Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Louisa Thomas Hargrave.
The Vineyard: The Pleasures and Perils of Creating an American Family Winery.
New York: Viking, 2003.
cloth, 254 p., ISBN 0-670-03221-2, $24.95.

Growing vinifera grapes under the best of circumstances is no easy task. That the author and her husband, with no prior wine-making experience, were able to pull this off in an area where wine grapes had never been grown before (in a Long Island potato field no less!) is the story in this book. Think of it as a biography, but a biography of a vineyard, which includes the story of the young couple who struggles to make it a going concern. You suffer their trials and tribulations as they learn the business of growing grapes and making wine, until, in the end, they achieve success.

The author writes warmly about her family, and her experiences in running a vineyard are described with humor and candor. This book provides a hard-headed look at the work that goes into a winery, stripping away much of the romance associated with winemaking. It's an interesting read for a wine buff.

— Jim Kemper, volunteer and master gardener, Plant Information Office, Chicago Botanic Garden.