Tired of yet another happy hour on the beach? Bored by the fourth barbecue (in 3 days) with friends? If you are looking for a diversion from the usual vacation clichés, here is something that may interest you: a new book - on sale likely next fall.

“Vine and Prejudice - Fake Science and search for the perfect grape” is by the estimate prof. Attilio Scienza. To everybody working in the wine world, Scienza is well known: to the simple wine lover, he is one of the best storytellers of the wine and viticulture on the scene. His speeches are always so catchy, like an adventure in the story and in the science that you are never tired of listening  to them. Obviously, it’s easiest to listen somebody than to read a book, so if you are not willing to engage your small grey brain cells go and listen to the Italian Wine Podcast recording series “Everybody needs a bit of Scienza”: this book originates from those episodes. The main idea mainly concerns some of the professor's fixed nails, which over time have become almost his trademark: the historical-philosophical approach to wine issues (that’s music for the ears of a philosopher and historicist like me), the need to have an open and curious approach to the challenges faced currently by the world of wine. And above all, the fight against false science, and certain myths that are widespread in the wine world but lack scientific basis. Indeed, seemingly our days are even more anti-scientific (and consequently, much more prone to superstition) than in the past. This is paradoxical when we consider the technological advances we witness daily. However, this makes sense: “the rapid pace of technological advancement has created major imbalances, the effects of which are difficult to absorb in the short time,“ Attilio Scienza says in the book. Is it an easy book to read to a newbie to the argument? Well, it is not. Its purpose is to tell the way things are, not how we would like them to be. It tells biology, evolution, genomics, paleontology of vine, race theories, and even politics and history, of course - in just 100 pages. The world is complicated, life is complicated, and so is science: anyone who tells you “it is all a deception” is just a liar and ignorant.

Science needs men to progress, and men need science to improve their lives, but both need philosophers and humanists. When a scientist is also a bit of a philosopher & humanist, things get better.

The dialogue between the man in the street and the researcher in the ivory tower will be easier.

Attilio Scienza, “Vine and Prejudice - Fake Science ad the search for the perfect grape” Jumbo Shrimp Guide, 2022