Kermit Lynch is knowledge and very passionate about wine and the craft behind it. Reading the book, you are overwhelmed with how passionate he is, all the while being entertained by his stories. A must read.

I bought this book for my daughter as a Xmas present,
and she loves it as it is so well written. I must add
that she takes a keen interest in wines and viticulture.

I bought this book for my daughter as a Xmas present,
and she loves it as it is so well written. I must add
that she takes a keen interest in wines and viticulture.

Kermit Lynch is an institution on the US wine scene, and his retail shop is a must visit for any serious wine lover. He made his reputation importing wonderful wines and in particular writing this often reviewed book. Rather than summarizing, or relating how much it's meant to my own education, let me quote a few of my favorite passages from my wine diary:

We Americans with our New World innocence and democratic sensibilities tend to think all wines are created equal and that differences in quality are simply a matter of individual taste.

The French with their aristocratic heritage, their experience and tradition approach wine from another point of view. Just as France had its kings, noblemen and commoners, French wine has its grands crûs, premiers curs, and there is even an official niche for the commoners, the vins de table.

Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull. People talk about the mystery of wine, yet most don't want anything to do with mystery. They want it all there in one sniff, one taste. If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover.

There is only one possible explanation for this mysterious transfer of aromatic quality from one type of vegetation to another [the taste of currants in a Gevrey-Chambertin wine]. Bees! The bees gather nectar from blossoms - in this case, wild-currant blossom - then they alight on the grape blossoms, their little legs fuzzy with pollen from the currants.
Quoting René Loyau.

`Wine is so very rich in nourishment. What I don't use for cooking I feed to my plants.' Her plants appear to be abnormally healthy.
Quoting Madame de Lacaussade.

The taste of the grape told them when to harvest. The taste of the wine told them when to bottle, what sort of oak to employ, the appropriate barrel size, how to prune the different grape varieties, and on and on and on. The traditions varied from village to village depending on differences of grape variety, soil, and microclimate. The traditions that were in place at the beginning of the twentieth century were the result of centuries of trial and error. If the taste of a wine indicated that a steep, stony piece of land produced better wine, then that was the land they worked, regardless of the labor involved. . . . Do not think for a moment that they were ignorant people who did not know better. They seem to have been instinctively directed toward quality. Only in this century have we seen the hard-earned knowledge of the ancients discarded, almost overnight, in the name of progress.

Beaujolais should not be a civilized society lady; it is the one-night stand of wine.

One's every word and gesture will be examined microscopically for the telling nuance. Even when a Burgundian asks with a warm smile, `How are you?', the antennae are out, the cerebral computer is plugged in, and even if you reply ` Fine,' your slightest inflection is noticed, inspected, measured, interpreted.

Chablis is so good with oysters
That I'm tempted to leave these cloisters
And find true love whe'ere I'm apt to.
Tenth century poetic fragment.

Real wine is more than an alcoholic beverage. When you taste one from a noble terroir that is well made, that is intact and alive, you think here is a gift of nature, the fruit of the vine eked out of our earth, ripened by our sun, fashioned by man.

Unlike music, literature or visual arts, a great wine does not require a creative genius. A farmer working his piece of earth can produce something inspiring and profound.

There is so much contained in a glass of good wine. It is a gift of nature that tastes of man's foibles, his sense of the beautiful, his idealism and virtuosity.

Kermit Lynch is an institution on the US wine scene, and his retail shop is a must visit for any serious wine lover. He made his reputation importing wonderful wines and in particular writing this often reviewed book. Rather than summarizing, or relating how much it's meant to my own education, let me quote a few of my favorite passages from my wine diary:

We Americans with our New World innocence and democratic sensibilities tend to think all wines are created equal and that differences in quality are simply a matter of individual taste.

The French with their aristocratic heritage, their experience and tradition approach wine from another point of view. Just as France had its kings, noblemen and commoners, French wine has its grands crûs, premiers curs, and there is even an official niche for the commoners, the vins de table.

Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull. People talk about the mystery of wine, yet most don't want anything to do with mystery. They want it all there in one sniff, one taste. If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover.

There is only one possible explanation for this mysterious transfer of aromatic quality from one type of vegetation to another [the taste of currants in a Gevrey-Chambertin wine]. Bees! The bees gather nectar from blossoms - in this case, wild-currant blossom - then they alight on the grape blossoms, their little legs fuzzy with pollen from the currants.
Quoting René Loyau.

