I drink therefore I am. A philosopher's guide to wine is a another book about wine, but not just for every reader. The book is a very intellectual and literary approach to the subject. Roger Scruton ('Sir Roger') is an English philosopher specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy. He is a prolific writer who has published seven works of fiction, two operas, and a very long list of non-fictional works, many in the field of philosophy, but also many in all other aspects of life and society, including animal's rights, modern culture, music, and globalisation. Scruton favours traditionalist conservative views, and some of these ideas shine through in I drink therefore I am. A philosopher's guide to wine, as aristocratic ideas about drinking wine.

I drink therefore I am. A philosopher's guide to wine is divided into two parts. The first part deals mainly with all the usual talk about wine, technical details, terroir, grapes, etc. Despite lamenting the usual practise that many wine writers tend to praise exceptional wines, Scruton does fall into the same trap. Perhaps that's why the first chapter is aptly titled "My Fall". At least it does describe how and when the author fell for wine. As a conservative, it will come as no surprise that Scruton favours Old World wines over New World wines, emphasizing terroir and culture, particularly the culture of wine making. Consequently, Scruton does not believe in 'blind tasting', which he compares to a blindfold kiss: "you can no more understand the virtues of a wine through a blind tasting than you could understand the virtues of a woman through a blindfold kiss" (p. 33) , and on the next page, very much in the same vein "(t)o think you can judge a wine from it's taste and aroma alone is like thinking you can judge a chinese poem by its sound, without knowing the language." (p. 34). To Scruton, drinking wine has as much to do with the quality of the wine, as the region it is produced.

The second part of the book consists of four essays about philosophical concepts that logically connect with the culture of drinking wine. Some of these essays are critical of our age, as greed and the need for easy gratification clash with the true spirit of educated wine consumption, or, as the title of the last essay: "Being and Bingeing". Actually, this essay about the misuse of drink, hence the misuse of pleasure and the rule of agape is relatively easy to understand. Some of the essays need a very clear and concentrated mind, and it might be a good idea to read that part of the book before intoxication. The author would probably assume that wine not be consumed in the solitary situation of reading the book, but rather in the cheerfulness of company and good conversation.

I drink therefore I am. A philosopher's guide to wine is not an easy book to read, but for readers with an intellectual slant it may be an interesting choice, to pick it up as (just) another wine book, albeit with a somewhat different perspective. The book offers a lot of food for thought, and there is still quite a lot to learn from. Carefully chewing and digesting the book, may be quite similar to drinking a fine wine. The book would probably not be a very good choice as a first book to read about wine, but after one has read a few, I drink therefore I am. A philosopher's guide to wine offers sufficient stimulus and pleasure to pick it up and read. Thus, recommended, but not for everyone. ( )