The Heartbreak Grape: A Journey in Search of the Perfect Pinot Noir

Dean Tudor is a professor of journalism at Ryerson University and author
of Finding Answers: The Essential Guide to Gathering Information in
Canada.

This book is about California winemaker Josh Jensen and his dream of
producing excellent Burgundy-style wine from the pinot noir grape, the
most fickle and notorious grape in the world. Jensen’s journey with
the grape began with two harvests at Burgundy’s DRC estates—the most
expensive and scarcest pinot noir wine in the world. Jensen is regarded
as a “character” within the California wine industry, living in
isolation at his winery/vineyard.

There is good writing and good descriptive detail here, but de Villiers
(an experienced journalist, a former editor of Toronto Life, and a
journalism instructor at Ryerson University) has committed the fatal
error of getting too close to his source (Jensen). He seems to take
everything Jensen says at face value, and most of the book seems to
consist of extensive quotes from Jensen.

The lack of an index is unfortunate. Instead, there are numerous line
drawings, which add little to the story.