`Wine is so very rich in nourishment. What I don't use for cooking I feed to my plants.' Her plants appear to be abnormally healthy.
Quoting Madame de Lacaussade.

The taste of the grape told them when to harvest. The taste of the wine told them when to bottle, what sort of oak to employ, the appropriate barrel size, how to prune the different grape varieties, and on and on and on. The traditions varied from village to village depending on differences of grape variety, soil, and microclimate. The traditions that were in place at the beginning of the twentieth century were the result of centuries of trial and error. If the taste of a wine indicated that a steep, stony piece of land produced better wine, then that was the land they worked, regardless of the labor involved. . . . Do not think for a moment that they were ignorant people who did not know better. They seem to have been instinctively directed toward quality. Only in this century have we seen the hard-earned knowledge of the ancients discarded, almost overnight, in the name of progress.

Beaujolais should not be a civilized society lady; it is the one-night stand of wine.

One's every word and gesture will be examined microscopically for the telling nuance. Even when a Burgundian asks with a warm smile, `How are you?', the antennae are out, the cerebral computer is plugged in, and even if you reply ` Fine,' your slightest inflection is noticed, inspected, measured, interpreted.

Chablis is so good with oysters
That I'm tempted to leave these cloisters
And find true love whe'ere I'm apt to.
Tenth century poetic fragment.

Real wine is more than an alcoholic beverage. When you taste one from a noble terroir that is well made, that is intact and alive, you think here is a gift of nature, the fruit of the vine eked out of our earth, ripened by our sun, fashioned by man.

Unlike music, literature or visual arts, a great wine does not require a creative genius. A farmer working his piece of earth can produce something inspiring and profound.

There is so much contained in a glass of good wine. It is a gift of nature that tastes of man's foibles, his sense of the beautiful, his idealism and virtuosity.

Kermit Lynch is an institution on the US wine scene, and his retail shop is a must visit for any serious wine lover. He made his reputation importing wonderful wines and in particular writing this often reviewed book. Rather than summarizing, or relating how much it's meant to my own education, let me quote a few of my favorite passages from my wine diary:

We Americans with our New World innocence and democratic sensibilities tend to think all wines are created equal and that differences in quality are simply a matter of individual taste.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

The French with their aristocratic heritage, their experience and tradition approach wine from another point of view. Just as France had its kings, noblemen and commoners, French wine has its grands crûs, premiers curs, and there is even an official niche for the commoners, the vins de table.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull. People talk about the mystery of wine, yet most don't want anything to do with mystery. They want it all there in one sniff, one taste. If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

There is only one possible explanation for this mysterious transfer of aromatic quality from one type of vegetation to another [the taste of currants in a Gevrey-Chambertin wine]. Bees! The bees gather nectar from blossoms - in this case, wild-currant blossom - then they alight on the grape blossoms, their little legs fuzzy with pollen from the currants.
Quoting René Loyau. Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

`Wine is so very rich in nourishment. What I don't use for cooking I feed to my plants.' Her plants appear to be abnormally healthy.
Quoting Madame de Lacaussade. Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

The taste of the grape told them when to harvest. The taste of the wine told them when to bottle, what sort of oak to employ, the appropriate barrel size, how to prune the different grape varieties, and on and on and on. The traditions varied from village to village depending on differences of grape variety, soil, and microclimate. The traditions that were in place at the beginning of the twentieth century were the result of centuries of trial and error. If the taste of a wine indicated that a steep, stony piece of land produced better wine, then that was the land they worked, regardless of the labor involved. . . . Do not think for a moment that they were ignorant people who did not know better. They seem to have been instinctively directed toward quality. Only in this century have we seen the hard-earned knowledge of the ancients discarded, almost overnight, in the name of progress.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

Beaujolais should not be a civilized society lady; it is the one-night stand of wine.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

One's every word and gesture will be examined microscopically for the telling nuance. Even when a Burgundian asks with a warm smile, `How are you?', the antennae are out, the cerebral computer is plugged in, and even if you reply ` Fine,' your slightest inflection is noticed, inspected, measured, interpreted.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

Chablis is so good with oysters
That I'm tempted to leave these cloisters
And find true love whe'ere I'm apt to.
Tenth century poetic fragment. Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

Real wine is more than an alcoholic beverage. When you taste one from a noble terroir that is well made, that is intact and alive, you think here is a gift of nature, the fruit of the vine eked out of our earth, ripened by our sun, fashioned by man.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

Unlike music, literature or visual arts, a great wine does not require a creative genius. A farmer working his piece of earth can produce something inspiring and profound.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.

There is so much contained in a glass of good wine. It is a gift of nature that tastes of man's foibles, his sense of the beautiful, his idealism and virtuosity.
Kermit Lynch, Adventures on the Wine Route, 1988.


Very highly recommended.

This is a lush, well-balanced and plain smart read.

I have to say the guy's got balls to describe both his wines and his winemakers in such candid, delicious detail. Photos included!

This book was written in 1988, and therein lies a problem. In general, the book is a charming personal memory of a wine merchant's buying trip in France. It shines most when the book discusses the people who grow wine, or at least in 1988, grew wine. At that time, the wine industry was undergoing basic changes, in the way vines were grown, tended, stored, bottled and shipped. Perhaps a person with extensive knowledge of wine would find the book an interesting snapshot of wine growing/making, but people with less knowledge of wine will not know how, or if, change continued. One of the reasons I bought the book was to provide a non-textbook source of information about wine for a friend who knows little about wine. This book assumes too much of its reader to be useful as a basic instructional tool for such a person.

I recently was able to visit France on business when I was exposed to that nation's greatest natural resource-it's wine . Upon my arrival home I sought knowledge on the whole French wine heritage thing and yearned to return and try more samples. Kermit's book is written as though you are in the back seat of his car or walking up a rocky slope behind him on the way to a vinter's lair. The personal anecdotes and descriptions of the individuals he encounters keeps the book interesting as you are also learning the complex industry of French wine making .Kermit's blue collar approach to taste- we are all unique and good is as good tastes(sorry for taking artistic liberties Kermit) makes novices such as myself feel somewhat at ease in the often elitest community of wine lovers.

If Kermit ever needs a travel partner, after reading his fun filled, tart commentary I would gladly volunteer to forgo the burden in the name of wine education or even foreign relations given the current state of affairs.Give me a call Mr. Lynch and we will open a bottle of Saint Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage and plan your next book.

Kermit Lynch brings some of France's greatest vintners to life with colorful portraits. His encounters are lively and well written. The crusade against over-processed wine was perhaps revolutionary in 1988 but seems a bit dated now ( not that there is not an abundance of over-processed wine now). Recommended for serious wine enthusiasts.

Kermit Lynch brings some of France's greatest vintners to life with colorful portraits. His encounters are lively and well written. The crusade against over-processed wine was perhaps revolutionary in 1988 but seems a bit dated now ( not that there is not an abundance of over-processed wine now). Recommended for serious wine enthusiasts.

It is so nice to find someone so down to earth, realistic and at the same time picky about what makes them happy in wine. He does not "score" wine, he tells you, in a beautiful manner why he likes the wines. How the back stories, mystery and people that work the land, are therefore shaped by it make wine enjoyable not an arbitrary number assigned by a certain person in Monkton, Maryland. The French attitude toward wine has morphed, even since the writing of this book, with the globalization of tastes propagated by scores and a general "sameness" with everything in our world. However living 20 minutes from Kermit Lynch's wine shop in Berkeley, I can promise you that he has not bent to any market trends, and after reading this book, perhaps neither will you.

It is so nice to find someone so down to earth, realistic and at the same time picky about what makes them happy in wine. He does not "score" wine, he tells you, in a beautiful manner why he likes the wines. How the back stories, mystery and people that work the land, are therefore shaped by it make wine enjoyable not an arbitrary number assigned by a certain person in Monkton, Maryland. The French attitude toward wine has morphed, even since the writing of this book, with the globalization of tastes propagated by scores and a general "sameness" with everything in our world. However living 20 minutes from Kermit Lynch's wine shop in Berkeley, I can promise you that he has not bent to any market trends, and after reading this book, perhaps neither will you.

This book by Kermit Lynch, shows that reading about wine is almost as nice as drinking a nice tasteful glass of wine! You will enjoy traveling with Kevin Lynch through France. Read about the hilarious stories and while reading you will feel like a wine-taster.

