Selected Stories from the History of Wine

The archaeological and chemical evidence of wine making shows that vines were cultivated and wine produced well over 7,000 years ago. Wine has been a part of the history of Western Civilization ever since. This talk will start with a brief overview of the key events in the history of wine, and then I will select a few topics which will be discussed in more detail. One of the topics includes a rather tenuous connection to Isaac Newton himself, a futile attempt on my part to justify the very existence of this talk at a Texas Section APS meeting.