The tenth volume of the successful “Mestieri d'Arte” series is entirely devoted to wine, a sublime human or, rather, “humanistic” product, issuing from human hands and intelligence, and bestowing to mankind comfort and happiness.
To tell the story of the complex, inspiring universe of wine, encompassing history, technique, and poetry: such is the ambitious target that two ackowledged wine specialists, Pierluigi Gorgoni and Andrea Grignaffini, have set for themselves, also contributing, as dedicated scholars and poets, a happy synthesis, and a novel approach.
To the eyes of the comparatively erudite reader, the book displays fascinating accounts of territories, from high-profile, wine-growing regions to lesser-known lands, the heirs of unique cultures and techniques, ranging as far as the new wine frontiers. Creativity, tradition, and innovation; winemaking processes and interpretations; protection of the wine sites; the soil's sensibility; the vital concept of terroir, with the “happy islands” where craft and art have been creating excellence (from the Langhe to Burgundy, from the Loire to Tuscany, to California). And even more: the Italy of wine, a mosaic of uniqueness; the myth of Champagne and its erratic protagonists; the Riesling acrobatics and the “sunto di vino” Pinot Nero; the Barolo Boys and the Lambrusco artisans; the “zero mileage” culture and the “Back to our land” urgency; the great Rhône wines and South America's new frontier; the “third way” of the Australian wines, and South Africa, among the world's most ancient lands; and a lot more, up to Porto, which every wine would be, if ever possible.
‘Thus, a dazzling journey starts unwinding within the wine stories, following the thread of a sharp critical sense and interpretation. At the same time, it is a spiritual adventure between landscapes and hills, epochs and people, capturing the wine’s desire and innermost sense – its very best essence that becomes a work, and is passed on to the human race, which assesses and questions, accepts and modifies it, turning it into a new thought and a further endeavour in other parts of the Earth.’ An anthroposophic book, therefore, enriched by the human, very human, imaginary world of Paolo Rui, donating us his own poetic understanding of wine, playing with symbols and twisted perspectives, introducing his dearest animals and playful quotes of beloved artists and authors, during a beautiful “journey, or rather an outing with friends in this amazing world of grapes, bottles, moon, corks and poetry.”
