Inventing Wine

Wine is estimated to be around 8,000 years old, but the wines that people purchase and consume today are mostly quite recent. Modern wine has evolved as a result of various revolutions - scientific, industrial, social, and even ideological. While it shares the same basic chemical composition as its ancient predecessor, it differs greatly in all other aspects. For many millennia, wine was considered a fundamental necessity. The taste of contemporary wines is distinct from those of earlier times, and they are appreciated in new ways. Today, choosing wine is a cultural decision, and the motivations behind the selections of millions of people reveal as much about them as they do about the liquid in the bottle or glass. In his book, "Inventing Wine," Paul Lukacs traces the transformation of wine from a source of sustenance to a deliberately sought-after pleasure, providing a fresh perspective on both the present and the past.