Author: Eric Arnold, News Editor, Wine Spectator Magazine
In First Big Crush, Eric Arnold combines a nine-year-old’s disgust for females with the sex drive of an orangutan and the intellect of a potentially brilliant and funny journalist, in a raunchy, high energy adventure in New Zealand wine country.
Arnold hires on as a crush intern at Allan Scott Wines & Estates in Marlborough, New Zealand. Throughout his experience Arnold reports on the inner workings of an internationally distributed winery. Arnold’s journey is arranged more by topic than as a journal, and his story is a progression told in three stages: harvest, winemaking, and then the vineyard. His personal journey also takes him from buoyant, obnoxious, clueless crush help to a more settled and professional outlook. Although Arnold uses his innocent curiosity as a springboard to explain the issues of crush and harvest, he never dumbs down the material, and manages to convey a lot of information and insight in few words, seriously peppered with collegiate language, colorful characters, and hilarious anecdotes.
Being myself a veteran of having to endure crush interns, I am familiar with the “winemaker’s buddy.” Generally they suck as interns, showing up to run the equipment or drive the forklift, and then disappearing as soon as it gets cold, dark and wet and it’s time to clean, scrub and sanitize. But Arnold apparently embraces his position as low man on the totem and works energetically throughout wind, rain and crush distemper. This gives him an accurate insider’s perspective on the emotional demands and rhythms of crush.
Working closely with the winemaking team of Josh Scott and Jeremy McKenzie, Arnold learns the ropes, frequently the hard way. After nearly imploding a tank on his first day, greeting a grapefruit-sized gonad, and breaking his toe, he begins to grasp the logic and language of crush. In addition to some phonetic portraits of New Zealandese, Arnold includes a footnote or two on popular crush slang. “In case you’re American and don’t know what ‘wank’ means, it’s British slang for a daytime nap. When an English person seems tired or yawns, it’s generally considered polite for you to ask him if he could use a good wank. Especially if he’s a stranger.”
His self-deprecating humor and eye for visual action are entertaining. He is a master of fast, raunchy analogies, reducing the complexity and tedium of many winemaking and vineyard chores into something readily understandable and even funny.
He also tackles some unknowable questions that plague us all, like: “At what point is a winery too big for the winemaker to be hands on?” Arnold interviews winemakers from Cloudy Bay, Wither Hills, Whitehaven, and Huia for answers. In “Seriously Screwed,” Arnold tackles the subject of screwcaps vs. corks, interviewing five different winemakers and owners with widely diverging views. By the end of the book, Arnold’s reporting becomes even clearer and more detailed. He tackles vineyard issues like organic farming, the timing of fruit thinning and agricultural sprays. He even goes undercover for a week as an itinerant worker for a sleazy labor contractor, and he gives us a full satiric attack on a regional wine critic, which is both piercing and painfully funny
Arnold has a low tolerance for tedium, demonstrated when he describes tasting 20 barrel samples in a round table blending trial as “like having sex twenty times in a row for analytical purposes,” and “not only devoid of fun but also difficult.” However, he also exposes his tasting notes, which are simultaneously pitiful and hilarious, and he goes on to explain in delightful journalistic detail the economic and artistic importance of making sound blending decisions.
In “And the Winner Is . . .” Arnold tackles the subject of critics and wine competitions. He interviews winemakers, competition advocates, and judges. The consensus is that scores should be considered in context and never as absolutes. John Belsham, owner of Foxes Island and a competition advocate, said, “The issue, and this is the difficult part, is what the consumers do with that information. It’s frightening when consumers, and you see it more in the U.S.—and dangerously in the U.S.—where consumers are constantly bombarded with this one-hundred-point scale that they believe in implicitly.”
First Big Crush is a compelling portrait of the wine harvest season—it includes all the real experiences, the injuries, arguments, logistical nightmares and hilarity. It should be required reading for anyone applying for or considering work as a crush hand. And if you’re just dreaming of a working at a winery someday . . . this book is a close as you can get to the real experience. -----------------------------------------------------
More reviews for First Big Crush:
Dr. Vino "Three years ago in the New Yorker, Adam Gopnik wrote a scathing rebuke of wine writing, saying that what wine books “rarely seem to be about is drinking wine. Remarkably, nowhere in wine writing, including [Robert] Parker’s and [William] Echikson’s, would a Martian learn that the first reason people drink wine is to get drunk.” Gopnik would love Eric Arnold’s First Big Crush, which seems to try to right Gopnik’s perceived imbalance in wine writing single-handedly."