This book by Kermit Lynch, shows that reading about wine is almost as nice as drinking a nice tasteful glass of wine! You will enjoy traveling with Kevin Lynch through France. Read about the hilarious stories and while reading you will feel like a wine-taster.

This is an engaging and well-written book by a quirky and opinionated author whose love for wine and wine makers is infectious. Anyone who loves wine will enjoy this book enormously. Occasional preachy tone is forgivable!

This is an engaging and well-written book by a quirky and opinionated author whose love for wine and wine makers is infectious. Anyone who loves wine will enjoy this book enormously. Occasional preachy tone is forgivable!

Kermit Lynch is an importer of artisanally made wines. His book is both a diary of his search for wines of authentic character throughout France and a manifesto in defense of an ethic of winemaking that is falling out of fashion. The wines Lynch adores are not always the greatest wines in the world, but there is a certain idiosynchratic appeal to them. They are crafted according to a philosophy that abhors chemical or mechanical adulterants and emphasizes minimal human intervention during the wines' elevation in cellars. Consequently, when nature cooperates, they are expressive of the subtlest elements of their vineyards' terrain, and they taste best with the cuisine prepared where they are grown. But they are risky to make and must be sold in a marketplace that seldom rewards the effort.

Lynch's best chapters are his entries on Provence, the Rhone, and Chablis, which give readers a clear sense of what these wines ought to taste like, how the regions' winemaking traditions have evolved over time, and what differentiates extraordinary examples from underachievers. Each chapter focuses on a handful of producers recalcitrant to change with whom Lynch has longstanding relationships. His analysis, with winemaking scion Gerard Chave, of the component parts of the legendary J. L. Chave Hermitage (one of the best wines in the world) might be the most vivid deconstruction of a taste ever put into words. The chapter on Provence is one of Lynch's more saccharine entries -- his ties to the family behind Bandol's Domaine Tempier are personal, and Lynch introduced and evangelized this hitherto obscure wine to American markets -- but it makes an eloquent case in favor of the rustic and less glamorous country wines of France. True to Lynch's evident loyalties, then, the chapter on the gold standard of French wine, Bordeaux, is among the weakest in the book, focusing on a small producer in Graves unrepresentative of the sprawling aristocratic estates that characterize the region. It tells a charming story, but it is only a footnote to the story of Bordeaux.

Lynch, to his credit, seldom romanticizes his work and does not disguise that he is a businessman who seeks these wines because he loves them but also because it is his trade. Because he has carved out for himself a small market for specialties in a large industry increasingly tending towards uniformity, his interests differ from most importers', inspiring him to remark that he sometimes feels more like a historical preservationist than a winebuyer. Wherever Lynch travels he is as likely to be disillusioned by a once-illustrious producer succumbing to cheap shortcuts as he is to find a truly special product he can sell with a clean conscience to customers who trust his name as a talisman of authenticity. He betrays his commercial interests somewhat by drafting some passages almost as advertisements for his wines, most of which don't need it, and also by repeatedly condemning the practice among American and English reviewers of awarding ratings to wines and vintage years on a numerical scale. In principle, this practice should not offend anyone capable of articulating the gradations of his preferences, but merchants with inventories to sell resent it deeply when a powerful critic advises consumers to avoid a thin vintage. Some such critics have done as much as Lynch to lead consumers to special wines, so I won't concede the principle. But I will drink any of Lynch's wines whenever the opportunity arises, and readers inclined to do the same will find in this book the context that renders them all 100-point experiences.

This is an older book now (1987), but it is timeless in its content and an important read for anyone who wants to understand more about the wines of France and the story behind them.

Wine is an agricultural product, produced by farmers. There is not a lot of glamor in the production of wine - it is hard work and full of frustration, as the producers have to deal with a variety of uncontrollable factors - weather, unreasonable reviewers, fickle consumers, etc.

In Adventures... Kermit Lynch gives us a highly personal view of the lives of some of the more colorful wine characters he has come to know in his annual wine-buying travels to France. These profiles are informative and entertaining and provide a backdrop to a better understanding and appreciation of wine.

The book travels through the major wine-producing regions of France and peppered throughout each chapter are Kermit's views on many aspects of wine production, distribution and marketing. Reading this book in the early 21st century one understands the profound effect this important wine merchant has had on the business of wine, over the past 15 years.

