Overall, the book was enjoyable and funny but I just thought something was missing. Some areas felt cut short while, other areas felt like they dragged on for too long. Cheers though on publishing your first title!

The story follows a freelance journalist as she discovers the world of natural wine. As a wine lover myself, I really enjoyed learning more about natural wines and the industry. However the story took several sidetracks into her blossoming romantic relationship which took away from the story.

You Had Me at Pet-Nat is a fun memoir covering Rachel Signer's journey into the world of natural wine. Along the way, she meets new friends (and lovers), starts a magazine, and creates her own wine blend. Throughout the book, Signer travels all across the world and beautifully captures the feel of each place. Whether it's a small cafe in Paris or a sprawling hillside in Australia, you really feel like you are there with her. It was really fascinating reading about her experience actually pressing her own grapes; I'll have to give her wine a try!

There were a handful of times when the book felt a little dry (pardon the wine pun). In the third act, Signer skillfully writes passages about the history of wine making and different regions of the world, but it was so far removed from what was happening with her in that moment that it read as somewhat disjointed.

As other reviewers have pointed out, there is a lot of both personal and financial privilege on display in this book. If you approach it as a light beach read, for example, that may not bother you. If you start to think too much about the countless round trip flights to Australia, however...not sure.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't enjoy this book, it wasn't what I expected and I found it boring.I was truly hoping it would be more humorous too but it really lacked a lot

An uneven memoir about a woman who took a 180 turn toward natural
Winemaking. Those looking for a culinary memoir will be satisfied (but might prefer to skim her earliest chapters). But as a straightforward memoir, I found it lackluster.

I love a good memoir and coupling that with the story of a journalist turned winemaker, well I was sold! Rachel Singer’s memoir takes us from life as a journalist and wine seller to becoming a winemaker in Australia and weaves in a love story along the way.

I found the book to be charming and educational at the same time. There are sections which delve deeper into the winemaking process itself and can be a bit slow for readers not interested in learning the background/techniques behind, but these parts are easy to move through. One part I would say may be a bit challenging was the wine terminology and French words laced in the story without definition. I am fortunate to have a background in wine, so it was familiar to me, but others may not have an easy time with this. I could see how sections might get skimmed over or a reader might become frustrated having to stop to look things up.

Overall, a very interesting and enjoyable read. 3.5 star, rounded to 4.

Thank you Net Galley and Hachette Books for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this book it’s definitely going to be one of the books of the year. The perfect readable memoir. It had me in stitches.

Rachel Signer had always dreamed of a life in Paris - the cool Parisian ease of drinking a glass of good wine in a café and exploring a life that was so different from her lackluster cramped apartment in NYC. Then she had her first taste of natural wine. Now, the editor of a natural wine focused magazine and burgeoning indie wine maker, Signer takes us in the journey from her waitressing days to making her own wine on a farm in Australia her now-husband.

You Had Me at Pét-Nat follows Signer from the bustling streets of Brooklyn to the rolling hills of Adelaide and back again, as she follows her passion for natural wines and discovers herself along the way. A perfect read for any wine lover and naturist, this memoir will have looking for your next great glass of wine.

I really found myself on the fence with this book - I loved following Rachel’s trajectory from waitress to wine maker, but at some points it was hard to really understand her. The overload of info about wine making read more culinary than biographical and I struggled to connect with Rachel the person vs Rachel the professional wine reviewer. The ending was swift and really did a disservice to her and ‘Wildman’’s relationship - there was obviously some strong personal development that happened here that would have been interesting to work through with Signer after the lead in. Overall, a great book about wine, but I struggle to see it as a full fledged memoir.

With a wealth of insight into the world of natural winemaking, You had Me at Pet-Nat weaves in the author's love for natural wine, and love for a natural wine maker, into the same story. While it's hard to separate the two storylines, I found myself preferring the wine-love passages over the wine-boyfriend passages. Though there is a happy ending, I spent much of the book wanting to sit Rachel down over a bottle of wine and lay out her indecisiveness and at times, aggravating privilege, for her.

I loved, loved, loved, learning about natural wine, how it's made, the different vintners and distributors, about the harvesting process - all of the things to do with wine. The romance bits were a little less interesting for me, personally. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books for advance access to this title.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful memoir!

It's very character-driven and is full of travel, love, and wine. Especially reading in quarantine it has sparked that wanderlust and is a cute and romantic read. Signer talks about wines and shares lots of information on classification and how wine is made. It's a surprisingly informative read! Signer also opens up about her relationships and her experiences learning about wine and her travels.

It's thoughtful, intriguing, and an interesting read!

What a wonderful and informational book! I learned quite a bit about wines while enjoying a story that was entertaining. I felt as though I was sharing stories with a best friend as I read. .