Playback "When an author, in describing his experiences working at a winery in New Zealand, explains that his grape juice-stained clothing looks like he has "jacked off Barney," it's obvious that his writing style is not typical of Wine Spectator or any of the other dozens of periodicals targeted at aficionados. No, Eric Arnold approaches the world of wine and winemaking as a novice-come-initiated participant and takes the reader with him from the beginning of his idea to travel to New Zealand to the end of an entire year's work at the Allan Scott Winery of Marlborough."
Sideways Wine Club Blog: Amusing Musings from the Wine Road "Living off his credit cards, Arnold's hands-on knowledge came quickly, a necessity if he was to survive. He shares it generously in a tale that is as ribald as it is insightful. One must wade through a lot of testosterone-laden stories of sophomoric behavior to winnow out useful nuggets. But they're in there - go see for yourself. I particularly appreciated his view on wine critics and their ratings, a most reasoned opinion served without the pedantic virtue that drips from so many wine writers (me included I suspect)."
Vinography "It’s a great concept—fish-out-of-water urban American parachutes into the land of rugby playing, pig hunting, heavy drinking, hard working rural New Zealand with only a vague idea about how wine is made. First Big Crush is a prose reality show where our fledgling protagonist endures every filthy, body breaking, frustrating, and hazardous element of the harvest, from the ABCs of pitchfork operation to the mind numbing and back destroying weeks spent pruning winter vines in the cold fields. Along the way we get a feel both for the endless hours and the all-hands-on-deck commitment to bring in the harvest and for the lusty, profane and fun-loving Kiwi winery culture that seems overloaded with testosterone, hard partying, and real dedication their work. Good times include wine country festivals where people eat sheep testicles and throw back shots of bull semen, and the kind of buddy frolics where bar brawls, womanizing and throwing up most mornings are all part of the season. Working hard and playing hard comprise the circle of life in Marlborough."
Re: Q&A with WS Editor Eric Arnold: First Big Cru « Reply #1 on Aug 2, 2008, 11:30pm »
Hello Eric,
I am enthralled how you would not exist if we the wine-maker's did not exist ...we are a foundation, but wine writers are symbiotic parasites...we all need each other... being a small winery under 5,000 cs a year we never entered a wine review or has had our wine scored...so now the word is out and this we are growing grass roots style...do you ever fine a winery that your critics find that resist the sellout... this is the question...?????????
Re: Q&A with WS Editor Eric Arnold: First Big Cru « Reply #2 on Aug 3, 2008, 8:18am »
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the thoughtful, in-depth review, as well as for inviting me to participate in the forum here. I hope I'm able to contribute to an engaging discussion...though I'll probably help bring it down to dirty jokes at some point, too.
By the way, thanks for not eviscerating me the way you did Alice Feiring. Not that she didn't have it coming or anything...but wow. Reading that review was like watching a UFC match between the reigning heavyweight champ and Mini Me. A bloodbath.
I am enthralled how you would not exist if we the wine-maker's did not exist ...we are a foundation, but wine writers are symbiotic parasites...we all need each other... being a small winery under 5,000 cs a year we never entered a wine review or has had our wine scored...so now the word is out and this we are growing grass roots style...do you ever fine a winery that your critics find that resist the sellout... this is the question...?????????
I'm not sure I understand your question entirely, but first I should note that I don't work at Wine Spectator anymore. I left there at the end of March to become a lifestyle editor at [url]http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/[url], where I still write about wine a little.
Symbiotic parasites? Hmmm, I guess you could say that. But you could say the same about movie critics or book reviewers. And I can't even imagine how the auto industry feels about Consumer Reports sometimes! All in all, though, I think you have to judge each critic's value with your own experiences -- over time you'll find that you agree or disagree with some more than others.
Now, what I think you're asking is that your winery has reached a certain level of success without submitting samples to competitions or magazines, and should you do it now--can you grow without doing it? To tell the truth, I have no frickin' idea.
From what I know about the WS system as well as different wine competitions, these things are either part of your marketing plan or they aren't. Some wineries, I know, submit samples just to sort of see where they're at in comparison to their direct competition across the street or across the valley or whatever--and even if they get a high score or a gold medal, they don't use it to sell more wine or raise their prices or whatever. Others live and die by the gold medals and the high scores, and accept the risk of getting no medal or a low score.
