From stubborn winemakers to wine science, three books to read in the fall

Wine has always represented, in the collective imagination, the taste and aroma of autumn. The leaves fall, the colors change, the vineyard becomes a magical and warm place, after its birth, with the harvest, the most precious fruit: the murmur of the cellars, it must be boiled in wooden barrels. But the world of wine transcends physical boundaries and flows through the pages of stories and guides that bring together thousands of different shades and facets. Indeed, the wine literature not only rejects wine in guides, tours or tastings, but also includes it in treatises of science and genetics, stating that it is one of the solutions to liberate modern society from false beliefs and open up new possibilities for tourism. Wine is not only the traditional red, white, or rose beverage paired with food, but can become the protagonist of a novel about men who live their work with true passion and obstinacy, a statement that enhances the creativity of women in the sector. Technical promotional article. Wine is above all a vine, in the double sense of plant and of being, a life as strong and resolute as that of winemakers; dynamics like those of producers; Full of wisdom like the wisdom of Attilio Senza.

The three books we chose for you Moving away from the usual clichés of reading wine, it will not only help you choose the bottle you want to buy or the brand you prefer, but it will open new paths and new reflections on the role of wine from a different perspective, as a scientific response to false news about its purity, as a tool to investigate trends and behaviors of Italian wine tourism, Or as an element of social criticism of the startup and speed myths, which have invaded the modern world but not the world of vineyards. For an autumn drink. and reading.

Vine and reservation – the pseudo-science and the search for the perfect grape

Attilio Senza – Mama Jumbo Shrimp – p. 123 – 10 EUR

Although the title refers to Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride and Prejudice, there is nothing fancy about this treatise on vine and its false myths, in pocket form, designed for an international audience (in English). The author, who also has a scientific title, is an expert in viticulture Atilio ScienceProfessor of Genetic Improvement of the Vine at the University of Milan, with Shrimp Mama Jumbo. The book is formed from episodes of the Italian Wine podcast by Stevie KimThe embryos of ideas developed in this little guide already existed. Through a historical-philosophical approach, in just a hundred pages, Scienza explores the problems of wine in an increasingly unscientific world, where fake news is taken to be truer than scholars’ postulates. The author examines the genes of grapes through a social lens, from the biology and paleontology of wine to new hybridization and DNA evolutions, debunking false myths about vine, such as those of purity, on a journey to discover the transformations of wine during the geological evolution of the Earth. A synthetic and instructional book, semi-encyclopedic in some places, certainly not ideal for beginners to approach the subject. But despite the complexity, skill, and emotion that Scienza tells us about and explains about her subject matter, it makes it seamless and never heavy. In addition, to facilitate reading and understanding, there is also a small summary focusing on historical figures and specific topics, present in each chapter. A nice find for the most knowledgeable.

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A journey in Italy by wine. Wine Tourism Observatory: Regulations, good practices and new trends

Dario Stefano, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, National Association of Wine Cities, Numisma Wine Monitor – Agra Editress – p. 118 – 25 EUR

Wine tourism is now a rapidly growing phenomenonVineyards, wineries, and cellar experiences are now an increasingly popular attraction for Italian and foreign travelers. 14 million visits to the cellar and total sales of 2.5 billion euros: these are the wine tourism figures that emerged from the new guide written by the senator Dario Stefanthe father of the law of wine tourism and oil tourism, by Donatella Cinelli ColumbinePresident of Wine Women. The associations also cooperated with them Wine City and Numisma Wine Watcher, developed a survey on 92 municipalities and 150 wineries showing how wine tourism has had a positive impact on the protection of the territory and marginal areas. Among the trends that emerged from the analysis, such as the proposed wine experiences of visitors, the purpose and behavior of the wine tourist, what stands out most is the new role of women in Italian wineries, between marketing, communication and wine tourism: in practice, men produce and women turn Italian wines into profit . A very useful book for anyone interested in this sector, especially for winery managers, who can find the practical knowledge to start or develop this business professionally and above all ideas and imagination, drive towards promotion, communication and training. , but also digitization and surveillance. All without forgetting that the last purpose of wine tourism is always to arouse interest and emotions in visitors, providing them with an experience of comfort and taste.

Braiding veins. In praise of the perseverance of winemakers

Alain Graylot, Laure Gasparotto – Ampelous Editions – p. 176 – 21.90 €

“Doing a life project around generosity is crazy or kind of flexible. It is a project that arises from the absolute need to produce a small, uncertain masterpiece, containing chromium and earth as its raw materials.” Thus begins Chef Pierre Gagnaire’s introduction, 3 Michelin stars, to a book published after his death. Alain Grelot, a famous winemaker in the Rhone regionAnd the Laurie GasparottoJournalist Le Monde The Wine Expert, published by the Ampelos publishing house specializing in the wine sector. A third-person story, with some written incursions into the first, which takes us into the intimacy of about twenty great names in the French wine world, the gentlemen of Graillot, who tell and trust him as a friend. From discovering these humble personalities, we cross the transformation of last century grape-growing France into a modern industrial nation, highlighting the evolution of the craft of a winemaker who, in a society where haste reigns, makes resilience its strength. The aim of the work is to appreciate the exceptional character and determination of these workers, a kind of tribe that continues to fight for its freedom and respect for time. passionate winemakers, who are reinvented in this capacity after spending their lives doing other things; stubborn, stubborn on a land that no one wants; artisans, who make wine by hand without agricultural means and without modern technologies; Winemakers for whom there is no market for their wine, but whose insistence on proposing it, year after year, ends up creating it. Just like a vine, a winemaker is weak and sturdy, bending but not breaking in the face of change.