Grape Explications!
/Since I moved to Oregon wine country, Neal Hulkower has been a fast friend and valued writing colleague. I have been honored to join him in writing for the Oregon Wine Press and we share a passion for the work of AHIVOY, an educational non-profit working to better the lives of the state’s Latino vineyard workers. So it was my delight to read and review Neal’s first book. The online version can be found here.
Wine rewards the curious, inviting exploration beyond the bottle. Whether rumbling down country roads to discover rural tasting rooms, attending grand wine events, sojourning through renowned vineyard regions, or meeting the passionate vintners behind each creation, a restless palate opens a path to unexpected discoveries.
Author Neal Hulkower has traveled that route for a lifetime, and his incisive and intelligent observations along the way are generously shared in his new book, “Grape Explications!” Although widely published elsewhere, the McMinnville resident’s byline is familiar to Oregon Wine Press readers through dozens of articles that have appeared in these pages.
Hulkower applied his analytical mind to wine writing after a peripatetic career that led him from university teaching to rocket science to software startups. He has lived in 11 states and traveled through wine regions worldwide. The Willamette Valley is now his chosen and beloved home, as this book clearly shows.
“Grape Explications!” is an anthology of articles that have appeared over the past decade and a half in OWP, the Journal of Wine Research, the Journal of Wine Economics, and the American Wine Society Wine Journal, as well as on various websites such as wine-searcher.com and trinkmag.com. The book also includes several items that are published for the first time.
The essays are arranged into eight sections based on topic or genre. They begin with a reflection on Hulkower's early experiences with wine during his student days, when he earned degrees in astronomy and applied mathematics. Sections that include reports from meetings of the American Association of Wine Economists and Oregon’s International Pinot Noir Celebrations are followed by book reviews and insights on his role as a Field Coordinator for the Slow Wine Guide USA. Three substantial sections are dedicated to the Willamette Valley, and a charming closing section features vinous miscellany.
Hulkower takes words seriously, especially those used to describe wine (“minerality,” “masculine,” “feminine,” “elegant,” and “sexy” come up more than once). While he avoids writing tasting notes, his recollections of the wines he has tasted are models of concision.
Given his academic background, his interest in the numerical scoring of wines in competitions is unsurprising. “Borda is Better” lays out a rating system he believes best reflects judges' preferences. Among his earliest wine-related writings, this topic connects Hulkower’s previous endeavors with wine journalism.
The baker’s dozen of book reviews curated by Hulkower will have wine lovers running to the bookstore or library. Another reflection of the author’s boundless interests, the books range from a technical tome exploring the brain science of wine tasting and one digging into vineyard geology to a memoir of America’s youngest sommelier. Several books of particular interest to Oregon wine fans are included (Katherine Cole’s “Voodoo Vintners,” Perry and Vincent’s “Winemakers of the Willamette Valley,” Warncke’s “Oregon Wine Pioneers,” and Anna Maria Ponzi’s “Pinot Girl.”) As he discusses the books, Hulkower characteristically shares his own assessments, which are usually generous. Introducing a review that is decidedly more mixed, he quips, “I’ve adopted a modified version of advice my parents gave me: If you can’t say anything nice, at least write it down.”
Neal hulkower
As a chronicle of Oregon wine history, Part IV, “Willamette Valley Happenings,” Part V, “Personalities,” and Part VI, “AHIVOY,” constitute the volume’s most valuable content. The renaissance of Chardonnay and the growing interest in whole-cluster fermentation are documented alongside accounts of various industry events, new directions, and initiatives. Chief among these is the non-profit education program for vineyard stewards, Asociación Hispana de la Industria del Vino en Oregón y Comunidad (Hispanic Association of the Wine Industry in Oregon), AHIVOY, on whose board Hulkower served during its formative years. He even covers a short-lived “Weed and Wine Tour,” spawned by the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state.
“Grape Explications!” concludes with a section that shares the title of the book and presents nine essays veering from the general (“The Value of Elegance”) to the personal (“Requiem for My First Wine Friend”) to the borderline comical (“Grape Expectorations: Confessions of a Novice Spitter”). Biographical tidbits, strongly-held opinions, and plenty of wit and wisdom can be found here. For readers still uncertain about Hulkower’s views, a brief and acerbic “Devil’s Wine Glossary” follows.
Reading this book in order, one encounters a fair amount of repetitive material, as the articles were originally intended to stand alone. In the Preface, Hulkower encourages us to “Feel free to jump around and sample the essays in whatever order you fancy.” That may be the best way to enjoy this book. The collection aims to engage the general reader while preserving what might otherwise be fleeting magazine writing. “If [the essays] amuse, entertain, educate, encourage you to try a new bottle, or open a new book, I will have succeeded,” continues the Preface. A comprehensive index and a chronology of the original publication dates aid those researching specific topics.
A winemaker recently told me she believes the frequently used term “terroir” extends even to those of us who live and write among the vines. As such, “Grape Explications!” adds a significant layer to the ‘sedimentary soil’ of Oregon wine journalism. It captures the experiences and impressions of an observant writer documenting the past 15 years of the state’s wine industry against the broader backdrop of his lifelong, international love of the grape. As one of Hulkower’s fellow contributors to these pages, I feel humbled by the breadth and clarity of his writing here. It is a valuable addition to the region’s growing literature and offers something enticing to any reader.
