Wine Book Club: Gallo Be Thy Name

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jswordy

jswordy

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I am grateful I stumbled across this thread - http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f19/weekend-38214/
- because it motivated me to order all the books mentioned there from Abe Books, an online used bookseller.

Sunday, I read the entire "Gallo Be Thy Name" book. It is fascinating. Imagine my delight when my used book arrived and it was a library book stamped Fresno Library and San Joaquin Library System! The Fresno area is where the Gallos got their start! And the book was in excellent condition.

The book lays bare the cut-throat drive, hard work and ruthlessness it took to make the Gallo family the kings of winemakers. The underlying tension of a family secret long held draws the whole story together. At times the prose gets a bit formulaic, but overall it's a compelling work. I would not have read it all in one day if it weren't pretty riveting.

Get yours at an online used bookseller. I paid $3 with shipping included for this hardback and got the delight of its place of origin at no extra charge. Check the link for more titles.

Anyone who has other wine-related books to recommend, please do so! We'll have a Wine Book Club!
 
Yup, It is a great read.

"Gallo be thy name" is the unauthorized biography. There is another book (not so easy to find) that is the authorized biography. It to is a good read and describes things from the gallo brothers point of view.

Now you gotta read the house of mondavi. This one is even better!
 
I have recently purchased "Harvests of Joy" by Robert Mondavi used but looks new and It's a signed copy:D
 
JohnT said:
Yup, It is a great read.

"Gallo be thy name" is the unauthorized biography. There is another book (not so easy to find) that is the authorized biography. It to is a good read and describes things from the gallo brothers point of view.

Now you gotta read the house of mondavi. This one is even better!
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I have that book and also The Billionaire's Vinegar, John.

I realize the Gallo book was "unauthorized." I can't recall anytime I have ever read an "authorized" biography. Too much gloss on those for my tastes, if you get my drift.
 
jswordy said:
I have that book and also The Billionaire's Vinegar, John.

I realize the Gallo book was "unauthorized." I can't recall anytime I have ever read an "authorized" biography. Too much gloss on those for my tastes, if you get my drift.
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LOL, I get you. Not so much of a biography as an advertisement.

I read the billionares vinegar several years back. The funniest part was that Ted was real mad at his son for spending that much money. Gee, it is so unfair how parents can be sometimes (LOL).

Another book to read is "the Wild Vine". It is all about the Nortan Grape. A little technical, but still a great read.

Also "Wine & War". it is all about the winemakers during WWII. Also, the capture of the wine cellar in Burchasgarden (sic).
 
I found Gallo Be Thy Name on Amazon but it looks like two different books with the same auther comes up.
 
Julie: The author is Jerome Tuccille. You are looking at the same book. One at top is the print and Kindle version; the other is a Kindle electronic file version only.

The Amazon new price is not bad, considering that since my purchase all the used copies that were low priced seem to have been bought up off Abe Books site.

John: Just now cracking the cover on the Billionaire's Vinegar, so don't be a spoiler! :) Started it last night.
 
The House of Mondavi & The Billionaire's Vinegar were both good reads.. I still need to pick up Wine & War, and Gallo Be Thy Name - things to look forward to
 
jswordy said:
Julie: The author is Jerome Tuccille. You are looking at the same book. One at top is the print and Kindle version; the other is a Kindle electronic file version only.

The Amazon new price is not bad, considering that since my purchase all the used copies that were low priced seem to have been bought up off Abe Books site.

John: Just now cracking the cover on the Billionaire's Vinegar, so don't be a spoiler! :) Started it last night.
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OK, Sorry. I assumed that you already read it.

If you found "Gallo be thy name" a quick read, then Billionare's Vinevar will be even more so!
 
JohnT said:
OK, Sorry. I assumed that you already read it.

If you found "Gallo be thy name" a quick read, then Billionare's Vinevar will be even more so!
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Not done reading it yet, but I am already disgusted by the '70s practice of spitting out 1700s and 1800s vintages at tastings. You spit the toils of dead men on the ground? That reminds me why I am not a wine snob. Very well written book.
 
jswordy said:
Not done reading it yet, but I am already disgusted by the '70s practice of spitting out 1700s and 1800s vintages at tastings. You spit the toils of dead men on the ground? That reminds me why I am not a wine snob. Very well written book.
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Even a wine snob wouldn't to that JS.:dg
 
Well they did. These were supposedly the most highly respected vinophiles in the world at that time. Meanwhile, all I am thinking is what an honor it would have been to have a 200+ year old wine inside my body that was made by the hand of some long-dead vintner. Not all the bottles were good, and I'd spit out vinegar, but the good stuff? Never!
 
Found it on Ebay for $6.00, delivered. Gallo produced the first wine I ever enjoyed, Boones' Farm Apple. It acted as a calming effect after ingesting other chemicals. It was 55 cents a bottle at the time.

Joe
 
moesagoodboy said:
Found it on Ebay for $6.00, delivered. Gallo produced the first wine I ever enjoyed, Boones' Farm Apple. It acted as a calming effect after ingesting other chemicals. It was 55 cents a bottle at the time.

Joe
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For us it was the strawberry.
and it also mixed well with Jack Daniels... AH... Youth!
 
This is just a second thumbs up for The Wild Vine. It was neat because we are familiar with lots of the wineries in the book here in MO.
I also recently enjoyed The Billionaire's Vinegar, so I may as well give that a second thumbs up as well.
 
Right now I'm reading Kevin Zraly's Complete Wine Course 2012 edition. It's a good read for beginners like me.

This is a little off topic, but I recently watched Bottle Shock on Netflix. Good movie about the early days of Napa Valley and the French blind wine tasting. Based on a true story. I recommend it.
 
Two big thumbs up for The Wild Vine! Just finished it last night.

He mentions so many other books in it, there's a lifetime of reading suggestions.

My first Norton will be made this year, so it was a timely read.
 
Another good on wine that I really enjoyed was the Judgment of Paris, the story of the Paris tasting of 1976. Amazon link.
 
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