A Natural History of Wine

This book demonstrates the immensity and importance of the Smithsonian Libraries' natural history collections by using wine as a subject that highlights the intersectionality of the sciences. The preface itself states that “ This book you are holding is the result of an unusual collaboration between a molecular biologist and an anthropologist…As we talked we realized that wine holds a place in virtually every major area of science-from physics and chemistry to molecular genetics and systematic biology, through evolution, paleontology, neurobiology, and ecology…” Scientists are continuously trying to figure out way to engage new audiences and non-scientists in the wonders of the natural world. This book, in its own way, brings to light the history of a beverage many have enjoyed for centuries.