A Short History of Wine

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, amusing, and intellectually satisfying
Review: If you have an interest in wine, you'll find this fascinating book a lot of fun to read. "A Short History of Wine" is a well-written and descriptive account of the history of wine from ancient times to the modern day. As the author states, "wine is not a commodity that inspires complacency" and its long history has been "shaped by politics and wars, by social and economic change, by shifts in taste and diet, and by its relationship to religion and medicine." If that sounds dry and dusty, it's not. Phillips's narrative moves along smartly, with interesting and amusing anecdotes on every page. For example, when phylloxera attacked the vineyards of France in the late 1800s, production dropped and prices rose leading to the manufacture of wine from other products, such as imported raisins. In 1890, more than 10 percent of the wine consumed in France was made from raisins. Even after the threat of phylloxera had passed, the ready availability of artificial wine, along with widespread adulteration and fraud, led the French government to create the "appellation controlee" system of regulations that protects producers of quality wines to this day.

Read this book with a glass of wine close at hand. Just as a knowledge of the history of classical music can heighten your enjoyment of a composer's works, reading this book will heighten your appreciation for wine beyond the sensory level. You'll never look at a glass of wine the same way again. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, amusing, and intellectually satisfying
Review: If you have an interest in wine, you'll find this fascinating book a lot of fun to read. "A Short History of Wine" is a well-written and descriptive account of the history of wine from ancient times to the modern day. As the author states, "wine is not a commodity that inspires complacency" and its long history has been "shaped by politics and wars, by social and economic change, by shifts in taste and diet, and by its relationship to religion and medicine." If that sounds dry and dusty, it's not. Phillips's narrative moves along smartly, with interesting and amusing anecdotes on every page. For example, when phylloxera attacked the vineyards of France in the late 1800s, production dropped and prices rose leading to the manufacture of wine from other products, such as imported raisins. In 1890, more than 10 percent of the wine consumed in France was made from raisins. Even after the threat of phylloxera had passed, the ready availability of artificial wine, along with widespread adulteration and fraud, led the French government to create the "appellation controlee" system of regulations that protects producers of quality wines to this day.

Read this book with a glass of wine close at hand. Just as a knowledge of the history of classical music can heighten your enjoyment of a composer's works, reading this book will heighten your appreciation for wine beyond the sensory level. You'll never look at a glass of wine the same way again. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: World History from the viewpoint of wines
Review: This is definitely an exciting book for anybody interested not only in wines but also in history. With a bit more than 300 pages Rod Phillips paints a fascinating journey of wine from its unknown origins the politico-economic-cultural-medical scenes of today. The task is not small. Rod Phillips does an excellent job. To write history of this nature you must be a historian, which is the author's trade; without this background the intricate connections between world history and wine would remain shallow. In a way the book is a (limited) view on world history. The book is well written and contains many delightful stories in the long history of wine. I would have enjoyed the book even more if some additional editorial work had been done. For a reader the trends and economic significance of wine could have become more clear with tables or figures summarizing the abundant information contained in the book which is further blurred by the unsystematic usage of measures; litres, hectolitres, gallons, not to speak about ancient hard-to-understand measures are being used in parallel complicating matters unnecessarily. I personally would have appreciated a sepatate treatement of vines.

I am sure wine tastes different after having read this delightful little book.