With over 180 stunning photographs, A YEAR IN THE VINEYARD by Sophie Menin and Bob Chaplin (Cultureshock, 2024) offers an immersive experience of the adage ‘wine is made in the vineyard’ as it traces the yearlong cycle of the vine, from bud burst to harvest to vine leaves capturing the energy of the late autumn sun. The narrative is spun through images, background paintings, and vignettes about activities that honor the seasonal rhythms and rituals of winegrowing, resulting in resonant meditations on how fine wines are achieved in tandem with nature, not through triumph over the elements. The book also shows winegrowers as working on the front line of the climate crisis, posing questions and offering potential remedies in response to the earth’s changing ecology. 

“A beautiful book, full of insights . . . [A Year in the Vineyard] captures aspects and moments of vineyard life I have not even been aware of in half a century among the vines…”

—Hugh Johnson, writing in the book’s foreword