The reader of this book is invited on an extraordinary journey into an enchanted world. In a hundred episodes as warm as they are scholarly, it covers lands and topics of infinite variety, so vast and diverse is the world of vineyards, wine, and winemakers. From the diversity of terroirs to that of grape varieties, from cultivation methods to winemaking techniques, from developing ways to preserve the precious liquid to the art of drinking and pairing it, to the colorful portraits of great producers, some discreet, others renowned, from old production lands like the Near East and Europe to the new worlds of wine like the Far East or Oceania, the author paints a lively and fascinating fresco in small touches where humans always play the leading role. The author does not hesitate to warn the French when they are reluctant to question themselves or when their authorities maintain prejudices about wine from another era. Far from the too austere treatises or tasting manuals, here is a pleasant bedside book for all lovers of the divine bottle.