I have been waiting for this day for a while! My new book Around the World in Eighty Wines is officially released today in hardback, e-book, and audio book formats.  If you pre-ordered your copy it should arrive very soon. Can’t wait to hear  what you think of it.

Actually, if you pre-ordered on Amazon.com you might already have your copy — those sneaky guys started shipping a few days ago. But the Kindle and audio versions are officially released today. Hooray!

A few early reviews have already appeared on Amazon and elsewhere. Many thanks to Tom Mullen for his favorable review on Forbes.com.  I think Tom really captured the spirit of the book and I appreciate his kind words.

Wine-Fueled Adventure

Sue and I have been on a wine-fueled adventure for the last several years, circling the globe to speak at wine industry conferences and to do research for The Wine Economist and my books. At times I guess we felt a little like Phileas Fogg and Passepartout, hurrying from one fascinating place to another.

And so, inspired by Jules Verne, I decided to collect our adventures in this new book. The book’s path and Jules Verne’s itinerary are a bit different, although they do intersect in several interesting places. Here’s a map of Phileas Fogg’s route in Around the World in Eighty Days, starting and ending in London.

And this is the Around the World in Eighty Wines route. London is the start and finish line for this race, too.

As you can see, the wine route is much more complicated. That’s because Jules Verne was interested in speedy travel, so straight lines and direct routes were best, whereas I am intrigued by the stories that wine tell us, and I am willing to go to some trouble to track them down. So detours, interruptions and a bit of back-tracking are inevitable.

A Surprise Plot Twist?

Fogg and I both face strict constraints, however. Eighty days. Eighty wines. And we both beat the odds to achieve our goals, albeit with the help of a last-minute plot twist that produces a surprise ending.

Surprise ending? Well, I told you I was inspired by Jules Verne, so I could not resist following his example to assure a happy ending for my readers just as he did for his. Can’t tell you what the plot twist is — it’s meant to be a surprise!

I hope you enjoy reading Around the World in Eighty Wines as much as Sue and I have enjoyed the journeys that produced it and the wonderful people we met along the way. Cheers to wine, travel, adventure, and Phileas Fogg!

Around the World in 80 Wines by Mike Veseth

Table of Contents

Part 1: From London to Beirut

1.      London: The Challenge is Made and the Journey Begins

2.      France: Which Bottle? Which Wine?

3.      Italy: Batali’s Impossibility Theorem

4.      Syria, Lebanon and Georgia: The Wine Wars

Part 2: Rounding the Cape

5.      Spain: El Clásico

6.      Any Porto in a Storm

7.      Out of Africa

8.      India and Beyond: New Latitudes, New Attitudes

Part 3: High and Low

9.      Shangri-La

10.  Australia: The Library and the Museum

11.  Tasmania: Cool is Hot

12.  Southern Cross

Part 4:  Sour Grapes?

13.  Napa Valley Wine Train

14.  A Riesling Rendezvous

15.  Cannonball Run

16.  Back to London: Victory or Defeat?

The Wine List