Il tempo in una bottiglia: storia naturale del vino

by Rob DeSalle, Ian Tattersall, Patricia Wynne (illustrator)

Di cosa è fatto il vino? Fisica, chimica, neuroscienze, antropologia e molto altro. Parlando di fronte a un bicchiere di buon vino, DeSalle e Tattersall hanno capito che il “nettare degli dèi” ha un legame con tutte le principali discipline scientifiche.
Ne è nato un libro che racconta un viaggio affascinante: dalle antichissime origini in un villaggio del Caucaso meridionale all’analisi di ciò che rende speciale un terroir, dalla spiegazione del modo in cui la degustazione coinvolge tutti i nostri sensi alle più moderne tecnologie di vinificazione, fino alle conseguenze dell’eccesso di alcol sul nostro organismo e all’impatto del cambiamento climatico sui vitigni. Il tempo in una bottiglia è un libro unico, per degustare il vino attraverso la sua storia, la sua scienza, e una molteplicità di sguardi sorprendenti.

Genres: History, Wine, Nonfiction, Food, Audiobook, Science, Food and Drink

293 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2014

About the author

Rob DeSalle is curator of entomology in the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. He is author or coauthor of dozens of books, several based upon exhibitions at the AMNH, including The Brain: Big Bangs, Behaviors, and Beliefs and A Natural History of Wine, coauthored with Ian Tattersall and published by Yale University Press. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very attractive little volume. The text raised more questions than it answered for me, but I think the bibliography should help me get them answered. I was somewhat horrified by the authors' cheerfully accepting attitude towards molecular genetic modification of grapevines.

[Margaux Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best wine book I've read in ages - science but not too technical. Love it.

[FitzBellehumeur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comment rapprocher la science et la vigne? En réunissant deux scientifiques oenophiles. Ce livre est une belle initiation au vin pour l’esprit scientifique qui veut en savoir un peu plus sur l’origine, la fermentation, l’influence du climat et des sols et l’évolution à travers le temps de notre belle Vitis Vinifera. Lecture très enrichissante. Pas nécessairement un livre qu’un oenophile doit absolument avoir dans sa bibliothèque, mais je n’ai certainement pas perdu mon temps et je dirais même que c’était du temps bien investi.

[ConfusedMagpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot lore than what I bargained for, but in a good way. Came for an explanation on wine, ended up with a chemistry, biochem and evolutionary lecture. Very cool book to learn about the science on wine. I would have expected a more poignant condemnation of climate change from such scientific authors in the last chapter, they chose to go in a direction of “oh well the climate has always changed lets see what this particular change in clinate does to wine”, which i found dissapointing for this day and age.

[Adrian Mihai · Rating 5 out of 5]

O istorie foarte amănunțită realizată de doi cercetători pasionați de această băutură minunată.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

An interesting and informative book about the causes and effects of wine throughout history. Unfortunately, it largely ignores three large wine making regions, being centered almost exclusively on Europe and California, it ignores Australia, South Africa and South American wines to a large extent.

It also displays an unfortunate political tribalism, although I doubt the authors are even aware of it. They even fudge the facts on prohibition, and create a weird moral equivalence between prohibition and the Islamic ban on alcohol which is completely unnecessary.

Still, some of the history and most of the science are fascinating.

[Michael Johansson]

Being a bit of wine nerd myself, the book gave some new perspectives regarding recent scientific research in a broad range of areas. A plus for the overview on DNA sequencing. I will return to this book chapter vise in the future.

[Desirae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mainly picked this up for research on an upcoming project. I was looking for a more historical/archeological book but this is more chemistry/biological based. Not a bad thing, but not exactly what I was looking for.

This book, as a whole, is good and largely enjoyable to read, but there are a couple of caveats for readers, especially if they're coming to this book as wine-enthusiasts rather than scientists (or both). First, this book is written by two scientists that happen to be wine lovers and not by two wine lovers who happen to be scientists. Yes, there is a difference.

