August 23, 2021
In this breezy if flawed debut, Singer, founder of the natural wine magazine Pipette, mixes food journalism and personal memoir to chronicle her path to finding love and a career in natural winemaking. While waiting tables in her late 20s at an upscale restaurant in Brooklyn to supplement her food writing, the author was introduced to a “particular rosé pét-nat,” that, she recalls, “set off a wild woman inside of me.” Eager to know more about the natural variety and its “carbonated punchiness,” she embarked on a quest to learn and write about the intoxicating world of winemaking, traveling from Paris to Spain and—after meeting her future husband, a winemaker who goes by the nickname “Wildman”—eventually settling in Australia, where she now runs a winery with him. Throughout, she pays lip service to the conversations about privilege and class that have recently ignited the culinary industry, noting the low wages grape harvesters survive on and acknowledging the historic genocide that enabled her partner to found his vineyard in South Australia. Yet at the same time, she writes without irony that she “had set out on own” after casually mentioning the several thousands of dollars she borrowed from her sister. Despite its bubbly content, this isn’t likely to inspire new converts to the pét-nat craze.
October 15, 2021
In her memoir (the title abbreviates p�tillant naturel or naturally sparkling), Signer, founder and publisher of the wine-focused magazine Pipette, takes readers on a movable feast, from Paris to Australia, various parts of Europe, Vietnam, Georgia, New York, and Washington, D.C., enjoying the finest food and drink of each region. In this love letter to not only natural wines but also the community and ethos that sustain them, Signer shares her wine experiences, from working in a restaurant and wine shop to wine journalism and harvesting grapes, emphasizing both the traditions and environmental impact of vineyards and wine production. Wine culture blends (pun intended) into her personal life when she develops a romance with a natural winemaker and, while struggling to hold onto her fierce independence, learns that relationships, like wine, are all about "responding to the moment." While Signer might have explored her emotions more deeply, her extensive journalistic experience shines through, and readers will learn never to look at a glass of wine again without considering the people pouring their hearts into every bottle.
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November 1, 2021
Winemaker Signer (founder of Pipette magazine) navigates a burgeoning career and relationship against the backdrop of the natural wine in this breezy, accessible memoir. Readers meet Signer as a white writer and New York City waitress, as she begins to develop an interest in natural wine that ultimately sets her on a personal and professional journey across the globe. Along the way she finds herself exploring different aspects of this wine subculture and unexpectedly falls for a winemaker in Australia, pushing her to reexamine the life she imagined. The book is interspersed with regional history and background information about natural wine but will appeal to wine connoisseurs and novices alike. Signer is a curious, reflective writer throughout, but especially as she ultimately decides to follow her partner to Australia, settling in the city of Adelaide and learning about local wine culture. Readers will enjoy being introduced to the quirky, passionate characters who are dedicated to the craft of natural wine in her adopted home. VERDICT A romantic, entertaining memoir of self-discovery. Fans of culinary and travel memoirs will be entertained.--Kate Bellody, SUNY New Paltz
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