Who is Coming to Table Wine?
Meet Peter Hellman

702WI: What book(s) changed your life?
Peter Hellman: Frankenstein. It was the first "adult" book I ever read. Scared the daylights out of me and made me understand the power of words on the page.
702WI: What book(s) are coming out this year that you’re looking forward to reading?
PH: Top of my list is Laura Shapiro's What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories
702WI: What books are currently stacked next to your bed/on your desk/in your pile-to-read?
PH: Original copies by Bianca Bosker. Arguably, essays by Christopher Hitchens, and History of My Life by Casanova
702WI: What book did you most recently recommend to someone else?
PH: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
702WI: Who are your favorite writers?
PH: John Cheever, PG Wodehouse, AJ Lieblin, Fitzgerald.
702WI: Do you commonly use a word or phrase that is specific to a place you lived/from childhood/from family that you don’t hear often in day-to-day conversation?
PH: My son couldn't say "thank you". He said "not nu". I still say it to my wife to this day when she hands me something: "not nu".
702WI: What book/s could you never part with? Think “stranded-on-a-desert-island” books.
PH: Anna Karenina.
702WI: Were you ever embarrassed about a book you loved?
PH: Never.
702WI: What fictional character do you most identify with? Why?
PH: Anna Karenina: Her courage and her determination to live life fully are admirable to me.
702WI: Do you have a favorite musician or genre of music?
PH: Glenn Gould has to be my favorite.
702WI: Is there a creator who is doing something you find amazing?
PH: I find that what Adele has done is pretty amazing given her background.
702WI: What do you wish you knew more about?
PH: What's at the end of the universe.
702WI: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
PH: Ah'nold (Schwarzenegger).
702WI: Vinyl, cassette, CD or digital? Typewriter, notebook, tablet or computer? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or none of the above? Sweet or savory?
PH: Typewriter. Facebook. Savory, then sweet.
702WI: What is your most meaningful place?
PH: Witch's Rock Surf Camp
702WI: What’s your favorite bookstore?
PH: Book Culture, NYC.
702WI: Can you share a favorite line from a creative work (book/play/film/song)?
PH: Frankenstein being "Soon borne away by the waves and lost in the darkness and distance."
702WI: What do you enjoy most about doing a reading or talking about your book?
PH: Trying to persuade audiences that in so many ways wine is not like anything else we consume.
702WI: What is something you know about or have heard about Madison or Wisconsin?
PH: My wife's wonderful Aunt Toby and Uncle Bernie Cohen, and her cousin Sarah Cohen and husband Jonny Hunter, and their lively son and daughter.
Read about Peter's new book, In Vino Duplicitas
702WI: What book(s) changed your life?
Peter Hellman: Frankenstein. It was the first "adult" book I ever read. Scared the daylights out of me and made me understand the power of words on the page.
702WI: What book(s) are coming out this year that you’re looking forward to reading?
PH: Top of my list is Laura Shapiro's What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories
702WI: What books are currently stacked next to your bed/on your desk/in your pile-to-read?
PH: Original copies by Bianca Bosker. Arguably, essays by Christopher Hitchens, and History of My Life by Casanova
702WI: What book did you most recently recommend to someone else?
PH: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
702WI: Who are your favorite writers?
PH: John Cheever, PG Wodehouse, AJ Lieblin, Fitzgerald.
702WI: Do you commonly use a word or phrase that is specific to a place you lived/from childhood/from family that you don’t hear often in day-to-day conversation?
PH: My son couldn't say "thank you". He said "not nu". I still say it to my wife to this day when she hands me something: "not nu".
702WI: What book/s could you never part with? Think “stranded-on-a-desert-island” books.
PH: Anna Karenina.
702WI: Were you ever embarrassed about a book you loved?
PH: Never.
702WI: What fictional character do you most identify with? Why?
PH: Anna Karenina: Her courage and her determination to live life fully are admirable to me.
702WI: Do you have a favorite musician or genre of music?
PH: Glenn Gould has to be my favorite.
702WI: Is there a creator who is doing something you find amazing?
PH: I find that what Adele has done is pretty amazing given her background.
702WI: What do you wish you knew more about?
PH: What's at the end of the universe.
702WI: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
PH: Ah'nold (Schwarzenegger).
702WI: Vinyl, cassette, CD or digital? Typewriter, notebook, tablet or computer? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or none of the above? Sweet or savory?
PH: Typewriter. Facebook. Savory, then sweet.
702WI: What is your most meaningful place?
PH: Witch's Rock Surf Camp
702WI: What’s your favorite bookstore?
PH: Book Culture, NYC.
702WI: Can you share a favorite line from a creative work (book/play/film/song)?
PH: Frankenstein being "Soon borne away by the waves and lost in the darkness and distance."
702WI: What do you enjoy most about doing a reading or talking about your book?
PH: Trying to persuade audiences that in so many ways wine is not like anything else we consume.
702WI: What is something you know about or have heard about Madison or Wisconsin?
PH: My wife's wonderful Aunt Toby and Uncle Bernie Cohen, and her cousin Sarah Cohen and husband Jonny Hunter, and their lively son and daughter.
Read about Peter's new book, In Vino Duplicitas