In the course of these hilarious 245 pages, you also learn a great deal about Arnold and his twenty-something, slightly slacker-esque, and very male way of viewing the world. For instance, when discussing his relationship with a French girlfriend, he writes, "I'm afraid this isn't the part where I tell you that she took me back to France and taught me everything there is to know about Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne. She had so little interest in food and wine - plus she didn't smoke and she shaved her armpits - that they must have kicked her out of France for not being French enough."
First Big Crush is a highly entertaining but solid primer about the wine making process, told from the vantage point of a likable and very direct narrator. If you've ever wondered how wines are judged in competition, or what factors influence the pricing of wine, you'll see the process through Arnold's eyes. And if you ever fantasized about what it is like to work the harvest but didn't want to get wet and dirty, you can get the vicarious experience right here.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net , which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and to Boston.com. Nice work!