The book
Histórias do Vinho
From the earth to the spirit — a history of wine, and of us, in 118 chapters. Published here as it is written.
I am writing a history of wine the way a winemaker would tell it: not a technical chronology, but a journey. From the first wild vine in the Caucasus to the cellars of the New World and the questions we are asking now. One chapter a week, in English and Portuguese. Start anywhere; the parts stand on their own.
The five parts
- I — The Origins of Wine (chapters 1–20) — the wild vine, fermentation by accident, Georgia, Egypt, Greece, Rome
- II — The European Legacy and the Old World (21–80) — monks, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhine, Italy, Spain, Portugal
- III — The New World and Global Expansion (81–96) — the Americas, South Africa, Australia, the wine that travelled
- IV — Science, Winemaking and Contemporary Culture (97–110) — Pasteur, terroir, technology, taste
- V — The Future of Wine and of Us (111–118) — climate, consciousness, Drinkfulness
Latest chapters
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Spain — The Country That Always Had More Than It Showed
For decades, Spain made wine like someone guarding a secret without realising they were guarding one. It had more land planted with vines than any other country on…
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Transition — Italy and the Lesson of Multiplicity
Throughout this block, Italy refused, again and again, to give a single answer. Instead, it offered hundreds — one for every valley, every native grape, every culinary dialect…
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Food and Wine in Italy — The Inseparable Union
In Italy, wine and food never met each other. They grew up together, on the same hillside, under the same sun, served by the same hands. There is…
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The DOC and DOCG System — The Only Order a Country Like This Could Manage
Every law is born from a wish to impose order on something that is, by nature, disorderly. Over six decades, Italy tried to do exactly that with its…
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Etna — The Vineyard on the Volcano
Etna is not a landscape. It is an organism that breathes. Seen from a distance, the cone looks still — crowned with snow for much of the year,…
For members of The Cellar Table
Every chapter is free to read here. Members of Casca Wines’ club — at any level, including the free one — receive each Part as a paginated PDF when it closes, first access to the printed volumes, and the complete ebook when the book is finished. The Cellar Table →
About the book
Written in Portuguese; the English edition is read and approved by the author. To be published in print, in both languages and in several volumes, by Casca Wines Editorial.