Barolo
After a childhood of microwaved meat and saturated fat, Matthew Gavin Frank got serious about food. His “research” ultimately led him to Barolo, Italy (pop. 646), where, living out of a tent in the garden of a local farmhouse, he resolved to learn about Italian food from the ground up. "Barolo" is Frank’s account of those six months.
At once an intimate travelogue and a memoir of a culinary education, the book details the adventures of a not-so-innocent abroad in Barolo, a region known for its food and wine (also called Barolo). Upon arrival, Frank began picking wine grapes for famed vintner Luciano Sandrone. He tells how, between lessons in the art of the grape harvest, he discovered, explored and savored the gustatory riches of Piedmontese Italy. Along the way we meet the region’s families and the many eccentric vintners, butchers, bakers and restaurateurs who call Barolo home. Rich with details of real Italian small-town life, local foodstuffs, strange markets and a circuslike atmosphere, Frank’s story also offers a wealth of historical and culinary information, moments of flamboyance and musings on foreign travel (and its many alien seductions), all filtered through food and wine.
Bio
Matthew Gavin Frank earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Arizona State University in 2006.
Praise for this book
If you love red wine, you’ll love this book. And it’s just as hard to put down this book as it is a glass of good red. This irresistible story takes you to the real Italy and its rich fragrant wine region where Barolo is made. I want to live in this book forever.
Gale Gand Executive pastry chef and partner of Tru in Chicago and host of the Food Network’s "Sweet Dreams"
This remarkable and enchanting tale makes me want to set the clock back many years and to book passage to Italy and to the sips of the world’s greatest wine, and to be inspired by all the things that make life such a wonderful journey! Kudos to Matthew Gavin Frank for reminding us what really makes life worth living!
Charlie Trotter Chef, author and host of PBS’s "Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter"
Date published
Publisher
University of Nebraska Press ISBN
978-0803226746 Genres
College or unit