Wine cover art

Wine

A Global History

Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Wine

By: Kathleen Burk
Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £24.99

Pre-order Now for £24.99

About this listen

In the beginning, there was the vine.


Wine: a drink, a medicine, a ritual and a commodity. Across millennia, it has been used to celebrate and commiserate, as a negotiating tool and a diplomatic gift. But where and when - was it first discovered? And how did it become a worldwide phenomenon?

From the planting of grape seeds in conquered territories across Ancient Rome, to the uprooting of vineyards during the Chinese Communist Revolution, this is the first truly global survey of wine from acclaimed historian Kathleen Burk. From a symbol of civilisation to the depths of debauchery, the formation of new trade routes to the consolidation of empires, Burk traces the story of our contemporary civilisation through one of the world's most ancient - and sought-after - pleasures.©2026 Kathleen Burk (P)2026 Profile Books Limited
No reviews yet