Daily Archives: August 30, 2015

Drinking It All In

Wine, the most delightful of drinks, whether we owe it to Noah, who planted the vine, or to Bacchus, who pressed juice from the grape, goes back to the childhood of the world. — Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), French lawyer, politician and author of The Physiology of Taste.

With BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ off to a bright start, pairing quality wines with quality books, I find myself reflecting on the place of wine in literature. As far back as antiquity, wine is referenced on clay tablets and papyrus, even before the invention of paper or digital books. Clearly, wine’s potency is not limited to its level of alcohol. Whether part of the action, used as an adjective or offered as a metaphor for something else – success, romantic intoxication, life itself – wine and literature always pair well together. Fortunately for us, a wealth of literature over the centuries was made more interesting and enjoyable for the wine we read about as well as the wine we drink. See how many of these you know:

Frolic Wine — Anacreon
Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon — Li Po
The Soul of Wine — Charles Baudelaire
I Bring an Unaccustomed Wine — Emily Dickinson
Ulysses — James Joyce
A Moveable Feast — Ernest Hemingway
Ode to Wine — Pablo Neruda
Taste — Roald Dahl
A Long Finish – Michael Dibdin
A Debt to Pleasure — John Lanchester

You can learn more about BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ by clicking the tab at the Booked website.

Quotable

Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read. ― Francis Bacon

I love everything that is old; old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines. ― Oliver Goldsmith

Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know. ― John Keats

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing. ― Ernest Hemingway

Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle. ― Paulo Coelho