I’ve had the chance to review a few books on this site, all of which focused on education about wine. In this case, the book is a story of one man’s journey into the world of wine, following his obsession to from California to Burgundy with his family in tow. It’s an incredible story, and certainly something that anybody that’s ever loved wine has thought about.
Before I go too far into this I need to make a statement. Ray Walker’s wife, Christian, is nothing short of a saint. I mean, there are some amazing wife’s out there, and I count mine among them, but Christian Walker truly is amazing. Ray’s a lucky man for a number of reasons, but his wife is definitely at the top of the list.
As for the book itself, it’s definitely one that I enjoyed. Even were I not as into wine as I am, this book would have appealed to me, which should be evident by the fact that it took me about two and a half days to read it. While it’s not a long book (292 pages), the fact that it kept my attention so well is impressive – and I read a lot on my own just for pleasure.
The book follows Ray’s journey from wine cynic through his first experiences drinking wine, to his growing obsession with Burgundy. We get to follow Ray as he makes the decision to leave his job in finance and pursue a career in wine, from helping others make it to his pursuit of his own grapes in Burgundy to make his own wine.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the book because I want you to read it for yourself, but I will say this – it’s a great read and Ray’s passion and caring for the wine comes through in every word on the page. It’s easy to see why he followed a path that even the craziest of us would probably think is insane. We’ve all thought of doing this at least once, but it’s amazing to see that somebody actually did it, and succeeded as well.
You can find Ray’s book at Barnes & Noble or Amazon in both print and e-book format.