There are several chapters that lend themselves to in-depth treatments of the science behind the subject, and it's obvious that the two authors are in their element here. Unfortunately, while their discussions of the chemical structures of sugar and alcohol, the chemistry behind photosynthesis and fermentation and the role of the ventral putamen in pleasure-processing (to name but a few) are interesting at one level, they quickly get lost in minutiae at another.

This gets especially bad for anything involving molecules and chemistry, and the final experience for me of reading any of those chapters was a steady shift from really wanting to figure the science out to feeling ignorant and guilty for not paying enough attention during 10th grade Chemistry. I suppose it's possible that I deserve to feel ignorant and guilty, and there is a little part of me that wants to go dust off my Intro to Chem and Bio textbooks (of course I saved them, didn't you?) and review this stuff until I understand what they were talking about, but the reality is I won't actually be doing that, so I'm just left with the guilt and ignorance.

Second, they give short shrift to a surprising amount of the history of wine. Yes, the first chapter does try to situate wine in a historical context, but after they get past the Romans they seem to run out of steam, and the next thing you know it's the 19th century. An attention to history reasserts itself in the chapter on Phylloxera as well as here and there throughout the book, but the overall effect is that this is less a history of wine (or even a "natural history" of wine) written for someone new to the subject than a supplement for someone already versed in the broad sweep of that history and looking for some new insights and perspectives. All of that said, this was still a terrific read. Though I slogged through some of the technical stuff, the writing was generally engaging and their approach to a couple of key issues was fresh and interesting (I especially recommend the chapters on Wine and Technology and Climate Change).

The book itself is gorgeous, beautifully composed and illustrated. I recommend this book to anyone who already has even a just a little background or experience with wine, as you are sure to get something out of it, and if you hit an overly technical patch, just skip over it. To a wine enthusiast with a science background (especially in chemistry), I recommend the book unreservedly. As a first introduction to wine, though, a different book might be a better place to start.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Natural History of Wine was selected by the leader of a book club dedicated to wine and books about wine. At first glance, the book appears to be too academic. It is published by Yale University Press and authored by two scientists affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In fact, the book is not too academic nor too technical (although some parts of the book dealing with the chemistry and the biochemistry of alcohol uptake by the human body were somewhat technical). But, overall, I feel like I just completed an adult education class at UC Davis’s School of Viticulture and Enology. The book concisely covers a number of topics. Topics include wine and people (evidence of wine making and consumption from the days of prehistoric man), how grapes turn sugar into alcohol, the impact of microbes on soil and vines, what happens to the body when it consumes alcohol, information about terroir, including factors such as rock sediment and soil, geography factors, elevation, etc. One part of the book details the human sense of smell and sight (which becomes technical). The authors lament the standardization of wine coincident with mass production and seem to revel in the discovery of unique wines, unique either because the wine is a little-known varietal, or because the winemaker’s style brings out some specialness of a particular wine. My main takeaway from this book: Be open to wines that are different from the mainstream American varietals, either because they come from a different region such as Eastern Europe, or because the wine varietal is new to the typical wine consumer. I will be on the lookout for new varietals and regions. I raise my glass to salute the authors of this terrific book. I initially misjudged this book by its cover but learned my lesson.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know much about wine thus this book was a quick way to help educate myself. Some interesting notes from the book include the following:

- ethanol calories are higher than normal carbs, etc; makes sense based upon evidence of "beer bellies".
- the tumbleweed plant in truth invented the wheel; very interesting and makes sense as it could have been the inspiration for a long ago lived human.
- didn't realize that wine is made almost everywhere in the world where grapes can be grown; the author specifically mentioned Armenian wine at one point being great.
- the author also mentioned how climate change is/will affect wine making; as temps increase, some regions will be challenged to produce the same grapes at higher weather temperatures; also, more northern regions may now be able to grow more grape varieties. Will see how this business develops over the next decade or so.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un ottimo libro, che ben presenta la storia del vino e dell'addomesticazione della vite per come era nota circa 4 anni fa. Nel frattempo qualche nuovo ritrovamento ha confermato tutto quanto detto nei primi capitoli.
Il saggio, scritto da DeSalle, che non conoscevo, e da Tattersall, che invece ben conosco per il suo lavoro sull'evoluzione ominide, non si limita a guardare al passato ma getta un occhio lungo al futuro sorpassando il presente. Descrive come le tecniche OMG potranno, insieme al global warming, mutare completamente l'aspetto della produzione di vino di qualità nel mondo durante questo XXI secolo.
Quattro stelle e mezzo, e non cinque stelle, perché a mio avviso (e come gli autori stessi riconoscono) ci sono alcune "dimenticanze" nell'opera che invece a me stanno a cuore.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I barely remember this book (part of the problem with not getting off my ass and writing these reviews as soon as I finish the books), but I do remember thinking that the authors were basically looking for an excuse to indulge their wine hobby. I think at some point they recognize a little bit that wine culture is a bit ridiculous, but not like... enough for my tastes.

