Oz Clarke's Story of Wine: 8000 Years, 100 Bottles (Hardback)

Uncork Oz Clarke's Story of Wine - this fully revised and updated edition brings the rich history of winemaking to the present day, to give you the perfect gift for any wine enthusiast.

Uncork Oz Clarke's Story of Wine - this fully revised and updated edition brings the rich history of winemaking to the present day, to give you the perfect gift for any wine enthusiast.

Winemaking is as old as civilization itself. For thousands of years, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to its current status as a global industry, the history of wine has been directly related to major social, cultural, religious and economic changes. Oz Clarke takes a look at more than 100 bottles that mark an evolution in the story of wine, capturing the innovations and discoveries that have had the biggest impact along the way.

Oz explores the flavours, the labels, the vineyards and the people who have influenced wine through the centuries from the medieval Cistercian monks of Burgundy, to scientists like Pasteur and Peynaud, who improved key technical aspects of winemaking and 20th-century giants like Robert Mondavi and Robert Parker Jr. Oz talks about famous vintages - from the 1727 Rudesheimer Apostelwein to the first Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in 1979 and today's cult wines from Bordeaux and California - and discusses the impact of changing climate on winemaking around the world.

These stories are told to make wine more alive, to bring wine's wonders closer to you, and also to make you think, to ask you to ponder wine's past - where it comes from; wine's present - where it is now; and wine's future - where it is going. Going from 6000BC and the probable birth of a wine culture in ancient Georgia, through the fact and fiction of Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome and then on along the fascinating cluttered trail right up to the trends and tribulations of now, Oz shares over a hundred stories, and woven into these tales are probably a hundred more about the rich history of 'bottled poetry'.

About the Author

Oz Clarke is one of the world's leading wine experts, known for his phenomenal palate, irreverent style, accurate predictions, and enthusiasm for life in general (and wine in particular). He is the author of many award-winning books on wine. Before wine took over his life in 1984, Oz was a full-time actor and singer, appearing in West End hit shows and touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Alongside his entertaining television and radio broadcasts, including 'Food and Drink', 'Oz and James' with James May and James Martin's Saturday Morning, he presents a series of concerts, Drink to Music! with the acclaimed Armonico Consort. Oz is also sports mad. He was awarded an OBE in 2020.