Natalie MacLean

Mildly interesting memoir by Natalie Maclean who is a well known Canadian wine writer. She is a happily married woman with an established writing career and a 14 year old son when her husband asked for a divorce. As the daughter of a single mother, she knew what lies ahead of her.
The worst part was when she was caught out by a cadre of male wine writers who thought she had been plagiarizing some of her reviews from the LCBO. She was able to prove that had not happened but she does spend a lot of time talking about women over history who are treated as witches when they defy men.
She finds love and happiness with Daniel who helps her navigate her tribulations and provides the support she needs when things get rough.… (mehr)

Before picking up this book I had no idea who Natalie MacLean was, but I was so intrigued that I ended up reading this whole book in one day! Natalie MacLean is an award winning Canadian wine writer - which if you're reading this you probably already know - but I know nothing about wine (I am a bottom shelf gal) and I have never read any of her columns, articles, blog, or podcasts. Even though I didn't know of her - I was pretty quickly won over with her engaged and honest writing. Wine Witch on Fire details the years of her divorce and the "scandal" that almost ended her career. The wine industry (like most food and drink industries) is teeming with sexism and "boys club" mentality; which MacLean really goes into towards the end of the book. She recounts with brutal honesty what went down, her reactions and feelings (as well as her ever increasing drinking) and she doesn't come off smelling like a rose, BUT, it humanizes her and makes her story even more compelling. Another aspect I really liked, was learning about different aspects of the wine industry and getting some wine recommendations throughout her biography. I had no idea what went on behind the scenes of wine writing and it was fascinating. Engaging biography - now I want to read her other two books!… (mehr)