To view a complete list of all the books I have reviewed on The Academic Wino, visit my Wine Book Library page and browse!
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free from the author, and links to the book are part of the Amazon Affiliate program where if you purchase the book or something else using these links, I may receive a few cents. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
It’s been quite a long time since I’ve published a book review on this site! Turns out, after you have babies, reading kind of goes out the window. I would love to be able to read more, but life is a bit chaotic these days and it is hard to sit down and read an entire book in a timely manner.
Enter the book for today: The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George (released October 28, 2020).
To purchase The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George, click here to find it for sale on Amazon.com. *affiliate link*
First a little bit about the author, Arthur George. He is a retired lawyer who now resides in Santa Barbara County, California wine country, who now spends his time as a “winemaker, author, mythologist, cultural historian, and blogger”. Most recently, he has been lecturing and writing about the subject of the mythology of wine, which is a subject not often discussed in the wine business, but one which is completely fascinating and worthy of further exploration.
Now to the book!
I’d mentioned previously I’ve struggled to find time to read much for pleasure these days, but at a short 160 pages, The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George is just the right length for reading in a reasonable amount of time and still feeling satisfied and entertained.
In general, the modern history of wine is well-documented and relatively understood. There may be inconsistencies and questions here and there, but we have a decent understanding of recent wine history. However, how much do we really know about the ANCIENT history of wine? Specifically, how wine was discovered, perceived, and enjoyed by ancient peoples and how wine is presented in ancient religious and cultural myths and stories. The Mythology of Wine delves into this mythological side of history, which up until now has been otherwise missing from our wine knowledge.
“Civilization is restrictive and highly ordered, but humans are not rational machines. We need an occasional psychological, emotional, and spiritual release from society’s strictures by allowing ourselves to metamorphosize and lapse temporarily into an alternative state of happy being distinct from our everyday lives.”
The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George, page 6
The Mythology of Wine, by Arthur George is broken down into 8 chapters focusing on wine’s role in ancient mythological stories and legends:
Ch. 1: Intro
Ch. 2: Noah, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia
Ch. 3: Ancient Canaan and Israel
Ch. 4: Ancient Egypt
Ch. 5: The Classical World
Ch. 6: The New Testament and Early Christianity
Ch. 7: Wine, Myth, and Legend in Europe
Ch. 8: Concluding Thoughts
Throughout this book, the readers’ eyes are opened to an extraordinary history of wine in mythology and how wine was perceived in ancient cultures. Many of the same themes repeat themselves from myth to myth and culture to culture, though over time these myths undergo a fascinating evolution to fit with the times and cultural beliefs.
Despite having some education in religious studies (OK, it was two required courses almost 2 decades ago in college), as well as history courses (and of course, wine courses!), much of this book contained information that I never knew or had at least forgotten about. I had also forgotten how violent a lot of the myths from ancient cultures were. Fascinating stuff!
So, who is The Mythology of Wine, by Arthur George meant for? The beauty of this book is that it covers many interests: the wine lover, the historian, the mythologist, the religious historian, etc. For me personally, I no longer practice any type of organized religion. Mine are more secular and spiritual in “beliefs”, though I find the subject of religion very interesting from a psychological and historical perspective. Additionally, as a wine lover, this book provided me with a highly entertaining subject matter that enthralled me from cover to cover.
The book is well-written, flows easily, and given its relatively short length, reads quickly. There are a lot of historical references yet it does not feel like you’re just reading out of a history textbook. The stories are well-summarized and presented in an intellectually stimulating manner, while still being approachable to most readers.
“Wine pulls down barriers, defenses, and personas that we normally erect. It can blunt our ego and allow parts of our unconscious psyche that the ego does not normally see to become visible, be experienced, and be taken note of. So, provided we don’t drink to excess, wine can help make us more authentic and whole, which will leave its mark thereafter, especially if one is with others at such times.”
The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George, page 154
If you’re looking for a different kind of wine book to read or to gift the wine lover in your life for the holidays this year – or for a birthday – or just because it’s a Tuesday – head over to Amazon to pick up your copy of The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George today! You can’t go wrong at $14.99 for the paperback or $9.99 for the Kindle version!
For an added bonus to the readers of this blog, stay tuned next week for a guest blog post from the author himself, Arthur George, delving into the wine myths of Dionysus!
Cheers!
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free from the author, and links to the book are part of the Amazon Affiliate program where if you purchase the book or something else using these links, I may receive a few cents. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
To purchase The Mythology of Wine by Arthur George, click here to find it for sale on Amazon.com. *affiliate link*