Three weeks before Len Evans died he called me to say that he'd read my Wine Hunter book and that he'd done so in a single sitting - he said he couldn't put it down. I'm not ashamed to say that I almost sprang a tear - you don't get a tap on the shoulder from a legend like that too often in your life.
This book is though, in my view, the best thing I've ever written. I hope this doesn't sound unsavoury but it's also immensely important to me that this book doesn't bomb - and I don't say that because of money. I say that because if people don't respond to this book, and if this book doesn't sell well, then I shouldn't be writing about wine, because this book is how I think wine should be written about. It tries to bring wine to life; it tries to capture the miracle of it; it tries to explain the vast human story, and sacrifice, that so often lies behind the very best of it.
Wine Hunter is the story of the legendary Hunter Valley winemaker Maurice O'Shea, who made wine on the hillside at Mount Pleasant between 1921 and 1956, before dying at the helm. In the process it's also about the blessed fact that wine is so much more than just a drink.
It's about the wine life.
James Halliday read an early version of the Wine Hunter, and wrote about it in The Weekend Australian newspaper. It's a touch embarrassing but here are a few of the things he had to say of it:
"One of the most remarkable wine books to come my way".
"O'Shea's life in three-dimensional, full colour, convincingly detailed reality".
"If this book does not add yet more awards, there is no justice. It will capture anyone who reads it: this is not a wine geek book but an epic."
The version of the book that James Halliday wrote of was a version that was published by Mount Pleasant - to co-incide with the 50th anniversary of Maurice O'Shea's death. This version was then expanded by a little over 50 percent and is now in the hands of the publisher Hodder (Hachette Livre). While I'm pleased with the Mount Pleasant version the Hodder edition is inescapably better; it's my first real book and I'm proud of it.
The Wine Hunter book costs $35 delivered direct from this site to your Australian address (email me direct for international orders). I'm happy to personally sign any copies if you wish. I would have loved to discount it but I'm locked in and am unable to move on price - or I'll get into strife with the publisher. (Though until the end of October 2006, I've found a way to work around this - see offer below).
The Wine Hunter book will be released in the first week of November 2006, and will be available in book stores across Australia and also, of course, from this site. The full James Halliday review of The Wine Hunter is available here. Marketing isn't my strong point, but I would urge you to seriously consider purchasing this book when it becomes available - for Christmas, for your wine- and food-loving friends or business associates, and for anyone who you think might enjoy reading about an inspirational Australian who beat quite incredible odds - and became a legend.
You don't have to love wine to love this book, because it's not a wine geek book. If I've done my job though, you'll love wine by the end of it.
