Muck and Merlot

Self-effacing it ain’t. Assertive it is. If an autobiography should provide the reader with a deep insight into the character of the author this is a very good book indeed. I first got to know Tom in the late 80s when he and I were two of a mere nap hand of journalists in Ireland pontificating on wine. Since when he’s made the transition from ‘young fogy’ to ‘medium-old funky’ without doing any of those daft things one’s supposed to do as the years clock up, like mellowing; fair play to him, I say.
This tome is pure Tom; all his qualities – the twinkly benevolence; the schoolboy enthusiasm (which he’s never lost); the oft-unchecked tendency to pomposity – are in there, in spades. His loves and hates – from ‘real’ sherry to dud wine scribes – blaze off the pages. M & M is a rich pudding of personal history, hedonism and gardening advice. Maybe because I’m more familiar with the first two aspects, I found the last absolutely riveting (though saddened that there was no homage to the Egremont Russet in the dissertation on apples). Tom’s verve would encourage a total townie to buy a dibber and plant seeds in cracks in the pavement. Quirky, spiky, and withal, a good read.

Muck and Merlot by Tom Doorley. O’Brien Press e19.95 Stg£13.99