Wine is the only beverage to which a divine origin is attributed. Wine is also the 8,000-year-old accompaniment to thedaily meal in many southern countries. Between these two extremes moves a colorful company of habitual drinkersand gourmets; farmers and scientists; soldiers and heads of state; stay-at-homes and adventurers; colonists and missionaries; monks, priests and popes; poets and writers; fraudsters and their victims. Frans de Graaf spent many years traveling around in the past and the present of wine in order to find a higher coherence in this variegated reality.This book is the result of his wanderings. Described are the rich history of wine, how and where wine is made, the struggles of winemaker and taster, and the receptivity of the wine drinker to illusions and scams. The whole is completed with surprising examples of fine wine writing from world literature.Enjoy this wine book for both wine-lovers and book-lovers.