Wine has a history far larger than that of any mere beverage. Present at the earliest recorded points of human history, it has been heralded as the height of sophistication or the depths of debauchery, a precious part of religious ritual or a free-flowing social lubricant. This new edition explores the tourism and terroir driven global industry of today and reaches as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome. On the way it stops at significant points of wine history including the birth of Champagne, Venice in the 17th century, trade in the Middle Ages, and more. Celebratory and thorough, A Short History of Wine never lets the scale of history wars, fraud, blight, colonization, Prohibition get in the way of a good story or notable bottle. "