About the Book
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.
Table of Contents:
Part 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
Part II: Rounding the Cape
5 Spain: El Clásico
6 Portugal: Any Porto in a Storm
7 Out of Africa
8 India and Beyond: New Latitudes, New Attitudes
Part III: High and Low
9 Shangri-La
10 Australia: The Library and the Museum
11 Tasmania: Cool Is Hot
12 Southern Cross
Part IV: Sour Grapes?
13 Napa Valley Wine Train
14 A Riesling Rendezvous
15 Cannonball Run
16 Back to London: Victory or Defeat?
Notes
The Wine List
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
About the Author :
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.
Review :
This work takes readers on a rapid, engaging skip and skim around the globe-highlighting the diversity of wines now produced across the planet. . . . An entertaining smatter of the eclectic, a trove of stories and facts not found in other books about wine.
Veseth pulls together research from extensive travels and highlights wines that tell stories about the world's vintners and vineyards. . . . [He] uses the wines to explore interesting questions of history, economics, terroir and taste. And his enthusiasm for the people he meets and the stories they tell should encourage wine lovers to take a voyage of their own, pushing beyond their comfort zones to explore the vast and surprising world of wine.
An entertaining introduction to the world of wines . . . Reading [t]his book is rather like attending a swanky cocktail party: it contains a vast and varied buffet, with loads of interesting conversational tidbits.
A breezy, easy to follow sampler of wines from . . . well, everywhere, including Shangri-la, this book has a good sense of humor and a wide-ranging, bird's-eye perspective. It will digress into history, marketing, economics, culture, politics and religion and take you right along with it. A really fun and engaging read that will make you want to start planning an 80-wine whistle-stop tour of your own.
Veseth undertakes 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.
An informative work that will entertain any wine lover. . . . [T]he wealth of material and the author's thoroughly enjoyable approach make this a valuable addition to any collection.
Besides citing and assessing scores of great wines, Veseth breaks out of stuffy academia, [for example] seeking out which Spanish wines most exemplify soccer powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona, or tracking down and profiling 'The Mondavi of Mumbai.'
Great wine and good food are two things that have the ability to enhance your happiness in life . . .[and this book] can help elevate those already good moods.
Mike Veseth has deftly captured the magical worldwide journey of wine. This is a great rollicking educational roller coaster of a ride that the global fraternity of wine enthusiasts will embrace.
Like a master blender, Mike Veseth stimulates the mind's appetite with a wonderful balance of illusion and substance, as complex as a fine wine. Structured with cultural nuance and imagination, this delightful book is a must-read for serious wine enthusiasts and neophytes alike. Circumnavigating the world in eighty wines should be enjoyed with a glass of your favorite 'origin' in hand.
This captivating book is about more than just wine—it’s about human nature, travel, and enjoyment. As the Rick Steves of the wine world, Mike uses his rich talents as a writer and storyteller to transport the reader to a new territory to explore as each of the eighty wines is opened.
Mike Veseth takes the reader on a Phileas Fogg–inspired odyssey in search of the answer to the question: why wine? The solution is a true global adventure—a mosaic of stories that illuminate wine beyond the glass to embody the enduring human spirit through controversy, love, loss, and hope. I was packing my bags to join the journey before the end of part I. A must-read for all who love wine and life.
This adventurous book shows us that wine is about more than what’s in the glass: it is about meeting new people and discovering vibrant cultures and amazing landscapes. Mike’s engaging storytelling reveals the histories behind the wine he tastes, which are often just as complex and delightful as the vino itself.
