and Stilton
• Red Bordeaux and Cheddar
• Red Bordeaux and lamb
• Red Burgundy and pheasant
• Red Burgundy and roast beef
• Red Hermitage and venison
• Red Châteauneuf-du-Pape and daube de boeuf
• Riesling and Wiener schnitzel
• Sancerre and oysters
• Sancerre (or Pouilly-Fumé) and Chèvre
• Sauternes and foie gras
• Sauternes and Roquefort
• Vin Santo and biscotti
• White Burgundy and pike quenelles

Back to Top

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Brightly

Raise kids who love to read
TASTE img

TASTE

An online magazine for today’s home cook

LitFlash

The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

Read it Forward

Read it first. Pass it on!