Wine author to speak about his book at events in Northern California in July

Michael Sinowitz, author of “Finding Meaning In Wine: A US Blend”

Greencastle, Indiana, July 2024 — Michael Sinowitz, author of Finding Meaning in Wine: A US Blendwhich was released last August, will hold three meet-the-author events in Napa and Sonoma in mid-July.

The book examines controversies in American wine culture and how these controversies relate to and illuminate current academic and cultural debates about the environment and interpretation. Join us for an author conversation with Michael Sinowitz, who will discuss themes from his new book. Finding meaning in wine. The book explores the debates about wine evaluation and the problems associated with numerical scoring as well as evaluative tasting notes, the question of whether winemakers can be artists, the discourse in wine culture about natural wine and biodynamic farming, and the ways in which people judge what makes a wine great. The program is free and wine is available for a small donation.

July 14, 3:00-4:30 p.m., Sonoma County Wine Library Association, 139 Piper Street, Healdsburg (95448). The program is free and wine from Peterson Winery is available for a small donation.

July 16, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah, Sonoma Plaza Tasting Room, 27 East Napa Street, Suite E, Sonoma (95476). Tickets are $15 (includes a glass of wine) and can be purchased on Tock. Founder/winemaker Hardy Wallace, who is featured in the book, will introduce Prof. Sinowitz and lead a Q&A about the book.

July 17, 6:00-7:00 p.m., Napa Bookmine, 1625 2nd Street, Napa (94559). The event is free, but advance registration is requested. A Napa Bookmine moderator will introduce Prof. Sinowitz, who will then speak about the book and answer questions.

Michael Sinowitz is a professor in the English Department at DePauw University in Indiana. His previous publications include Sex, drugs and bodies in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey Maturin novels (2014) and essays on Graham Greene, Angela Carter, Thomas Berger, and Elmore Leonard. He researched this book over the past 7 years and spoke with many luminaries in the wine world. Michael Sinowitz discovered his passion for wine while in graduate school in Miami studying literary theory and modernist literature and spending breaks hanging out at a local wine shop hoping for free samples and wine knowledge. This interest has blossomed into a lifelong love, further developed in many ways by frequent trips to California wine country, one of his favorite places. He lives in Greencastle, Indiana with his wife, son, two cats, and many bottles of wine. More about Michael here.