American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites, and One Man's Blues

A professional booze writer whose life spins out of control tries to piece it back together by embarking upon an epic wine-fueled adventure that takes him to every corner of the U.S. Part vision quest, part guidebook, part journey into the bizarre tapestry of American life, it will make you laugh, make you cry and teach you a whole lot about wine.

Former Playboy magazine nightlife columnist Dan Dunn has a made a career out of drinking. Yet this man’s man―a connoisseur of beer and whiskey―knew next to nothing about one of the major drinks enjoyed the world over: wine. When a fateful tasting experience coincided with a serious existential crisis, Dunn decided to hit the road on a journey of discovery. To quench his thirst for knowledge (and be able to throw down with the experts), he would educate himself about the industry glass by glass, from winery to winery, in nearly every region in the United States.

His bold 15,000-mile road trip took Dunn from Sonoma, California, to Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, where he twirled, sniffed, and sipped glass after glass of a vast array of wines with vintners, savants, and celebrities, including Kurt Russell and “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” Jonathan Goldsmith. Dunn’s mission was to transform himself from a heartbroken schlub who barely knew the difference between Merlot and Meritage, into a confident connoisseur capable of wowing others simply by swirling some fermented grape juice around in his mouth and pronouncing it “troubling, yet brilliant.”

In American Wino, Dunn shares it all―the good, the bad, the sublime. As his wine knowledge grows and becomes more complex, he shares it with the reader in the form of digestible, actionable nuggets in each chapter. It’s like a wine-tasting course at your local community college extension program, only with more sex and less crushing despair. An intoxicating blend of travel writing, memoir, and booze journalism that pairs earthy humor with fine wine for hilarious and enlightening results, it is the story of one man’s journey to find himself―and everyman’s journey to better understand the true spirit of this divine elixir.

One part wine guide, one part unfiltered memoir—this is a road trip fueled by bad decisions and good Riesling.

• A Road Trip Memoir Unlike Any Other: Follow professional booze writer Dan Dunn on a 15,000-mile journey across America as he attempts to drink his way back to life after his world falls apart.
• Wine Education for the Rest of Us: Learn the difference between Merlot and Meritage without the snooty jargon, in a wine-tasting course that promises more laughs and less crushing despair.
• Heartbreak and Hilarity: With his brother’s ashes in the passenger seat and a failed relationship in the rearview mirror, Dunn navigates loss with raw honesty and irreverent humor.
• Celebrity Cameos and American Characters: From tasting Pinot Noir with Kurt Russell to meeting the bizarre and brilliant people who make up the tapestry of American life, this is a journey into the heart of the country.

Dan Dunn has been, at varying times, a hardscrabble Philly kid, a member of Hunter S. Thompson's entourage, a newspaper and magazine columnist, a television comedy writer, a nightlife correspondent for Playboy, and the author of several cleverly titled books.
 
Widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts in adult beverages, he hosted Dan Dunn's Happy Hour, a weekly national radio show on SiriusXM that featured luminaries from the world of wine, beer and spirits along with pop culture icons such as Ray Romano, Hall & Oates, Kurt Russell, Olivia Wilde, and the Most Interesting Man in the World. He's appeared on Conan, The Adam Carolla Show, The Henry Rollins Show and numerous other fancy media-type programs.
 
For years, Dan penned the popular "Imbiber" column for Playboy, and is still a contributor to the magazine. He co-wrote (along with Rob McElhenney of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) the half-hour comedy pilot Living Loaded, which is based on Dan's book Living Loaded: Tales of Sex, Salvation and the Pursuit of the Never-Ending Happy Hour (Random House, 2011). The pilot, produced by FX for Fox, starred Donald Sutherland, Mike Vogel and Larry Wilmore. Dan also authored the books Nobody Likes a Quitter... and other reasons to avoid rehab (Running Press, 2007) and The Gang Writes a Self-Help Book: The Seven Secrets of Awakening the Highly Effective Four Hour Giant, TODAY (HarperCollins, January 2015). His forthcoming book, American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites and One Man's Blues (HarperCollins) will be released inApril 2016.
 
He is a former staff writer for the Emmy-nominated TV series Talk Soup. His work has appeared in GQ, Vanity Fair, Esquire, USA Today, Maxim, LA Weekly, Newsday, Los Angeles Magazine and the LA Times.
 
He lives in Venice, CA.