It also did not really feel like a "history" in any sense. You have to extract what historical details are present from long descriptions of the authors' trips to X or Y place to taste wine, and their thoughts about wine and whatnot. Some of the stuff gets interesting when the Americans come on the scene, but I'd rather read a book like this but written by someone who actually hates wine.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tattersall and DeSalle take the reader through the finer points of all that goes into making wine. They cover everything from the history of the cultivation of the grape vine, the blights that threaten it and even the gene-engineering that might be necessary to adapt it to a more erratic global climate pattern. The authors also focus on the biological and chemical processes that take place in the vine, the must and the yeast to contribute to the quality of the wine. While certainly informative I can’t say that I was particularly enthralled with the prose and rolled my eyes more than once as they were minutely discussing the many factors that go into terroir.

[Steven Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the result of a collaboration between a molecular biologist and an anthropologist who work as colleagues at the American Museum of Natural History. They have written several books together that they say involved a lot of hanging out together with copious quantities of wine. This book allowed be to geek out the process of growing grapes and making wine - although I will admit that some the chemistry was more detail than I wanted, or understood. I learned a lot about a topic of interest and the writing was both enjoyable and engaging as well as illuminating. I will now have to look for other science books from this pair.

[Simon Bullock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly a page turner. Felt like the book couldnt decide whether it wanted to be an intro chemistry textbook, or eonological art book. I can appreciate the technical analysis, but it was evident in the name or style of book. Like a less good version of The Taste of Wine by Master Emile Peynaud. I'd suggest skipping over this one if you're looking for an intro/intermediate book and begrudge through if you're farther along in your wine studies

[Jenny Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but partial to certain preferences and topics.
I felt like there was more information that I wanted to learn that wasn’t included, so I looked elsewhere. Still had many interesting learning points and acknowledgeable aspects, but I found myself drifting and falling asleep at certain parts.

[Dave Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contained far more science than I expected. I really enjoyed it but it was not what I was expecting. I don't know why but I was expecting far more historic stories rather than the science text I was provided. Really enjoy it.

[Andrew Mossberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview that dips into science, history and the making of beer without getting too deep, yet with a bit more detail than some of the other overviews. Contains a good number of charts and diagrams that help illustrate some of the details, as well as a great bibliography.

[Elizabeth Housewright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some chapters were more interesting than others, but a well rounded look at wine, I enjoyed it and learned a lot.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief survey with no fear of talking technically. Worthwhile.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most boring wine book I’ve ever read. The first section was very enjoyable, but the rest of the book devolved into university-level chemistry and biology classes. Not what I was expecting.

[Janis Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches a lot about wine. The history, the making and the different types of grapes. Highly recommend it.

[Mr R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, a blending of beer history with many other discaplins. Interesting and informative without being too heavy. Learned a lot

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book probably deserves more than a 3, but it's a bit too sciencey for me. I was expecting a lighter read. A lot of the chemistry and biology stuff was not something that I wanted to comprehend.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I

[Verix · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8/5.0

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, although highly technical - more science than history.

[Spice Giant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Largely chemistry and biology, this book helps with appreciating wine and the background that brings it to your glass.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting technical introduction to making and drinking wine. If you think of yourself as a serious wine drinker I recommend it. But it is NF that many will not have the patience for.