We Drink Up with Wine Expert Alice Feiring

By Reena Jana
November 14, 2011

Alice Feiring If, like us, you count down the hours to your glass of wine at happy hour, yet constantly order Pinot Grigio simply because its the only thing you know, you could benefit from a bit of education in the world of viticulture.

left: Alice Feiring (Photo by Andrew French)

We recommend you start with the honest and exhilarating writing of Alice Feiring. A winner of a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award (in 2002) for her wine journalism, Feiring is the author of a new book on vineyards and vintners that specialize in natural wines—wines created without the additives and chemicals she says are so common in the world of wine today. Titled Naked Wine: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally (Da Capo Press), the book was praised by New York Times' wine critic Eric Asimov, who wrote "if you are at all curious about natural wines, drink this book in. It will make you thirsty and point you in the right direction."

This fall, Feiring was honored with a Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Award, for which she was recognized as Online Wine Writer of the Year for her witty blog, The Feiring Line. On the site, Feiring offers lively, opinionated reviews of wines, of course, as well as restaurants. And then there are the accounts of life as a globe-trotting wine writer, filled with details as colorful as a glass of sparkling Burgundy. These range from the story of how she recommended a bottle of Selosse Champagne to a fellow shopper at Manhattan's Astor Wines who name-dropped that he needed to find a hostess gift for Bjork's New Year's Eve party, to a recent trip to the nation of Georgia to give a talk at a 6th century monastery.

Alice Feiring

Naked Wine, the latest book by wine expert Alice Feiring

The Inside Source: What new wine discovery has surprised you recently—something from a region you've never expected could produce such a startling wine, a new blend, etc.?

Alice Feiring: I just came back from [the nation of] Georgia, and I was absolutely stunned by it. [It is] just as exotic as Fes but quite different as it is 85 percent Christian, and as a result has a strong winemaking tradition that is 8000 years old. The best of these wines are made almost the same way as back then—buried in these large amphorae, called Qvevri. The wine is made simply, with little intervention, fascinating grape varietals... The wines are fresh, invigorating, complex and just-knock-them-back thirst-quenching.

The Inside Source: Do you have any advice on wine glasses—are the rules for serving wine really important to follow?

Alice Feiring: My current favorite are Zalto. I love them. They're made in Austria and are lead-free. Holding one is like holding a fine violin bow. The lip is very thin, so the act of drinking out of them is sensual, with little interference from the glass in the drinking process. This all might be very geeky, but the longer I drink the more I notice that the right glass does enhance drinking pleasure. Yet I certainly don't believe you need a different glass for every different kind of wine. The other night I discovered a plastic glass that is great for cocktail parties or picnics. They're called Govino Go Anywhere Glasses. It's got a thin lip and a 'is it glass or plastic?' feel. They could work really well for a crowd and are durable enough to wash and re-use. As far as Rules? I think there is one rule: Drink the wines you love the way you want to drink them.

The Inside Source: Are there any particular types of wine that are most appropriate for a hearty fall dinner? Or is it fun to mix things up and serve, say, a Chardonnay no matter what the weather?

Alice Feiring: When it turns cold, I think of cashmere and red wine, as they are unavoidable! For example, Southern Rhones and big wines from Bandol are just too big for me in the summer, but yesterday at a tasting, on a cool [fall] day, they were just right. The 2004 Bastide Blanche Bandol was delicious! Big reds make you feel cozy.

So it's about mood, rather than what is appropriate. But here again there are no rules; I start a meal with white or bubbly in the winter just as I do in the summer.

The Inside Source: On your blog you state that you're hunting for the Chaucers and Edith Whartons and Philip Roths of wine... Do you collect vintage editions of these authors? Can you also say that you've found their equivalents in wine?

Alice Feiring: If you have vintage editions of these authors, please send gifts! Actually, I have some first editions of Wharton, but that's it. I regift so many copies of Roth and Wharton, certain books in particular, I always seem to have several editions around the house to give out. But alas, most are paperback.

I have found their equivalents [in wine], because I have found wines with revolutionary thought, and wines that tell stories that are subversive and extremely surprising.

The Inside Source: You write a lot about travel, and your work must take you all over the world. Is there any sort of travel tip you can offer in terms of bringing wine back from a trip?

Alice Feiring: I'm addicted to carry-on. When I come home or arrive, the last thing I want to do is wait for my bag to come off of the baggage claim. Unless a wine is very rare and I'll never see it again, I don't carry. However, when I have had to pack them up, I get bubble wrap, and wrap those bottles in my sweaters, I've never broken a bottle yet.

Here's a list of must-have books, wine, travel items, and glasses based on Feiring's recommendations and writings—all available on eBay.

Edith Wharton First Edition

(buy it now price $200)

Feiring, who herself collects Edith Wharton first editions often gives books by writers she admires, such as Wharton and Roth.
American Pastoral by Philip Roth (first edition)

(buy it now price, $32 )

On her Feiring, she writes that she's constantly seeking the wine equivalents of writers such as Roth, who make people "think, laugh and feel."
Govino Wineglasses

(buy it now price, $22.95)

Whether you're serving a fine vintage wine or a spunky new discovery, these elegant-looking plastic wine glasses are ideal for parties or outdoor meals, says Feiring. They're designed without spindly stems that can break easily, and they're virtually shatterproof, yet they don't lack for style.
Travelpro Carry-On

(buy it now price, $99.99)

Feiring's wine writing takes her around the world. She prefers to travel lightly and carries only the rarest of wines back home with her.
Bubble Wrap

(buy it now price, $19.99)

When she does bring wine back from her travels, Feiring wraps bottles in bubble wrap, then in her packed sweaters, before tucking them in her carry-on bag.
Rhone Wine

(buy it now price, $165)

For fall meals, Feiring suggests serving red wine from the Rhone Valley region in France. In the heat of summer, their flavors can be intense, but as the weather cools, their rich flavors can "make you feel cozy."
Naked Wine by Alice Feiring

(buy it now price, $19.92)

Feiring's new book, about the makers of and philosophies behind organic wine, has been getting very positive reviews. The New York Times said to "drink this book in."