The idea behind this book was to do something fresh and original in the wine category. The book is essentially a tour of the world’s most striking and engaging wineries from an architectural viewpoint (an intriguing topic given stellar winery designs by some of the world’s top architects including Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster and the sadly missed Zaha Hadid).

But it’s not just a series of pretty pictures. It’s also an excuse to tell a story of the wine world’s fascinating people and places as well as its past, present and future. A number of other books have since appeared on this subject but tend to be written as architectural case studies.

This was a very fun book to research and a difficult one to write. I’m very proud of how it turned out.

Awards/reviews

• Gourmand World Wine Award 2004
• “a fascinating and original read” (Wine)
• “a polished and fluent writer” (Evening Standard)
• “Richards, one of the few youngsters in a field cluttered with now ageing baby-boomers, writes well […] in this oasis of good sense and imagination […] fresh and challenging” (Harpers)