Around the world in eighty wines : exploring wine one country at a time / Mike Veseth.

ISBN:

9781442257368

Title:

Author:

Veseth, Michael, author.

Personal Author:

Veseth, Michael, author.

Physical Description:

217 pages ; 24 cm.

Contents:

pt. I From London to Beirut -- 1. London: The Challenge Is Made and the Journey Begins -- 2. France: Which Bottle? Which Wine? -- 3. Italy: Batali's Impossibility Theorem -- 4. Syria, Lebanon, and Georgia: The Wine Wars -- pt. II Rounding the Cape -- 5. Spain: El Clasico -- 6. Portugal: Any Porto in a Storm -- 7. Out of Africa -- 8. India and Beyond: New Latitudes, New Attitudes -- pt. III High and Low -- 9. Shangri-La -- 10. Australia: The Library and the Museum -- 11. Tasmania: Cool Is Hot -- 12. Southern Cross -- pt. IV Sour Grapes? -- 13. Napa Valley Wine Train -- 14. A Riesling Rendezvous -- 15. Cannonball Run -- 16. Back to London: Victory! Or Defeat?.

Subject Term:

Wine and wine making.

Wineries.

Format:

Books

Publication Date:

2017

Publication Information:

Lanham, Maryland

Rowman & Littlefield,

[2017]

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
641.22 VES	Book	1	Standard shelving location	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

Inspired by Jules Verne's classic adventure tale, celebrated editor-in-chief of The Wine Economist Mike Veseth takes his readers Around the World in Eighty Wines. The journey starts in London, Phileas Fogg's home base, and follows Fogg's itinerary to France and Italy before veering off in search of compelling wine stories in Syria, Georgia, and Lebanon. Every glass of wine tells a story, and so each of the eighty wines must tell an important tale. We head back across Northern Africa to Algeria, once the world's leading wine exporter, before hopping across the sea to Spain and Portugal. We follow Portuguese trade routes to Madeira and then South Africa with a short detour to taste Kenya's most famous Pinot Noir. Kenya? Pinot Noir? Really The route loops around, visiting Bali, Thailand, and India before heading north to China to visit Shangri-La. Shangri-La? Does that even exist? It does, and there is wine there. Then it is off to Australia, with a detour in Tasmania, which is so cool that it is hot. The stars of the Southern Cross (and the title of a familiar song) guide us to New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina. We ride a wine train in California and rendezvous with Planet Riesling in Seattle before getting into fast cars for a race across North America, collecting more wine as we go. Pause for lunch in Virginia to honor Thomas Jefferson, then it's time to jet back to London to tally our wines and see what we have learned. Why these particular places? What are the eighty wines and what do they reveal? And what is the surprise plot twist that guarantees a happy ending for every wine lover? Come with us on a journey of discovery that will inspire, inform, and entertain anyone who loves travel, adventure, or wine.

Author Notes

Mike Veseth is professor emeritus of international political economy at the University of Puget Sound. He is editor of the award-winning blog The Wine Economist and author of several books on the business and pleasure of wine, including the best-selling Wine Wars, Extreme Wine, and Money, Taste, and Wine, which received the 2016 Gourmand International award for "Best in the World" wine writing. He's currently working on his next book in Seattle when he isn't traveling around the world with his wife, Sue; speaking to wine industry groups; and looking for great wines and great wine stories.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, Veseth's personal journey through the complex and compelling world of wine starts and ends on London's St. James's Street, home to fine-wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd since 1698. Along the way, Veseth tours Bordeaux and Burgundy, where some of the world's best wines are made, and visits the more uncharted wine-growing territories of Bali, Thailand, and Tasmania. Veseth chooses the wines he profiles based on the ability of each to excite the palate, and the imagination: "Each of [the] eighty wines must tell a story, [but they] must not just each tell their own story.... They must collectively form a picture and tell a story that reveals a greater truth," he writes. As a result, reading his book is rather like attending a swanky cocktail party: it contains a vast and varied buffet, with loads of interesting conversational tidbits. The book makes for an entertaining introduction to the world of wines. As an added bonus, the author also provides a bibliography for those wishing to delve deeper into the topic. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Veseth undetakes a global adventure seeking stories of the people, places, and cultures that are the essence of what makes wine so unique: an intoxicating enchantment that draws in people from all walks of life. Casting off from the historic Berry Bros. & Rudd wine shop in London, Veseth embarks on a long and fascinating trip that includes not only expected areas, like France, Italy, Australia, and California, but also places less known for wine making, such as Syria, Kenya, and Virginia. Each leg of the journey is documented through interesting stories, with a small selection of representative wines listed at the end of the chapter. A wine economist, Veseth often discusses the varying impacts such influences as war and climate change have on the wine industry in the particular regions. The jet-setting course would have been well served by accompanying maps to give readers a better sense of direction, and possibly a few select tasting notes on the more elusive wines. The final list of wines discussed is much longer than the 80 that readers will anticipate.--Smith, Becca Copyright 2017 Booklist

Choice Review

Veseth, a wine writer and professor emeritus at the University of Puget Sound, has penned an informative work that will entertain any wine lover. Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's classic novel, Veseth becomes a latter-day Phileas Fogg, bringing his reader on an adventure in wine history, grape cultivars, geography, climate, and economics that follows the fictional character's journey around the world. Since he limits his sampling to just eighty wines, readers might likely disagree with his wine choices from some well-known regions and marvel at the existence of wine in others. Really, Pinot Noir in Kenya? But the reader is given justification for choices made. Less clear are why certain obvious choices are ignored, such as a Missouri Norton or a Riesling from the Great Lakes region. However, these are just examples that any reader will likely bring to the book based on their own personal experiences and biases. Overall, the wealth of material and the author's thoroughly enjoyable approach make this a valuable addition to any collection. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Gordon Stanley Howell, emeritus, Michigan State University