Italy in a Wineglass: The Story of Italy Through Its Wines

A leading travel writer guides readers on a sumptuous journey through time and flavor to understand how and why wine transformed Italy

Italy has a fascinating history, one that has profoundly influenced Western civilization. But the fact that it only became a unified nation in 1861 has meant that its rich and varied story is not well known, even to the 94 million visitors who travel there every year. 

This book will change that. Italy in a Wineglass offers a digestible means into understanding Italy’s influence on our world by linking its history - events, eras, personalities, movements and more - to the country’s wonderful, varied and accessible wines.

From the Phoenicians to Dante, from fascism to feminism, the book delves into the events, individuals and movements throughout the centuries, seen through the prism of Italy’s wines and how those wines, in turn, have shaped our world. You will learn about:

• Villa dei Misteri, a wine produced on a vineyard cultivated actually within Pompeii itself, the vines trained exactly as they would have been on that fateful day in August AD 79
• Possessione Rosso, produced on a wine estate north of Verona that has been in the hands of direct descendants of Dante Alighieri from the time when the poet was sent into exile
• Barolo Mirafiore, produced on a wine estate that the first king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, granted to his mistress Rosa Vercellana
• Centopassi by Libera Terra made from grapes grown on lands confiscated from the Mafia
• Brunello di Montalcino ‘Prime Donne’, a wine crafted entirely by women at every phase of production, including blending by a female international panel of experts

Part history lesson and part wine tasting, Millon brings the flavors of Italy to life in a quenching tale of vinification and power, melding history, journalism, and travel with the sensations of Italy.