num_pages: 288
description: A chance encounter with an obscure vintage made near Jerusalem leads journalist Kevin Begos to seek the origins of wine. What he discovers is a whole world of forgotten grapes each with distinctive tastes and aromas as well as the archaeologists chemists and botanists who are deciphering wine down to molecules of flavor. The characters in The World in a Glass of Wine include a young Swiss scientist who set out to decode the DNA of every single wine grape in the world; Middle Eastern researchers who seek to discover the wines that King David drank; and a University of Pennsylvania academic who has spent decades analyzing wine remains. The science illuminates wine in ways no critic can and demolishes some of the most sacred dogmas of the industry: well-known French grapes arent especially noble. This alternative history starts in the Caucasus Mountains where wine was domesticated 8000 years ago. Then we travel with Begos along the original wine routesdown to Israel and across the Mediterranean to Greece Italy France and finally to America where California and Vermont vineyards are creating new wines by letting native and European grapes breed togetherits a literal melting pot of new tastes and possibilities. As he samples these wines Begos offers readers tasting suggestions that go far beyond the endless bottles of Chardonnay and Merlot found in most stores and restaurants. From this combination of journalism history science and adventure travel readers will learn the multicultural roots of wine while enjoying a full-bodied story with a rich nutty bouquet and plenty of subtle nuances that will linger. 
language: English
title: Tasting the Past: The Science of Flavor and the Search for the Origins of Wine
publisher: Algonquin Books