Scientific History of Winemaking | Daniel Poos

The author highlights the scientific aspect of winemaking throughout its long history, which began around 10,000 years ago in the Near East. The specific characteristics of winemaking inherent to each era are emphasized. During protohistoric periods, the focus is on discoveries from biomolecular archaeology, molecular ampelography, archaeobotany, and classical archaeology. Great importance is placed on the highly informative texts from Greek and Latin authors of antiquity. After the Renaissance, the beneficial impacts on winemaking from the rapid evolution of chemical, biochemical, and microbiological knowledge are reviewed. Overall, this book, through its richly illustrated historical compilation and scientific discourse, is likely to interest a wide audience ranging from the curious wine enthusiast to the oenologist, historian, archaeologist, biologist, chemist, and even the physician.