Fear & loathing in the world's vineyards

When the news about wine seems to consist only of multi-national corporate mergers and acquisitions, it's a good time to pick up a new book by famed illustrator and wine aficionado Ralph Steadman, Untrodden Grapes. Best known for illustrating Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Steadman revels in the unusual and obscure. His illustrations range from dramatic to bizarre, with signature splotches of ink dripping across the pages. Steadman's knowledgeable wine prose is tame by comparison. Still the British author delves into memorable details of place and personality that many wine writers don’t even notice on their way to the PR luncheon. This volume takes Steadman from Chile to South Africa to Spain and Champagne, with a 24-page stop in California, where he profiles maverick winemakers in Marin and Santa Cruz, illustrates wild shore birds as if they were contraptions of the industrial revolution and bores through the sometimes thick layer of branding and hype that can smother wine. (Untrodden Grapes, by Ralph Steadman; Harcourt, 260 pages, $35.) – J.G.
February 7, 2006