Chateau Monty: A Corking Wine Adventure

by Monty Waldin

Top wine critic and author, Monty Waldin, has decided to put his money where his opinionated mouth is and pack it all in to make wine biodynamically in rural France.He has just over a year to turn 4 hectares into top selling organic wine. Renovating an old cabin on his vineyard so he can babysit his vines 24/7, his only company will be his donkey and occasionally his high maintenance girlfriend Silvana when she jets in from Italy.Regarded by peers as a bit loopy because of his views about Biodynamics, and even as the enfant terrible of the wine world (he’s upset the establishment for his harsh criticisms of the wine industry), Monty’s nonetheless forged a successful career and written several award-winning books … But now he’s abandoning life behind the laptop for a new one making his own wine in the French Pyrenees.For a sneak preview of Chateau Monty go to Channel4.com.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Sam Romilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book to read if you are interested in wine making and the some of the principles of biodynamics. Otherwise it will not have much to keep you interested. Monty comes across as a very nice idealistic chap. He clearly believes in biodynamics which does sound a bit like homeopathy for plants. However, he is certainly correct that there is a difference between real wine and industrialised wine and gives interesting background on this theme. There is a lot of repetition in the text around biodynamics but this I found quite useful.

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost unreadable thanks mainly to cringe-worthy editing. Which is a shame as the experience & biodynamic principles espoused were quite interesting. Couldn't finish it.