The Grail: A Year Ambling & Shambling Through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World

Take the red hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley, a father-son winemaking outfit and one madcap wordsmith on a quest for the world's finest pinot noir. Let them ferment, and you've got a charming look inside the operations at Don and Jesse Lange's winery. An abundance of words (witness the book's subtitle), run-on sentences, rhyming, alliteration and stylized dialogue all contribute to a bacchanalian use of language that reflects Portland magazine editor Doyle's joyful view on both life and wine. With the author's bubbly sense of humor and sharp storytelling, dry facts become delightful tidbits. His descriptio of the grape vines' pollination process, for instance, bursts with sexual metaphors: "the wild seething scene in the vineyard, the vines fertilizing each other madly when no one is looking, the little tiny bras, the little tiny cigarettes, the recriminations at dawn." Like the wine Doyle writes of, these recollections are layered with subtlety and depth. Doyle ranges from discussing the basic pleasures of food, drink and conversation to ruminating on spiritual concepts. Perfect for wine aficionados and word lovers, this is a full-bodied, ebullient account. (May 30)