The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace is the inspiration for this little blog.  The book unravels the mystery of the “world’s most expensive bottle of wine.” The central players include members of the Forbes family, wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, and Michael Broadbent, the Christie’s auctioneer who presided over the sale.  Wallace describes Broadbent’s knack for creating vivid, often sensual, phrases to characterize wines, describing one as “black as Egypt’s night” and another reminiscent of “chocolate and school girls’ uniforms.”  By the time of the record-setting auction in 1985, Broadbent had tasting notes on over 40,000 wines.

Now, I have only the most rudimentary appreciation of wine.  My husband and I mastered enough tasting lingo so that we wouldn’t look like absolute oafs on our honeymoon to Sonoma Valley, CA.  I enjoy reds, mainly Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots.  We open an inexpensive bottle for dinner on most nights.  I’m sure true wine aficionados would be horrified by our preference for all those bottles with cute animals on the labels.  However, passion, in all its many variations, intrigues me.  While reading, I had to stop and ponder the idea of a man dedicated enough to wine to systematically take note of all 40,000 bottles he’s tasted over his professional career.

Broadbent’s dedication got me thinking.  Was there anything that I love enough to analyze 40,000 variations? Most of my friends tease me for always having some new hobby, be it knitting or scrap booking or gardening or cooking.  Whatever it is, I’ll throw myself in headfirst for about six months.  Each time, I’ll actually trick myself into thinking that this new thing will really stick, but our basement is full of old yarn, craft paper, canning supplies, and seed packets that tell the truth.  I love trying new things, but I’m not serious enough to dedicate myself solely to any one thing.

However, I realized that there has been one constant throughout my life: books. From my first book, Little Bunny Follows His Nose, through childhood classics, through lots of trashy teenage novels like Flowers in the Attic, through every possible variation of chic lit, books have always been a part of my life.  I can’t claim to have read 40,000, but I wonder what would happen if I did keep a few notes on each and every book that I read.  I think it would be a wonderful chronicle of my life’s journey.

So, I begin.  I plan to do some extensive reviews here, but, mostly, I just plan to track every book I read with at least a few impressions, ‘tasting notes’ to give my impression of each book.  If you’ve landed here, welcome!  I hope you chime in with your own notes and suggestions.  I always love a new idea for a good book to read!