Sorry to say that I tried, but could not get into this book. The writing was uneven and the story seemed a compendium of the author's liaisons with "the wrong guys".

I learned SO MUCH about wine with this book and need a wine tasting event and purchasing list to go with this book launch.

Am I about to track down bottles and wineries mentioned now? Absolutely. Do I yearn even more for travel now? Yep.

Rachel Signer has written a captivating memoir. While not being privy to the world of natural wines, I loved hearing about the process and the subculture of natural wine aficionados around the world. I enjoyed "travelling" with Rachel to Europe and Australia and following her romance. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

When requesting this book to read and review, I thought it was a novel, but I have since learned from Googling the author that it is a memoir. I've read a lot of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs over the years, and this book reads more like a novel to me.

It was great learning the difference between natural wines and wines that were not made using the natural process. I didn't know any of this before; I drink wine, of course, but I only know that I like all reds and only some white, and that rosé is my favorite. Now, I will look at labels and the names of vineyards in a different way.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it was less technical with respect to the world of wines. For me, the abundance of information on certain labels, and some of the terminology unique to the wine-making industry, were a bit overwhelming, and the story of the author's life took a backseat. However, it is clear that the author knows a great deal about wine in general, and about natural wines specifically. I also felt like at times the author was trying to shock me with some of her decisions, both those planned as well as those spontaneous.

Overall, a novel about a waitress-turned-wine expert and her journey through Europe might be more entertaining to me. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced ebook edition of this book to read.

You Had Me at Pét-Nat

Rating: 3/5🌟

Rachel Signer had always dreamed of a life in Paris - the cool Parisian ease of drinking a glass of good wine in a café and exploring a life that was so different from her lackluster cramped apartment in NYC. Then she had her first taste of natural wine. Now, the editor of a natural wine focused magazine and burgeoning indie wine maker, Signer takes us in the journey from her waitressing days to making her own wine on a farm in Australia her now-husband.

You Had Me at Pét-Nat follows Signer from the bustling streets of Brooklyn to the rolling hills of Adelaide and back again, as she follows her passion for natural wines and discovers herself along the way. A perfect read for any wine lover and naturist, this memoir will have looking for your next great glass of wine.

I really found myself on the fence with this book - I loved following Rachel’s trajectory from waitress to wine maker, but at some points it was hard to really understand her. The overload of info about wine making read more culinary than autobiographical and I struggled to connect with Rachel the person vs Rachel the professional wine reviewer. The ending was swift and really did a disservice to her and ‘Wildman’’s relationship - there was obviously some strong personal development that happened here that would have been interesting to work through with Signer after the lead in. Overall, a great book about wine, but I struggle to see it as a full fledged memoir.

Read if you like:
+ Wine & it’s history
+ Food & culinary travel
+ Memoirs about self discovery

Thank you so much to Rachel Signer, Hachette Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I already had the travel bug due to being stranded stateside in the pandemic, and this book both satisfied and intensified an itch I had to get to Paris! It also made me want to quit my job, pack up only a few belongings, and follow my dreams. The background and lingo can get a little much; at times I felt like I was slogging through it, especially since I am a lover of wine but not a sommelier. However, the book is interesting and I enjoyed reading it, especially since I too am in a position of trying to figure my life out, and Signer's words resonated and inspired me.

Before reading this memoir, I was not too familiar with natural wine and the labor that goes into producing each bottle. I was fascinated by Signer's stories and the inner workings of this world, particularly the people she met along the way. The fact that so many of them were living vintage to vintage, their livelihoods staked against the perfect combination of weather and fermentation, gave me a deeper appreciation for the wines she described. Signer's own journey of self-discovery was refreshingly raw and honest, and I think something that so many of us can identify with. I did find some of the more technical descriptions in the memoir to be a little dry/over my head, and I was left at times with the impression that the wines Signer was describing were out of reach for the average consumer. Nonetheless, I finished the book wanting to embark on my own exploration of natural wine, and I think this memoir is an excellent introduction to those who do not yet know about natural wine or want to learn more.

I'm a sucker for memoirs, but my interest in this one started to fizzle out by the end. I enjoy wine and loved learning more intimately about the process, but it never fell into a good groove of explaining the wine world and the author's story. Overall I would recommend it but only to friends with a deep interest in wine-making.

3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley & Hachette Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having gotten interested in natural wines a few years ago, I was drawn to this book. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when diving into a new world, and I felt like I was learning with the author as she shared her growth of knowledge relating to wine.
It was a fascinating read even if you only cared about the wine, but I also enjoyed her descriptions of her life experiences.
This book makes me want to explore new wines and new countries...at least one of those is a possibility at the moment!