What do you think?
Rate this book
A Short History of Wine
Filled with riveting stories and profound insights, an entertaining guide to the world of wine travels the world, recreating each of the wonderful eras of wine consumption, with their varied values and palates, and detailing the anbundance of wine that has been consumed and enjoyed. 25,000 first printing.
- GenresWineNonfictionHistory
400 pages, Hardcover
First published July 27, 2000
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 26, 2018
This is one of the few books that I had started and did not finish. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it, I think I just got distracted...and then stopped working in the wine industry.
This was a very interesting book. But for me, it was hard to get through. The author's tone and writing is excellent. It was engaging and full of good information. However, even a "short history" was pretty dense.
I am one of those people that wants to start at the beginning when I am becoming engaged in a subject, so I found myself really wanting to get through this...but that was just it, I had to GET THROUGH it. I wasn't looking forward to it, I was scratching out hours so that I could finally finish it and move on to the next wine book. I feel like I'm giving it a bad rap, and I shouldn't...I mean I gave it four stars! But I have to admit, this one was a struggle for me...which is pretty unusual for a subject that I'm interested in...
Take from this what you will...
This was a very interesting book. But for me, it was hard to get through. The author's tone and writing is excellent. It was engaging and full of good information. However, even a "short history" was pretty dense.
I am one of those people that wants to start at the beginning when I am becoming engaged in a subject, so I found myself really wanting to get through this...but that was just it, I had to GET THROUGH it. I wasn't looking forward to it, I was scratching out hours so that I could finally finish it and move on to the next wine book. I feel like I'm giving it a bad rap, and I shouldn't...I mean I gave it four stars! But I have to admit, this one was a struggle for me...which is pretty unusual for a subject that I'm interested in...
Take from this what you will...
April 6, 2020
A thorough review of the history of wine as we know it in the West.
June 8, 2014
A bottle of Korbel Champagne Brut lays dormant in my frig. Waiting for that happy celebration. A special occasional with my girlfriend. An encouraging performance review from my manager. Maybe even something as simple as finishing a good book. But it also waits to be understood. From it’s bubbly properties to its interesting history. My hope was “A Short History of Wine” by Rod Phillips” would help guide me on this journey. While it didn’t dampen my appreciation of wine, it didn’t enhance my understanding of it.
Phillips to his credit has written exhaustively about wine from the traces of early vintages in Egypt, and walks us through the historical path of viticulture across the world. He writes best on patterns with wine producers and how they are broken. Some examples include political upheavals, social criticism from the temperance movement and grapevine phylloxera that destroyed harvests. There are historical patterns and cultural truths about the wine that become apparent.
My problem stems from what is left out of scope. Phillips has passing paragraphs about Louis Pasteur, or how tempering a bottle with sulphur was used to try to preserve wine. Somehow technological advancements are passed over. From reading the book there is very little I can tell you about the interaction of the grapes, technology, the biology and the chemistry. Rich detail is not found here, just a broadness, and eventually a boring plainness
Also for a history book, it would have been helpful to anchor passages or chapters on particular events or persons. It’s hard to find structure or a guiding hand through the progression of notes. More like a data dump, and occasional one liners that should be massaged with more life.
Unfortunately I can not recommend this book. Viticulture is fascinating though, and I imagine my interest will grow. For now, my bottle waits.
Phillips to his credit has written exhaustively about wine from the traces of early vintages in Egypt, and walks us through the historical path of viticulture across the world. He writes best on patterns with wine producers and how they are broken. Some examples include political upheavals, social criticism from the temperance movement and grapevine phylloxera that destroyed harvests. There are historical patterns and cultural truths about the wine that become apparent.
My problem stems from what is left out of scope. Phillips has passing paragraphs about Louis Pasteur, or how tempering a bottle with sulphur was used to try to preserve wine. Somehow technological advancements are passed over. From reading the book there is very little I can tell you about the interaction of the grapes, technology, the biology and the chemistry. Rich detail is not found here, just a broadness, and eventually a boring plainness
Also for a history book, it would have been helpful to anchor passages or chapters on particular events or persons. It’s hard to find structure or a guiding hand through the progression of notes. More like a data dump, and occasional one liners that should be massaged with more life.
Unfortunately I can not recommend this book. Viticulture is fascinating though, and I imagine my interest will grow. For now, my bottle waits.
February 27, 2008
Ok, I never finished this one. I had to return it to the library (this is why I buy too many books). Anyway, I love wine and the history of wine. This is a fantastic book for all wine lovers, and even lovers of history. You travel from lifetimes ago to the present learning about the global history of societies and social classes, politics and many other contributing factors all influenced by WINE. I need to get back to this one.
July 11, 2016
This took me forever to read, despite being interesting, well-researched, and enjoyable. Good overview of the origins of wine and various societies' interactions with it through to the 21st century. Good source of new vocabulary.
Want to Read
January 9, 2009Picked up at the Big Book Sale!
June 30, 2011
Interesting, but a little dry. Lots of facts and figures.
December 13, 2012
interesting and entertaining
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews