Bright lights: Krug, Latour, Lafite, Montrose. Big cities: Montalcino, Hampstead, Reims, Geyserville. Welcome to Bacchus & Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar, bestselling novelist Jay McInerney's mixed four-case lot of wine essays culled primarily from his output of "Uncorked" pieces written for House & Garden magazine. Reflecting the author's wit and opinion, it's tasty and stylish stuff. And nestled between glossy pages of photos depicting, say, a 396-square-foot TriBeCa loft decorated with a pair of Eames chairs purchased at a Brooklyn swap meet for $45, McInerney's blend of self-deprecation (his "eyebrows raised and jaw dropped" when H&G editors broached his name as wine columnist) and irreverence (on straw-covered Chianti bottles: the "bong component of choice in dorm rooms around the world") is refreshing juice. Unfortunately, as a compilation, it serves more to unmask a Eurocentric name-dropper: the bon-mot-coining D2 dilettante on an expense account who got the gig because he knew the editor. It's distressing, because there's so much to like here: "A Ticket to the Veneto" is a sparkling meld of ego and yeast; questioning whether or not to cellar wine, he concludes, "What could be more all-American than instant gratification?"; and his dead-on description of a Port hangover is quintessential McInerney. But numerous repetitions, imperceptible when published monthly, irritate when separated not by 30 days but 30 pages: Sauvignon Blanc's aroma of "pipi du chat" is funny the first time you read it, less so two essays later; likewise you won't find a single California piece that doesn't contain the words "dude" or "Helen Turley." And while it's admirable to break the mould of stuffy wine writing, McInerney's a bit long in the tastevin to adopt a "Wine Brat" posture comparing, for example, Martinelli Jackass Hill Zin more to "Free Bird" than "Jumpin' Jack Flash," or describing his first sip of Mouton "like hearing Nirvana on Saturday Night Live." Blame it on the editor, or maybe it just depends on how you devour Bacchus & Me. Sipped slowly, McInerney's words taste of the passionate amateur oenophile and skilled raconteur. Gulp 'em down and the finish is of the bestselling bon vivant with a blank check. --Tony Mason

FROM OUR EDITORS

Bright Lights, Big City novelist Jay McInerney doesn￯﾿ﾽt pretend to be a wine connoisseur. In fact, he confesses that after writing about the subject for five years, he felt even less confident of his grasp of wine than when he started. Nevertheless, this collection of his House & Garden wine columns proves that his intelligence, verve, wine savvy, and writing skills are quite sufficient. In fact, Bacchus and Me is one of the most entertaining wine books in years.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Jay McInerney's wine column for Conde Nast House and Garden has become widely read for his acerbic wit, irreverent tone, and bountiful, hilarious anecdotes. But a half million readers also hark closely to each month's "Uncorked" for the breadth of knowledge every column shares. For the uninitiated or aspiring oenophile (wine lover) McInerney shares, in this collection, critical details and comprehensible descriptions not often found, or discernable, in the standard wine writers' tomes. It is actually possible for a reader to take what is learned to a wine shop or restaurant to indulge in the wine of his or her fantasy with the confidence of a sommelier.

In forty-five columns, McInerney holds forth (with agile humor, an astonishing amount of hard fact, and an ample dose of personal taste) on such topics as how to make your way around a German wine label; what to drink with Thanksgiving turkey; the truth about Zinfandels; why burgundy is so hard to predict; how California Chardonnay is improving; the pleasures of flinty Chablis, the deep satisfaction of port; the glorious potential of Oregon's pinot noir, the respectability of ros￯﾿ﾽ, and profiles of the great winemakers.