La increíble historia del vino

Les Incroyables Histoires

by Benoist Simmat

Rare Book

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, History, Bande Dessinée, Comics, France, Wine

232 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2018

About the author

Benoist Simmat, né en 1973, est journaliste économique. Ancien du Nouvel Economiste, de L'Agefi et du Journal du Dimanche, il collabore ou a collaboré dans nombre de pages "éco" de la presse nationale, comme celles de L'Express, Libération, Management, La Revue du vin de France, etc. Menant parallèlement une carrière dans l'édition, il est également essayiste et scénariste des nouvelles "BD-enquêtes".

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars!

Did you know that wine contains a natural bacterium, Acetobacter aceti, which turns it to vinegar upon contact with oxygen?...Also not many will know that Ohio is the cradle of American wine growing. Or that a Scotsman, James Busby, had much to do with the early success of wine growing in colonial Australia. Or that the controversial philosopher, Rudolph Steiner would have such an influence over modern wine techniques.

There is much to learn in here, apparently Mago the agronomist (2nd Century BC) was such an important figure in the art of wine making that when the Romans sacked Carthage in 146 BCE, the senate ordered them to spare only the books bearing his name in order to translate them into Latin.

We see how the origins of wine making spread from its roots in the Levant and branched out across time and space, it was Greece and Rome which invented the wine that we know and love today. The evolution of various versions of carrying and containment are charted from the humble yet hardy goatskin canteen and amphorae to barrels and of course glass bottles.

In terms of art work this has some really nice colouring, and lively drawing, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea at all, and quite often I found this a little dull and tedious. So although I learned a bit from this, I wouldn't say that I particularly enjoyed it that much.

[Ag D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un vrai plaisir, la qualité des dessins, l'organisation des chapitres (chronologique et géographique) et la précision des informations apportées permettent une lecture à la fois divertissante et enrichissante.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lecture très intéressante, j'y ai appris des anecdotes que je ne connaissais pas sur le vin et son histoire. J'ai particulièrement aimé le dernier chapitre sur le vin et le tournant écologique.

[Mélanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On ne découvre pas qu'une histoire du vin mais bien une évolution historique, sociale et religieuse avec et grâce à un breuvage qui est plus vieux que ce à quoi nous nous imaginions !
Amateur ou non il s'agit ici d'une invitation à la découverte !

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really quite interesting! I doubt I would have read it, if it had been a chapter book, but I really enjoyed the graphic novel layout and the way it made the information digestable and informative without being overwhelming.

[Sara Rocutto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro a fumetti molto molto ricco di curiosità. Qualche imperfezione qua e là, molto Francia centrico, ma davvero completo. Merita passarci sopra del tempo anche per chi crede di sapere già tutto. Ricca bibliografia finale

[Karine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une super BD, très instructive tout en étant abordable pour les novices du vin. J'y ai appris plein de choses, et il me tarde désormais de déguster de nouveau un bon verre de vin !

[Andre Abukawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei muito. Fatos interessantes da história do vinho.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieser Sachcomic unterscheidet sich wohltuend von den zahlreich bereits erschienenen Büchern, die sich als Weinführer oder Abhandlungen über Önologie ausgeben, hier wird nicht nur über Rebsorten oder Jahrgänge diskutiert, sondern es wird auch ein umfassender Blick auf die Entwicklung des Weinanbaus und des Weinkonsums auf der ganzen Welt im Laufe der Jahrtausende bzw. Jahrhunderte geworfen.
Benoist Simmat zeigt uns, dass der Wein nicht durch Zufälle entstanden ist, sondern sehr stark mit der Geschichte der vorherrschenden Zivilisationen verbunden ist: Er entstand in Mesopotamien, verbreitete sich in Ägypten, dann in Griechenland, Rom und von dort aus in ganz Europa und begleitete den Aufstieg des Christentums (keine christliche Feier ohne Messwein!).
Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte haben Erfindungen die Aufbewahrung, den Transport und den Genuss von Wein ermöglicht: Amphoren, Fässer, Flaschen ... mit manchmal überraschenden Mitwirkenden: Die Flasche und die Champagnermethode sind zum Beispiel den Engländern zu verdanken! Der Mönch Dom Pérignon entwickelte die önologischen Verfahren weiter und führte erstmalig den Korkenverschluss für Weinflaschen ein.
Von Kapitel zu Kapitel erfährt man, wie Wein gelagert, Rebsorten und Böden ausgewählt werden, aber auch, wie sich der Wein in Amerika etabliert hat bis hin zu den modernsten Entwicklungsprozessen: der Wein der Zukunft wird bio sein, überwiegend rosé und der Produzent Nr. 1 wird .... China sein!
Ein informatives Lesevergnügen für Weinliebhaber und Geschichtsinteressierte, die Detailverliebtheit und auch eine Portion Humor, nicht zu vergessen die qualitativ hochwertige Übersetzung, stechen positiv hervor. Zum Wohl!