I have read this book twice and will re-read it everytime I travel to France in the future - both to help me remember which vineyards to seek out, but also as a reminder of how to engage with the vignerons I meet - every vigneron has a story - they are all different and all are worth listening to.

Kermit introduces us to several of these stories and I hope some day he writes a sequel. In the meantime, this is one of my favourite all-time reads.

I picked up Adventures on the Wine Route from my book shelf again tonight after about a year. You know, it's not one of my favorite wine books. It's one of my favorite books. He has a very simple but effective formula of a strong engaging, passionate voice, he's a consummate storyteller, and you know what? He can write.
That's what it comes down to. Can you tell a story? Can you write dialogue so the tempo and phrasing are true to life, as well as the words. Can you describe a man, a scene, a frustration? Can you make your reader feel it? Just in setting down a simple anecdote, Lynch has an elegantly subtle touch, no less than some of the wines he praises.

This book shone a dazzling light on the world of wine for me almost nine years ago and is far and away the best wine book ever. (...) Remember that the book was written before "natural winemaking" was in vogue and what appears as sanctimony now was a heartfelt plea back in the day.

This book offers a comprehensive picture of all of the major wine-growing regions in France including broad notes on differences in the wines and the winemaking methods. In each region, it includes interesting anecdotes on Lynch's own adventures in finding unique wines and the winemakers he comes in contact with. Lynch is most passionate about the wines of Burgundy -- and least interested in Bordeaux -- as much because of his enjoyment of the wines themselves as to the different natures of the wine trade in those regions.

Some of the other reviews note a "pedantic and sanctimonious" manner from Lynch's writing. There is something to this perception as Lynch does have a tendency to hammer his points home again and again. Nonetheless, Lynch is so passionate about what he likes and the characteristics of winemakers that he likes to work with, that you can almost overcome it. (Nonetheless, this is why I dropped one * from my rating.)

For what it is worth, I read this book about the same time as I read Patrick Mathews book on natural winemaking. Interestingly, they form a matched pair as both books share a passion for wines made, as much as possible, through traditional methods without extra intervention.

I participate in wine tastings led by an extremely informative, (but very opinionated) wine seller for Kermit Lynch. Based on our conversations regarding French wine, and such books as the Peter Mayle "Provence" series, he recommended that I pick this up. While the topic(s) is interesting, I found sustaining interest in finishing this book tough going.

Lynch tells the reader a great deal about the wine industry in general, and the various wine making regions of France in particular. He has clearly loved his experiences learning about France and the French wine industry and relates some interesting anecdotes. However, he is an unabased Francophile and the book shows little objectivity. While one's knowledge of French wine will be greatly enhanced, Lynch is self congratulatory and his ego is somewhat overpowering. He lectures his readers in an pedantic fashion, in a self conscious effort at profundity. The writing is prolix and the author is dogmatic, extremely judgmental, and somewhat sanctimonious. One gets the distinct impression that he views those who disagree with him as committed to interventionist wine making, environmental devastation, and bad taste. Even those sections that aren't opinionated would be better stated more directly and less of an effort to exercise the language.

The book will provide you with a broad knowledge of French wine, and you'll learn a good deal about French geography. However, it is not a light or fun read, and it is a far from objective study.

The most enjoyable book on wine I know, and one of the few that provides a warm human side to wine. Kermit Lynch describes 20 years of voyages through France looking for wine to import for his store in Berkeley, CA and his experiences along the way. The stories range from unbelievably crazy, to frustratingly French, to warm and touching. Through all these experiences, Kermit Lynch succeeds in conveying the French culture and beauty of French wines and the people who make them. Kermit is one of the few Americans that seem to understand French wine and succeeds in conveying these differences and how to appreciate them. If planning a trip to France for wine tasting, this book is worth a 1000 guides who try to rate the wines on some scale of 5 stars or 100 points. It is not guide, but it offers understanding and human warmth that will enhance the enjoyment of French wines and French wineries.

Besides being funny, touching and revealing, I find this book to be essential for any person really interested in wines. Furthermore, I think that _every_ wine importer must read it, and I was dismayed to find out that none of the most important merchants, in my country, have read it. This book talks about what wine really is (or should be). I just wanted to know what happened to the author and his producers later on, since this book was written in 1985.