I guess my impression as a consumer with an elevated level of industry knowledge is the same as it would be for any other industry: If you know you're making a great product and people seem to like it, who cares if the critics ever pay a single bit of attention to you? The paying customers are what matter, and if they have already spoken and say that they like what you're doing, worry about keeping them happy, not one critic here or one competition judging panel there.
If I didn't understand or address the question properly, please repost and I'll try again.
Joined: Oct 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 253 Location: Paso Robles, California
Re: Q&A with Eric Arnold: First Big Crush « Reply #4 on Aug 3, 2008, 10:55am »
Eric, thanks for responding so quickly! I did not know that you have moved on to Forbes—I’ll fix the title of the thread accordingly, and congratulations. No eviscering today, thank goodness. Your approach to each topic was really well done—well crafted interviews, plenty of character background, solid research.
How old were you when you wrote First Big Crush? How did you find the time to write, or at least journal, while working full time at a winery (and getting rousing drunk with Jeremy and friends)?
How did Scribner/S&S become interested in your book project? Did you have a book contract when you left for New Zealand, or did they want to see the finished book first? Were you nervous about completing it?
Your book came out in September 2007. How have sales been? Do you know who your largest market has been? Have you done any book signing and personal stumping for First Big Crush? Was the book a success in New Zealand as well as the U.S.?
Was there any reaction to your biting commentary on wine writer Keith Stewart? I notice that you did some research on him, and hoped to like him, but ultimately had to call him out on the facts. I agree, his closing sentence in the piece you quoted was shockingly idiotic (he assumes that most NZ winemakers have never had a fine meal with wine, tells them to get their arses over to their competitor’s for a lesson in how-it’s-done, and then presumes to tell them what their business model should be, and requires them to lose money running a hospitality center and restaurant for affluent critics—all in one sentence.)
How long did you work at the Wine Spectator, and what contributions did you feel were your most important as news editor? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Wine Spectator article addressing the apparent fact that NZ Sauvignon Blancs are made in different styles for different markets. It certainly makes one wonder about other regions. Is this a story you addressed while you were there?
Are you considering another book, and would it be about the wine industry?
Re: Q&A with Eric Arnold: First Big Crush « Reply #5 on Aug 3, 2008, 11:46am »
Wow, lots of questions. All good ones. Here we go:
How old were you when you wrote First Big Crush? How did you find the time to write, or at least journal, while working full time at a winery (and getting rousing drunk with Jeremy and friends)? I left for NZ when I was 28, and just about to turn 29. So I turned 29 and 30 there, then came home shortly after. In terms of finding the time, it wasn't easy at all. 24-7 I kept a notebook with me in my back pocket, and whenever something happened or transpired that I wanted to remember, I just stopped what I was doing and jotted it down. It actually became a running joke around the winery how often I whipped out the notebook. During harvest I really didn't write much--just transcribed the notes into the computer. And then once harvest was over and the workload started to scale back, I was able to write some of the day, work some of the day, write some more, then go drink excessively.
How did Scribner/S&S become interested in your book project? Did you have a book contract when you left for New Zealand, or did they want to see the finished book first? Were you nervous about completing it? I had nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. No contract, no agent, no connections--nothing. This was all on spec, completely idiotic, completely on a shoestring. If I had any idea what I was getting myself into, I probably wouldn't have done it. While I was in NZ I eventually made contact with a literary agent in New York who agreed to rep me; he didn't shop it around until the manuscript was complete and I was back in the US. That was a long process, but eventually I met with Scribner and we hit it off.
Your book came out in September 2007. How have sales been? Do you know who your largest market has been? Have you done any book signing and personal stumping for First Big Crush? Was the book a success in New Zealand as well as the U.S.? I have no idea how sales have been since the reports only come through every so often, but so far as wine books go, it sounds like we've done pretty well. I've done a little stumping here and there, but mostly it's been word of mouth. And Gary V. From Wine Library has been immensely supportive, as have most wine bloggers. I went down to NZ in April to do the launch down there, and the print run actually sold out in that market, so that was pretty exciting.
Was there any reaction to your biting commentary on wine writer Keith Stewart? I notice that you did some research on him, and hoped to like him, but ultimately had to call him out on the facts. I agree, his closing sentence in the piece you quoted was shockingly idiotic (he assumes that most NZ winemakers have never had a fine meal with wine, tells them to get their arses over to their competitor’s for a lesson in how-it’s-done, and then presumes to tell them what their business model should be, and requires them to lose money running a hospitality center and restaurant for affluent critics—all in one sentence.) No response from Keith at all, but almost everyone who knows him and me both has been pretty quick to tell me that (a) I was right on the money about him and (b) he deserved every ounce of shit I gave him, probably more. There was one person who interviewed me on the radio in NZ who sort of tried to draw me into a discussion about him, but I didn't want to play into her hand unless she mentioned him clearly and directly, which she didn't. If he wants to respond to my criticism of him, he's free to; but my impression is he likes to set fire to things and watch them burn as he walks away. If he didn't light the match, he's not likely to get involved.
