Look. Swirl. Sniff. Taste. Savour. Whether you’re tasting a refreshing white or an aromatic red, these well-known steps are the only proper way to take the first sip of wine.

How did wine surpass all other beverages to achieve global domination? In Wine, Marc Millon travels back to the origins of modern man to find the answer, discovering that this heady drink is intertwined with the roots of civilization itself. Wine traces the long history of the most complex, mysterious and magical of the world’s beverages. It takes us from the Transcaucasus some 8,000 years ago across the Mediterranean Sea and throughout Europe with classical civilization, to the New World with the conquistadors, on to the distant lands of Australia and New Zealand and now to the burgeoning economies of India and China, where wine culture has exploded in the past decade.

Wine explains winemaking techniques past and present, looking at every part of the process from vine-growing to bottling and marketing, as well as exploring the culture – and character – of wines around the world. Crisp and concise, it is the perfect introduction for novices while offering an engaging chronicle for experts.