Vintage: A History of Wine

Season 1

TV-Y
It’s not all in the bouquet. The enjoyment of wine is a collage of tastes and traditions, refined over centuries. Join Hugh Johnson, the world's foremost wine expert, as he travels the globe, tasting wines and examining how they are made.

The miniseries consists of 13 episodes, each with a runtime of 29 minutes, and was released as a 4-tape VHS box set in 1988 by WGBH Boston and Malone Gill Productions with Channel 4 (UK).

Where to Watch Vintage: A History of Wine • Season 1

13 Episodes

  • First Pressing: the Origins of Wine
    E1
    First Pressing: the Origins of WineJourneying through the Caucuses, the cradle of wine, Hugh Johnson explores the wines of today’s Middle East—tracing the history of wine from its prized status in ancient Egypt to its prohibition in Islam.
  • Drinking the God: Wine & Religion
    E2
    Drinking the God: Wine & ReligionIn the mountains of northern Spain, following a Catholic Mass, parishioners still douse themselves with wine in Dionysian frenzy. In discussing the history of Bacchanalian rites, Johnson assays the place wine still holds in Judaism and Christianity.
  • Empire of the Vine: Wine in Antiquity
    E3
    Empire of the Vine: Wine in AntiquitySince ancient times, wine has been “a food…am inspiration…a recreation,” says Johnson. From Athens to the ruins of Pompeii, he scrutinizes grape-growing regions and marvels at the ancient houses.
  • Northern Limits: Wine in Germany
    E4
    Northern Limits: Wine in GermanyAre wine consumers more sophisticated than their beer drinking brethren? It’s a question Germans love to debate. Consider it, as Johnson investigates German wines.
  • Precious But Perishable: Medieval Wine
    E5
    Precious But Perishable: Medieval WineDuring the Middle Ages, enjoying wine meant drinking it before it turned sour. Johnson travels from the torch-lit catacombs of Saint Emilion to the great sherry houses of Spain, discussing wines that are directly descended from Medieval tradition.
  • Slopes of Gold: Burgundy’s Cote D’Or
    E6
    Slopes of Gold: Burgundy’s Cote D’OrNegotiating the golden slopes of the Cote D’Or, Johnson tastes the region’s savory wines. Explaining how earth, are and rain “mold” a wine’s character, he tells why wines produced from neighboring vineyards can be radically different in quality.
  • Sipping Stars: The Story of Champagne
    E7
    Sipping Stars: The Story of ChampagneTracing the history of champagne from its “invention” by Dom Perignon to celebrations at Maxim’s, Johnson explores the mystique of what the French once considered a “vulgar fad.”
  • Wine and War: Madeira and Port
    E8
    Wine and War: Madeira and PortWar and politics have helped shape the destiny of many of the wines now considered classics. In focusing on Madeira and Port, Johnson explains how they have survived all manner of turmoil, from devastating heat to imperial sanctions.
  • Power of the Purse: Bordeaux Wines
    E9
    Power of the Purse: Bordeaux WinesLafite, Latour, Mouton…each has a character as distinctive and splendid as the chateaux themselves. How can a single region produce such diverse wines? The answer lies in the vineyard, and Johnson tells why.
  • The Devastator: Phylloxera
    E10
    The Devastator: PhylloxeraThis insatiable parasite destroyed Europe’s vineyards in the late 19th century. In highlighting the scientific ingenuity that saved the grape, Johnson reveals why today almost all European vines are grafted onto American stems.
  • The Migrating Vine: Wine in Australia
    E11
    The Migrating Vine: Wine in AustraliaIt was inevitable that migrating Europeans would take their wines with them. With a climate “between the Mediterranean and paradise,” Australia has become, as Johnson explains, one of the most successful of the colonial wine growers.
  • The Grape Goes West: California Wines
    E12
    The Grape Goes West: California WinesThrough a marriage of tradition and technology, California wines have won their place under the sun. In exploring the evolution of some now great wines, Johnson divulges America’s homegrown secrets.
  • Vin Nouveau: Today and Tomorrow
    E13
    Vin Nouveau: Today and Tomorrowin his finale Johnson outlines the technology that will improve the future of wine making…discussing why vineyards will thrive in monsoon-drenched area of Japan and how a winery in Tuscany was totally automated.

 

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