A good book is like a good wine: it ages well and you want to keep it close at hand. The Jumbo Shrimp Guide to Italian Wine is the missing link to understanding the complexity of Italian wine without the headache. It is ideal for wine lovers as a reference tool, for novices who want an introduction to the subject, or as a pocket guide, to take with you on your Italian adventure, attempting to navigate the wide range of Italian wines on offer.

The world is enamoured with Italy: its culture, art, food and fashion, the beauty of its landscapes, its famous cities—and, of course, its wine. From the ancient Greeks to Garibaldi, from Christianity to feminism, and from the Medici to Napoleon, travel writer and oenophile Marc Millon reveals how the story of Italy has always been entwined with the story of wine. Through the millennia, wine has been a celebratory libation at great events. It has lubricated moments of joy and offered solace in times of despair. It has brought courage to warriors before battle and been drunk in ecstatic quantity by the victors. Whether it be Possessioni Rosso, still made today by descendants of Dante; Casa E. di Mirafiore, from a wine estate founded by the son of Italy’s first king; or Terre Rosse di Giabbascio, pressed from grapes grown on ex-Mafia land, these wines, and many more, provide an intoxicating insight into the ideas, events and personalities that made Italy. If history can sometimes be throat-achingly dry, Italy in a Wineglass offers an enjoyably fresh take on this country’s past, present and future, through the story of one of the world’s most popular drinks.