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| ‘Saucy Sisters’ going on a wine adventure |
As Barbara Nowak recalls it, the book wasn’t even their own idea.
She and sister Beverly Wichman - the pair are known as "The Saucy Sisters" for reviewing wines over
WAMB radio in Nashville - were dining with author Nancy Dunning when Dunning turned to them and said,
"The Saucy Sisters should write a girl’s guide to wine."
Maybe it wasn’t as defining a moment as Caesar crossing the Rubicon, but Dunning’s idea sure changed
the lives of Barbara and Beverly.
The two are so committed to promoting their new book, "The Saucy Sisters’ Guide to Wine: What Every
Girl Should Know Before She Uncorks," that they will be driving their "Grape Mobile" from Middle Tennessee
to California with the eventual plan of arriving in Washington, D.C.
All in two months.
Adding to the adventurous spirit the intrepid duo display is the fact that the Grape Mobile - a 1992
purple Lumina van - already has 117,000 miles on it.
Maybe an appearance on National Public Radio’s "Car Talk" should be on their schedule. The Saucy Sisters
could have a lot to tell Click and Clack, "The Tappet Brothers."
Oh, girl, could they!
Wine divas Barbara Nowak and Beverly Wichman begin their pilgrimage to enlighten fellow sisters (and
brothers) about wine at a "Wine Tasting for Floozies" event to be held at Hanging Around Eclectic Arts
and Framing, 113 17th Ave. S., on Nashville’s Music Row, from 2-4 p.m. this Sunday.
Call Hanging Around at 254-4850 for a reservation.
"We’re already wishing we’d planned for a larger group. The place is going to be packed," moaned Barbara,
a Williamson County resident who will abandon her husband and two dogs to make the tour.
Of course, those not able to get in the door can get the educational benefits of the wine event by reading
the book, which has been described by one reviewer as "‘Sex and the City’ meets ‘Wine for Dummies.’"
Here are some basic wine facts:
Don’t ask the waiter for a bottle of Chateaubriand. You’re thinking of Chateau Latour or Chateau
Mouton-Rothschild, or you’re not thinking at all. Chateaubriand is beef, and trying to drink it will have
serious consequences.
Don’t drink wine on an empty stomach. Instead, eat something with fat before going to the party. Fat
helps delay the absorption of alcohol.
During a party, drink a glass of water between every glass of wine. This will keep you hydrated - and
near the bathroom.
After a party, finish off with something salty. The Saucy Sisters suggest that Gatorade - Gatorade! -
might help after-party thirst by adding salt to the body. Salt helps you retain water so you won’t be
going to the bathroom during the wee hours of the morning.
In other words, Barbara and Beverly are really serious about their wine.
"For five years we did a radio show on WAMB. It was originally about food, but people kept asking for
recommendations about what wine to have with the meal. We found it fun to read up on wine and do the
research," Beverly said.
Wichman is back in the Williamson County area after her company, Atlantic Envelope, gave her a leave of
absence for two months of wine adventure.
"More and more the radio program became about wine as we would read an article, track down the author and
interview them over the phone," said co-author, Barbara.
Beverly: "The most well-known people who wrote about wine were often the easiest to reach and interview."
Barbara: "It was exciting to find how approachable Dorothy Gaither and John Brecher were. Their column,
"Tastings," runs in The Wall Street Journal, and their books have made them famous. I got in touch with
her while she was cooking at home."
Beverly: "Doing things the usual way is an aberration for us. We don’t like to reach people through
traditional channels, and we do a lot of work on our own. We researched how to find an agent for our book,
and we sent proposals to 11 agents or agencies. Only two replied, and both of those responded to sample
chapters. The other nine got query letters only."
Barbara: "We ended up having five publishers interested, so the book went to auction. Penguin (publishers)
was the highest bidder."
Approximately six months later, their book was born, arriving at Penguin on Aug. 15, 2002. Now, a few
delays and four different editors later, "The Saucy Sisters’ Guide to Wine" is in the stores, along with
10,000 other books in the average chain bookstore.
But Barbara and Beverly are determined their book will stand out.
"We’ve each packed a case of wine as well as crystal and tablecloths for this trip. Our motels will be of
the Days Inn variety. We’re bringing style with us," Beverly said.
In the next two months, starting Tuesday, they will visit 27 cities, going from Memphis to Atlanta to
Tampa, Fla., and then New Orleans on out to the West Coast through Albuquerque, N.M., and Phoenix.
They hope to make themselves famous in California and then go through Salt Lake City - there are wine
drinkers in Salt Lake City? - to Denver and on to Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The sisters wonder if they will be speaking to each other after this journey, but perhaps sharing a nice
Pinot Gris will repair the damage to frayed nerves.
Wine lovers can only hope.
Staff Reporter Stephen Hines can be contacted at steve@reviewappeal.com.
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