"Aaahhh ... ! Here are all the joys of being young and exuberant and passionate and in love with women, and life, and better yet ... in Barolo. 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 Charlie Trotter "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 Gale Gand "Suddenly you are in Italy, suddenly you are in love, suddenly you are picking the delicate Nebbiolo grape under a burning sun-and in a moment Matthew Gavin Frank has captured your unwavering attention, with a firm grasp that continues for all three hundred pages of this delightful and incisive book."-Lee Gutkind, editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine and author of Almost Human: Making Robots Think Lee Gutkind "A misfit in America, an unhappy cook in a series of second-rate restaurants, Frank seizes a chance to escape into a better world. We never learn how he first met Rafaella, or convinced her to let him pitch a tent behind Il Gioco dell'Oca, her bed-and-breakfast near Barolo. But there he is, struggling with minimal Italian, working the grape harvest with Luciano Sandrone, plunging headfirst into a world of mysterious, overwhelming sensations."-Thomas Matthews, Wine Spectator -- Thomas Matthews Wine Spectator "One swig of this book, and you're hooked."-Napaman.com Napaman.com "This is pleasure not just in the subject of Barolo, but also in Frank's writing. A master of the unexpected metaphor, Frank commands prose that is lively and original; he never resorts to cliche."-Amy Sherman, Gastronomica -- Amy Sherman Gastronomica