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 Book●ed website.