[Matheus Bonfá · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro interessante, descontraído e informativo. Mas peca por se pretender "universal", mas ser, de fato, bastante concentrado na história francesa. Demais países, mesmo nações europeias tradicionais na produção de vinho, são retratadas em pontas finais de capítulo. A América do Sul, então, polo importante, mereceu não muito mais que uma página. O melhor do livro é o início relacionado à Idade Antiga. Idade Média, moderna e início de contemporânea são interessantes, mas com essa enfoque bem francês que me soa incompleto e tendencioso. Achei a parte do Século XX-XXI confusa e com alguns detalhes desnecessários, mais relacionados ao mercado do vinho e suas personalidades, que não é exatamente meu objeto de interesse.

[Anais Ning-Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic and simple overview of the history of wine for someone without any background in the subject. Lots of names and places were mentioned, almost like encyclopedic entries; I wanted the book at times to go into much more depth than it had, but a BD doesn’t lend itself naturally to long discussions. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read but lacked some of the excitement and storytelling characteristics of a typical BD. Also, this is a great way for non-native French speakers to brush up on wine related vocabulary.

[Pablo Diaz]

There were some fun facts but was more for someone who already knew a lot about wine to learn more about wine, I felt a bit thrown into the deep end at times. Also the last chapter feels added, it is not in the same format as the rest of the book, and recovers some topics again? Not sure what happened there.

[Jamie Chou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a very good briefing on wine history and how it becomes what we know about it today. For example, it explains the type of wine in different area as well as how it migrated from areas to areas. Good to people who wants more details on these background. However, might be a little not that interesting to me.

[Egil · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book with a lot of details. It changed the way I look at wine. The drawings are beautiful. It is quite a lot of information packed into the book! It is worth a read if you envoy wine and will give you a thorough understanding of wine and it’s place in history.

[Josiah Goodrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick little read that was decently engaging and fun. Not too snobby, not too elementary, and is efficient at covering a lot of ground in a short amount of words. If you like to drink wine, it’s worth a read.

[Tuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

From prehistory to 2019 history of people and grapes. Spamming the world, though focused on France.
Predicted trends: China as largest wine makers and buyers, more organic, biodynamic, and vegan methods used.
Fun illustrations and text.
Has maps, bibliography, and to-reads

[Pyoungsung Choi · Rating 3 out of 5]

만화라서 재밌을 거라는 생각은 편견이었다. 와인의 역사 자체가 워낙 길고 복잡한 탓에 내용이 엄청 방대했고, 그래서 다 기억하기도 힘들 것 같다. 그래도 와인에 대한 호기심이 생겼다는 데에 의의를 가진다.

[Evghenii Filipenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Настоящее историческое преключение. Кто бы мог подумать, что вино напрямую влияло на развитие мира. Увлекательная история, красивая графика и тонкий юмор.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre qui tient ça promesse de la première grappe de raisin à nos bouteilles d'aujourd'hui en passant par toutes les croyances. 

[ParisienneNord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Passionnant et instructif

[Xavidickers74 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante y entretenida novela gráfica/cómic sobre la historia del vino, con ilustraciones muy logradas.

[François Lebeux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellente BD pour tous les amateurs de vin et d'histoire

[Ephie Risho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I've read a book on the history of anything and blazed through it quickly and eagerly. Great approach! The only qualm is the writing style was occasionally still info-heavy without providing enough story. The Dionysus thread helped, but could have been more gripping with some character development or some such thing.

Regardless, if you're interested in the history of wine, I found it quite helpful, and it's influenced my conversations at parties!

[Su Hui Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real adventure through time and geography. It is well researched and it is a lovely introduction to the world of wine. BEWARE - this book makes you want to drink and drinking.. often deters you from reading. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is its tracing of winemaking through lands that are now "dry" due to their predominantly muslim culture. An eye opener.

[Electric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense information on the history of wine presented in a very approachable graphic novel way with some humour too lighten it up - if you love wine you’ll be sure to learn something to make you seem even more sophisticated while getting drunk.

[Tiabtawan Limjittrakorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A looooot of information. But I kind of want to read similar books about other drinks, now.

[Avi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introductory overview of the history of wine. I found it interesting to realize how much of contemporary wine culture is relatively modern.