How long did you work at the Wine Spectator, and what contributions did you feel were your most important as news editor? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Wine Spectator article addressing the apparent fact that NZ Sauvignon Blancs are made in different styles for different markets. It certainly makes one wonder about other regions. Is this a story you addressed while you were there? I was at WS for just under three years. I think what I really did best there was cover the direct-shipping issue, as well as celebrity interviews. I was also very proud of a story I wrote about NZ winemaker Mark Inglis, a double amputee who climbed Mt. Everest. But I also really enjoyed working with our reporters in California, as well as a couple freelancers spread across the US and a couple in Europe, whenever they uncovered interesting/new/fun stories.
As for the different sauvignon blancs being blended differently for different markets, I think you might have read a little too much into that (or maybe I didn't cover it quite as clearly as I should have). It was really more like having a second label, and allocating the different tanks to the two labels based on taste/style. It just so happened that the second label was exported to the US, while the main label wasn't. It's not as though there were two different blends with the same label--that would be illegal. And at Allan Scott, after I left, they eventually decided to keep their main label as the same blend for every market (including the US), and then the other parcels went into a different second label called Kotuku (they also now make some single-vineyard SBs as well). It's basically the same as, say, a Bordeaux chateau having its cheaper, second label.
Are you considering another book, and would it be about the wine industry? That's for me to know and you to find out!
Re: Q&A with Eric Arnold: First Big Crush « Reply #6 on Aug 4, 2008, 11:18am »
Eric I got a kick out of your website. And I ordered a copy from Amazon. Mary, thanks for the great recommendation. I'm going to read it while lazing on a houseboat on Mt. Shasta next week. Can't wait.
Eric I got a kick out of your website. And I ordered a copy from Amazon. Mary, thanks for the great recommendation. I'm going to read it while lazing on a houseboat on Mt. Shasta next week. Can't wait.
Thanks very much -- I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to check back in here to discuss all the things you liked and didn't like about it.
Re: Q&A with Eric Arnold: First Big Crush « Reply #8 on Aug 11, 2008, 3:42pm »
Well, I can see that people are doing more viewing than posting, so I'll take the discussion in a new direction. Why not, since windsurfer is out of internet range and still doing his homework. So here's a question for those who've read the book:
What are the best and worst wine books you've read, other than mine, and why? And where does mine fit in (if you even want to call it a wine book)? I'll go first:
Best: Billionaire's Vinegar, by Benjamin Wallace. I don't think it covered much new territory or revealed anything we didn't know about wine tasting or trophy collecting, but I loved the brief look at the auction houses and their inability to figure out a way to handle the elephant in the room. To me, that was the most telling aspect -- that it was all about money and protecting their reputations, not doing right by people who loved and were fascinated by wine.
Worst: A lot of ties for last place here. But I think all of Andrea Immer's books go into the scrap heap, along with most other tasting guides.
Where mine fits in: I'm the one person who doesn't get to decide. But I will say that some others I've enjoyed are Noble Rot, Jay McInerney's books, and Natalie MacLean's Red White and Drunk all Over -- books that are more about the wine experience rather than being dictated to. Along those lines, keep an eye out for Tyler Colman's books. This kid's going places (even though he's not a kid)!
What are the best and worst wine books you've read, other than mine, and why? And where does mine fit in (if you even want to call it a wine book)?
I have to say that the best "wine" book I've ever read was Christopher Buckley's God Is My Broker. Short and satiric, about a bunch of hapless monks and their truly awful wine, Cana Nouveau.
Eric, your book is right up there with the best wine-adventure and wine-bio books I have come across!
Re: Q&A with Eric Arnold: First Big Crush « Reply #10 on Aug 27, 2008, 10:04am »
Hi, Eric: I read the book, as I said, on our Mt. Shasta trip, and thought it was a riot. My friends kept asking me why I was giggling, so I read snippets to them out loud. I had no inkling from Mary's review that the book was so hilariously funny in places. I also learned a lot more about the process of winemaking, because I think, you made it so approachable. If you decide to write another book (on any topic) I'll be first in line. Well done!
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